"
History Books" is the title track of The Gaslight Anthem’s album, released Oct. 27 2023. History books is a song written by Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz and released by The Gaslight Anthem on their 2023 album History Books. History books is the album's title track and second single. It features a guest appearance by Bruce Springsteen on duet vocals. In 2015, the Gaslight Anthem entered an indefinite hiatus, with the band members pursuing new projects and solo careers. Over time, the band's lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Brian Fallon began to soften on the idea of reviving the band. This culminated in a 2021 meeting with Bruce Springsteen in which Fallon openly discussed his desire to reunite the band, but also his trepidation about doing so. "The E Street Band took a big break, too," Fallon said about the moment he approached Springsteen for advice. "It was going to seek the guy on the hill for wisdom, but really, it was Federici's Pizza in Freehold [New Jersey]. But some mythical work was done at that table. We brought the band back together."
In an interview with Kerrang!, Fallon said that he decided to "use the bat phone" for the first time ever - to seek the advice of Bruce Springsteen. He texted him saying that he needs to talk to him and that it's about the band. "And he's like, 'I'm free on Thursday.' And I didn't realize that the Thursday that he met me was on his birthday. He went out of his way to meet me for pizza on his birthday. And I had a legit talk with him about, 'Where do I begin? How do I do this? Here are the problems...' and he just laid it out for me. He understood that he has knowledge and experience, and it's invaluable. What's good is that somebody like that would take the time to share with me some advice that I truly believe probably helped the band get back together."
"Hey, why don't you write us a duet? I'll come sing with you," Springsteen later texted Fellon. "When Bruce Springsteen said I should write a duet for us, I think my head exploded," Fallon said in a press release. "It will never get old to me that one of the greatest songwriters in the world, and the voice of one of my heroes will forever be captured in a song I wrote at a small wooden desk, in October, in New Jersey."
The press release described History books as "a heavy-hearted track about the power in letting go of what no longer serves you." Fallon elaborated: "I think forgiveness is so important on so many levels, but I've learned that in some cases you need to cut ties with the people who've done you harm."
Of Bruce Springsteen's guest appearance on the album, Fallon told the Associated Press, "There's definitely a little wink in there," alluding to the longstanding comparisons made between the band's sound and Springsteen's. "Some people kind of wrote us off. It's like 'Now write this off.' We've got the approval of the guy! What are you going to say? You can't say anything!"