The Backseat Presence Bruce Springsteen Took on John Prine’s “Take a Look at My Heart”

John Prine and Bruce Springsteen exist in the same canon of music. Though, on a deeper level, they were both born with eerily similar perspectives and leases on life. They also articulated those views in a rather similar fashion, as they both wrote songs about niche topics to reveal greater and grander truths. Through these similarities, Springsteen and Prine became compadres, confidants, and simply friends who could understand each other’s plights.

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Springsteen attested to this fact by telling Rolling Stone, “John Prine was a sweet and lovely man, and I was proud to count him as my friend” and “He wrote music of towering compassion with an almost unheard of precision and creativity when it came to observing the fine details of ordinary lives.”

Springsteen added, “He was a writer of great humor, funny, with wry sensitivity. It has marked him as a complete original” and “His death just makes me angry. He was simply one of the best we had, and we will miss him.” Thanks to this affinity, the two intellectual songwriters collaborated on two separate occasions. However, there is only a known recording of the latter.

Bruce Springsteen Takes A Step Back

The first time the two collaborated was in 1988 in Tarrytown, New York when Springsteen joined Prine on stage to perform a duet of Prine’s classic song, “Paradise.” Subsequently, Springsteen seemingly became enamored with Prine’s music more than he already was and itched for another chance to collaborate.

By coincidence, Springsteen ran into Prine three years after their live New York collaboration in an arbitrary Italian restaurant. At the restaurant, he allegedly asked Prine, “When you guys get into the record and have something to play, please invite me over. I’d just love to play guitar or harmonica or sing or whatever.” This story exists in the folkloric sphere of musical tales, so it’s difficult to vet its legitimacy. Nonetheless, the collaboration did happen, as Springsteen hopped in on Prine’s recording of “Take A Look At My Heart.”

Springsteen’s presence on the track is minimal and almost non-existent. However, when you listen closely you can hear Bruce Springsteen adding vocal support to the chorus of the song. The best part about this collaboration is that Springsteen isn’t featured in the title of the song. Hence, he simply did it for his love of the game and his love of John Prine.

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