Patti Smith Group : Privilege ( Set Me Free)
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Bruce Springsteen's "Because the Night" wasn't the only cover version on Patti Smith's album, Easter. "Privilege ( Set Me Free)", released as the lead off track on her Set Free EP on August 4, 1978, was written for a 1967 British movie called Privilege. In it, a young pop idol is tricked by religious and state officials into become a savior of the people. Watching the trailer below, you can imagine how it might have impacted Smith's feelings about her own growing popularity. Worried she might be be on the wrong track, she even adds Psalm 23 from the bible :
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me through the path of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.
The other songs on the EP include "Ask The Angels" ( from Radio Ethiopia) , and live versions of "25th Floor" and a reading of "Babel Field" from her book of poetry.
love Patti, but she co-wrote 'Because the Night', so it really isn't a cover. Also she released it prior to Bruce ever releasing it. I think of it as her song, not his.
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