About The Song
“No Surrender” is a song from Bruce Springsteen’s album Born in the U.S.A.. It was only included on the album at the insistence of Steven Van Zandt, but has since become a concert staple for Springsteen. Though it was not one of the seven top ten hits of the album, “No Surrender” nevertheless charted on the Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at No. 29. It returned to prominence during the 2004 United States presidential election when John Kerry, the Democratic candidate and a fan of Springsteen, used the song as the main theme song for his campaign.
During the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, Springsteen played a slower version of the song on acoustic guitar and harmonica. The song was played less and less towards the end of the tour. Springsteen wrote years later: “It was a song I was uncomfortable with. You don’t hold out and triumph all the time in life. You compromise, you suffer defeat; you slip into life’s gray areas.” An August 6, 1984 recording at the Meadowlands Arena is included on the box set Live 1975–85.
The song was performed at 41% of shows on The River tour; 44% of shows on the High Hopes tour; 29% of the shows on the Wrecking Ball tour; 48% of shows on the Working On A Dream tour; 47% of shows on the Magic tour; 58% of shows on The Rising tour; 7% of shows on the Reunion Tour; 47% of shows on the solo acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad tour; and 33% of shows on the Born In The U.S.A. tour. It did not feature at any shows on the Devils & Dust tour; the 1992-93 World Tour, the Human Rights Now! tour, or the Tunnel of Love Express tour.
As of 14 April 2024, the song has been performed at 71 of 74 shows (96%) on the 2023-2024 International Tour. It was played at each of the tour’s initial 70 shows, being omitted for the first time at the 31 March 2024 show at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Video
Lyrics
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Well, we busted out of class
Had to get away from those fools
We learned more from a three-minute record, baby
Than we ever learned in school
Tonight I hear the neighborhood drummer sound
I can feel my heart begin to pound
You say you’re tired and you just want to close your eyes
And follow your dreams down
Well, we made a promise we swore we’d always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter’s night
With a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Well, now young faces grow sad and old
And hearts of fire grow cold
We swore blood brothers against the wind
Now I’m ready to grow young again
And hear your sister’s voice calling us home
Across the open yards
Well maybe we could cut some place of our own
With these drums and these guitars
‘Cause we made a promise we swore we’d always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Blood brothers in the stormy night
With a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Hey
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Now on the street tonight the lights grow dim
The walls of my room are closing in
There’s a war outside still raging
You say it ain’t ours anymore to win
I want to sleep beneath
Peaceful skies in my lover’s bed
With a wide open country in my eyes
And these romantic dreams in my head
‘Cause once we made a promise we swore we’d always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Blood brothers in the stormy night
With a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh