The singer, poet and writer answers your questions about playing music with her children, being at her friend Allen Ginsberg’s deathbed and maintaining hope in a troubled world
Which bits of Because the Night were written by you, and which were by Bruce Springsteen? palfrey-man
Jimmy Iovine was producing [1978 album] Easter and had given me this tape. Bruce had already put the song together and “Because the night belongs to lovers” was the chorus, but he had no verses. At the time, my boyfriend Fred “Sonic” Smith [of the MC5], who I later married, lived in Detroit and I lived in New York. Long distance calls were expensive and we weren’t rich, so we’d set a time and speak once a week. One night, Fred didn’t call. I was restlessly pacing about and I remembered this tape Jimmy wanted me to listen to. I thought: “Darn, this is a hit song.” But it was very relatable. Fred finally called at midnight, by which time I had finished all the verses and the reprise/coda. That’s why it says: “Have I doubt when I’m alone / love is a ring, the telephone.” It’s a love song to Fred. I couldn’t talk to him, so I talked to him through the song. Bruce later wrote his own lyrics but always praised my version and the last time we sang it together, he sang my words instead of his, which was very nice of him.
