Animals ( The ) - It's my life

First performance: 12/12/1975

Coverinfo

Bruce covered this song 91 times ( soundcheck included ):
 
Introduced with a intense narrative about the troubled relationship between him and his father. In the 1987 BBC documentary Glory Days, Max Weinberg spoke about the premiere of "It's My Life" when he was asked if Bruce had ever launched into a song without telling the band what he was going to play. Max said that the band had never rehearsed the song before playing it in concert, but fortunately they all knew it. The tempo of the song itself was greatly slowed down, to the point where it bore little obvious resemblance to the Animals' original, and renditions could easily run over ten minutes overall in duration; lyrics were varied somewhat across almost every performance. A live version of Springsteen's version was released in early 2015 as part of his 'Archives' series.
 
 
 
Narrative :
 
"I used to live in this house....in this town, about 10,000 people, a small town and uh....it was like a two-family house, was the kind of house that to get, to get into the house, you had to go through the kitchen, had a screen door....so like....my father would like, my father used to....at night he´d sit in the kitchen, you see, and he´d, he drinks beer and like he´d turn off all the lights in the house and he´d get real, he´d get really angry, pissed off if you switched them on (?) and he´d sit there, all you´d see of him was like a cigarette butt, just sitting there in the dark, you know, and like if you came in around, if you came in around 10, it wasn´t too bad, you know, but if you came in around like 1, you know, after he´d been sitting there for a while....he´d always stop me and so I´d walk in and.....so I walked in about 1 o´clock, 1.30, I´d slick my hair back so that, uh, so he couldn´t tell how long it was, you know (chuckles) and I´d walk in and he´d be sitting there, right, and I´d try to sneak by, (?) sneak by in the dark and he´d say ´Bruce´, I´d say ´Oh damn´....(?) I´d sit down, at first he´d start talking about how things doing, how´s it going, you know, what you been doing, where were you tonight, you know, and we´d be talking about things and then....then he´d start talking about, like....what a bad world it was, how hard it was and how I´d better get out there and start (?) and stop messing around, you know, if I was about to start making some bucks, you know....and he´d start rapping....(?)....and I´d just sit there and I´d try not to say nothing to him that could get him uptight, I´d just wanna sneak up to my room and get in bed (?)....we´d sit there....and he´d start, he´d turn on the gas....the gas in the stove....and he´d shut all the doors and the room would get real hot.....(?) start yelling at me....then we´d start screaming at each other, you know....and I´d tell him how it´s my life..."
 
1988-03-23 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA
 
1978-10-01 Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
1978-09-20 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
1978-09-09 Athletic & Convocation Center, South Bend, IN
1978-09-05 Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, OH
1978-09-03 Saginaw Civic Center, Saginaw, MI
1978-08-30 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH
1978-08-29 Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
1977-03-22 Music Hall, Boston, MA
1977-03-20 Alumni Hall, Providence, RI
1977-03-19 Central Maine Youth Center, Lewiston, ME
1977-03-18 New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT
1977-03-15 Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, NY
1977-03-13 Towson Center, Towson, MD
1977-03-06 Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, FL
1977-03-05 Jai-Alai Fronton, Orlando, FL
1977-03-04 Civic Auditorium, Jacksonville, FL
1977-03-02 Civic Center Auditorium, Atlanta, GA
1977-02-28 Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO
1977-02-27 Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH
1977-02-26 Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN
1977-02-25 Edward C. Elliott Hall Of Music, West Lafayette, IN
1977-02-23 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
1977-02-22 Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, WI
1977-02-20 Dane County Memorial Coliseum, Madison, WI
1977-02-19 St. Paul Civic Center Theatre, Saint Paul, MN
1977-02-17 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH
1977-02-16 Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, OH
1977-02-15 Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, MI
1977-02-13 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON
1977-02-12 Ottawa Civic Centre, Ottawa, ON
1977-02-09 Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY
1977-02-08 Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, NY
1977-02-07 Palace Theatre, Albany, NY
1976-11-07 D'Errico Residence, New York City, NY
1976-11-04 Palladium, New York City, NY
1976-11-03 Palladium, New York City, NY
1976-11-02 Palladium, New York City, NY
1976-10-30 Palladium, New York City, NY
1976-10-29 Palladium, New York City, NY
1976-10-28 Palladium, New York City, NY
1976-10-25 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
1976-10-17 McDonough Arena, Washington, DC
1976-10-16 William & Mary Hall, Williamsburg, VA
1976-10-13 Wilkins Theatre, Union, NJ
1976-10-12 Rutgers Gym, New Brunswick, NJ
1976-10-10 Millett Hall, Oxford, OH
1976-10-09 Athletic & Convocation Center, South Bend, IN
1976-10-05 Santa Barbara County Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA
1976-10-02 Paramount Theatre, Oakland, CA
1976-09-30 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
1976-09-29 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
1976-09-26 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, AZ
1976-08-22 Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA
1976-08-21 Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT
1976-08-07 Monmouth Arts Center, Red Bank, NJ
1976-08-06 Monmouth Arts Center, Red Bank, NJ
1976-08-05 Monmouth Arts Center, Red Bank, NJ
1976-08-03 Monmouth Arts Center, Red Bank, NJ
1976-08-02 Monmouth Arts Center, Red Bank, NJ
1976-08-01 Monmouth Arts Center, Red Bank, NJ
1976-05-28 Halsey Field House, Annapolis, MD
1976-05-27 Eisenhower Hall Auditorium, West Point, NY
1976-05-13 Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, LA
1976-05-11 Memorial Coliseum, Auburn, AL
1976-05-04 Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, MS
1976-05-03 Joseph Taylor Robinson Municipal Auditorium, Little Rock, AR
1976-04-29 Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, TN
1976-04-28 Grand Ole Opry House At Opryland, Nashville, TN
1976-04-26 Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium, Chattanooga, TN
1976-04-24 Varsity Gymnasium, Boone, NC
1976-04-22 Burruss Auditorium, Blacksburg, VA
1976-04-17 Louis A. Alexander Palestra, Rochester, NY
1976-04-15 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA
1976-04-13 Rec Hall, University Park, PA
1976-04-10 Paul Mellon Arts Center, Wallingford, CT
1976-04-09 Reid Athletic Center, Hamilton, NY
1976-04-08 Allen Theatre, Cleveland, OH
1976-04-07 Allen Theatre, Cleveland, OH
1976-04-04 MSU Auditorium, East Lansing, MI
1976-04-02 Macauley's Theatre, Louisville, KY
1976-04-01 Memorial Auditorium, Athens, OH
1976-03-29 Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, NC
1976-03-28 Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC
1976-03-26 Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
1976-03-25 Township Auditorium, Columbia, SC
1975-12-31 Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, PA
1975-12-30 Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, PA
1975-12-28 Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, PA
1975-12-27 Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, PA
1975-12-12 Post Dome, Greenvale, NY
 

Songinfo

"It's My Life" is a song written by Brill Building songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico. The song was originally performed by English R&B band The Animals, who released it as a single in October 1965 (see 1965 in music). The song became a hit in several different countries and has since been recorded by multiple artists. 
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

2012 SXSW Keynote

"For some, the Animals were just another one the really good beat groups that came of the Sixties," Bruce Springsteen said at his 2012 keynote speech at South By Southwest. "But to me, the Animals were a revelation. The first records with full blown class consciousness that I had ever heard. " The passionate vocals and organ-heavy sound of the Animals was a huge influence on Springsteen as a young songwriter and he fully admits he stole the chords of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" for "Badlands."
 
Bruce performed 2 times live with Eric Burdon: 
 
2012-03-15 - MOODY THEATER, AUSTIN
Following the keynote speech, Bruce performs an intimate concert at Moody Theater, the theater and studio for Austin City Limits. The Animals' Eric Burdon performs with Springsteen for the first time in an appearance that was arranged following Bruce's passionate speech about The Animals' influence on his music. " ( We Gotta Get Out Of This Place )
 
Eric Burdon guests on a tour one-off cover of The Animals "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", played on tour for the first time since November 4, 1976.
 
 
 

Lyrics

It's a hard world to get a break in
All the good things have been taken
But girl there are ways to make certain things pay
Though I'm dressed in these rags, I'll wear sable someday

Hear what I say, I'm gonna ride the serpent
No more time spent sweating rent
Hear my command, I'm breaking loose, it ain't no use
Holding me down, stick around

But baby (baby), remember (remember)
It's my life and I'll do what I want
It's my mind and I'll think what I want
Show me I'm wrong, hurt me sometime
But someday I'll treat you real fine

There'll be women and their fortunes
Who just want to mother orphans
Are you gonna cry when I'm squeezing 'em dry
Taking all I can get, no regrets
When I openly lie, ha
And live on their money
Believe me honey, that money
Can you believe
I ain't no saint, no complaints
So girl throw out any doubt

And baby (baby), remember (remember)
It's my life and I'll do what I want
It's my mind and I'll think what I want
Show me I'm wrong, hurt me sometime
But someday I'll treat you real fine

(It's my life and I'll do what I want) Don't push me
(It's my mind and I'll think what I want) It's my life
(It's my life and I'll do what I want) I can do what I want
(It's my mind and I'll think what I want) You can't tell me
(It's my life and I'll do what I want) I'll do what I want
(It's my mind and I'll think...)