Gary U.S. BondsĀ  - School is In

First performance: 22/10/1976


Coverinfo

Bruce played the song 1 time: 
 
 
1976-10-22 Hanger (The), Hazlet, NJ 
 
Together with Gary U.S.Bonds. He played that night other Bonds songs like :
 

Complete setlist details are not known. Brucebase has placed the venue as The Hanger in Hazlet on the basis of a newspaper advert from the Red Bank Register on the day of the concert. Previous information suggested the venue was Fat City in Seaside Heights. A discreet Springsteen turns up (apparently as just another paying customer) at a gig by one of his early '60s musical favourites, Gary U.S. Bonds. About half way through the show Bruce takes the stage, borrows a guitar and provides duet-background vocals for the rest of the show. According to Bonds, Bruce played for nearly an hour. This was the first time Springsteen and Bonds had ever met. Afterwards Springsteen invites Bonds to guest at his show on October 29. In an early 1980s interview Bonds commented: "I was playing down along the Jersey shore. One night the owner of the club came over to me during the show and mentioned that Bruce Springsteen was in the audience and wanted to come up and play. Bruce who? I didn’t recognize the name! But the guys in my band did, so I said OK. When I introduced him the place went crazy… and I’m saying to myself, "gee, what on earth is happening here" ? After the show Bruce gave me an invitation and about a week or so later I sang during one of his shows".
 
 

Songinfo

"School is in" is taken from the album ' Dance 'til Quarter to Three ' with U.S. Bonds (1961).
 
 
  

Other cover versions

Bruce on the artist

Bruce on Gary U.S. Bonds :
 

Gary U.S.Bonds was one of Bruce’s 25 all time hero’s : RollingStone
 
"No musician on earth was less cool in 1981 than Gary U.S. Bonds. It had been 20 years since the dance classic "Quarter to Three" fell off the charts and the singer had been largely forgotten. But Bruce Springsteen knew the guy had more life in him, and together with Steve Van Zandt he wrote and produced the LP Dedication for Bonds. It was an amazing labor of love that introduced Bonds to a whole new generation of rock fans. They remain close and in 2012 Bonds sat in with the E Street Band at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. "

Bruce helped Gary U.S.Bonds improving his carrier with producing the album "Dedication" and "On the line".
 
  • Dedication
An album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1981, the first of two on which he collaborated with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, the second being On the Line, released the following year, 1982. The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band and the Asbury Jukes.The album includes three songs written by Bruce Springsteen, one written by Steve Van Zandt, and several covers of songs from the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, and others. It also features a duet between Bonds and Springsteen on the track "Jole Blon". Bonds' early 1960s sound had been a major influence on both Springsteen and Van Zandt. The songs written by Springsteen, including the cover of "Jole Blon", were originally intended for his 1980 album, The River, but he felt they fitted better with Bonds and his versions of them have never been released although he has performed most of them live, often featuring Bonds as a special guest. The album produced several singles. The Springsteen-penned "This Little Girl" was a major success. The album was re-released in 1994 on the Razor Edge label of Razor & Tie music, and then again in 2009 on BGO Records, paired with On the Line.
In a 2016 career retrospective interview with Pods & Sods, Gary revealed that a few additional songs and outtakes recorded during this time may eventually be released.


  • On the line
On the Line is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1982, the second of two on which he collaborated with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, the first being Dedication, released the previous year, 1981. The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band. The album includes seven songs written by Springsteen, one written by Steven Van Zandt, and two written by Bonds himself . Three other songs were recorded for the album but not present on the final release including Springsteen's "Action In the Street", "Lion's Den", and "Savin' Up". Springsteen's version of "Lion's Den" was eventually released in 1998 on his boxset Tracks and "Savin' Up" appeared on Clarence Clemons' first solo album Rescue (1983); " Springsteen's version of "Rendezvous" was finally released in 1998 on the four-disc box set.
 
Interview with Gary U.S.Bonds about his autobiography : "That's My Story" by Gary U.S. Bonds and Stephen Cooper.
 

Lyrics

A-one, a-two
A-one, two, three, four
Now I'm so glad
That school is in
Now I can see my old
Classmates again
I worked and slaved
The summer through
Doing the things
My mother told me to do
I washed the dishes
And scrubbed the floor
And taught the baby
How to count to four
I made the beds
And cut the grass
I'm glad that school
Is in at last

(CHORUS)
(School is in)
Don't you know it
(School is in)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(School is in)
Don't forget it
I'm a witness
(School is in)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Now vacation time
Has come to an end
Now I got to get back
To my studies again
And make the grades
So I can pass
I'm glad that school
Is in at last

(CHORUS)
Blow, Daddy
Blow, Daddy
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, you sound
So good now, oh, yeah
Now you may think I'm nutty
And telling you lies
But I'm going out now
To buy my school supplies
This semester's gonna be a gas
Cause school is in at last