Incident on 57th Street

This song tells a romantic story set against a New York street fight (Springsteen would often visit New York City to get away from New Jersey). It's a lot like West Side Story in that sense, with Springsteen writing it from a third-person perspective based on observation. "I'd never get into that kind of situation but I know people who have lived that life," he said.

A track from his second album, "Incident On 57th Street" is one of the first Springsteen songs where he fully develops the characters and setting, a style he would often use in future compositions. Many of the songs on his first album have lots of lyrics, but are mostly a collection of images without a cohesive storyline.

A key player on this track is David Sancious, a short-time member of the E Street Band whose piano shows up a lot on The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle album. Sancious was good enough to get the attention of Springsteen's record company, Columbia, which offered him a deal with their subsidiary, Epic. Along with drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter, he played on the track "Born To Run," then formed the group Tone. Sancious ended playing with luminaries like Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Natalie Merchant. He joined Springsteen again to perform on his 1992 album Human Touch.