Coverinfo
Bruce used a snippet of the song only once:
1976-11-03 Palladium, New York City, NY
The song was never performed in full, Bruce used a snippet of Be true to your school, re-written as "Be True To Your Band", as an introduction to Rosalita.
"When some loud bragger tries to put me down
He says we ain't so great, I tell him right away
"Now what's the matter, buddy, ain't you heard of my band?
We're number one in the state"
So be true to your band, now
Just like you would to your girl or guy
Be true to your boys, now
And let the colors fly
You gotta be true to your band!"
Songinfo
"
Be True to Your School" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for American rock band the Beach Boys, released as the third track of their album Little Deuce Coupe on October 2, 1963, and later as a single on October 28.
Bruce on the artist
The 2019 studio album "Western Stars", released on June 14, 2019 is stated by Bruce as heavily influenced by "Southern California pop music" of the 1970s, including artists such as Glen Campbell and Burt Bacharach.
1973-04-07 Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, VA
Bruce and band are opening for headliner The Beach Boys (minus Brian Wilson, who wasn’t touring with the group at the time).
1963-07-00 Springsteen Residence, Freehold, NJ
The surf music craze, which had been largely confined to California during the previous year, finally explodes nationally in the U.S.A. during the summer of 1963, with four huge-selling singles released (and all charting top five or better) in rapid succession: "
Pipeline" (May 1963 - The Chantays), "
Surfin' U.S.A." (June 1963 - The Beach Boys), "Surf City" (July 1963 - Jan and Dean) and "
Wipe Out" (August 1963 - The Surfaris). Springsteen is heavily influenced by these four singles, particularly over the course of the next twelve months.
Lyrics
When some loud bragger tries to put me down
And says his school is great
I tell him right away
"Now, what's the matter, buddy
Ain't you heard of my school?
It's number one in the state"
(Hey, hey, take it away, get that ball and fight!)
So be true to your school (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Just like you would to your girl or guy (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Be true to your school, now (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Let your colours fly (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Be true to your school (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
I got a letterman sweater (ah)
With a letter in front
I got for football and track (ah)
I'm proud to where it now
When I cruise around (ah)
The other parts of the town
I got a decal in back (ah)
So be true to your school (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Just like you would to your girl or guy (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Be true to your school, now (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Let your colours fly (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Be true to your school (do it again, do it again, we like it, we like it)
(Wah, wah, wah, wah, rah)
Come Friday we'll be jacked up on the football game (ah)
And I'll be ready to fight
We're gonna smash 'em, now (ah)
My girl will be working on her pom-poms, now
And she'll be yelling tonight (ah)
So be true to your school, now (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Just like you would to your girl or guy (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Be true to your school, now (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Let your colours fly (rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah)
Be true to your school (rah – push 'em back, push 'em back, way back!)
Rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah
Rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah
Rah, rah, rah, rah, sis, boom, bah
Rah, rah, rah, rah...