Watch Bruce Springsteen Offer A Passionate Tour Debut Of Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Trapped’ In Seattle

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band swung by Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Monday. The Boss and his band offered the tour debut of Jimmy Cliff’s “Trapped” in the Emerald City.

Bruce pretty much stuck to the same setlist he’s used for most of the 2023 World Tour, opening with “No Surrender” off his landmark 1984 album Born In The U.S.A. and continuing with a mix of classics and tunes off his latest album of original material, 2020’s Letter To You. The tour debut of Jimmy Cliff’s “Trapped” fell in the ninth song slot.

That spot has seen Springsteen including The Commodores’ “Nighshift,” which appears on his 2022 covers album, Only The Strong Survive. The past two shows in Seattle and Portland, however, Bruce has offered tour debuts in the ninth spot. Born In The U.S.A’s “I’m On Fire” saw action for the first time in Portland, and most recently the Jimmy Cliff number in Seattle.

Jimmy Cliff And Jamaica released “Trapped” in 1972 as a B-side to “Struggling Man.” SpringsteenLyrics.com described Bruce’s history with the tune:

According to Dave Marsh’s 1987 book Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen In The 1980s, while on the European leg of The River Tour, Springsteen purchased a cassette tape of Jimmy Cliff music in Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in late April 1981. He discovered TRAPPED on it and decided to incorporate it into his act, making an arrangement for the E Street Band that replaced the reggae rhythm with a straight rock one.

Springsteen’s take on the song was first performed on 29 May 1981 in London, UK. It would then be performed during most of the remaining dates of The River Tour, as well as much of the Born In The U.S.A. Tour and World Tour 1992-1993 dates. The song was also occasionally played on later tours with The E Street Band.

For the 2023 tour debut of “Trapped,” Bruce led the way before Jake Clemons delivered a smoking saxophone solo ahead of the song’s conclusion. Watch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform “Trapped” in Seattle below:

Seattle also saw the tour debut of “Land Of Hope And Dreams,” which includes a snippet of “People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield. Check out the setlist via BruceBase:

Set: No Surrender, Ghosts, Prove It All Night, Letter To You, The Promised Land, Out In The Street, Candy’s Room, Kitty’s Back, Trapped, Burnin’ Train, Johnny 99, The E Street Shuffle, Last Man Standing, Backstreets Because The Night, She’s The One, Wrecking Ball, The Rising, Badlands, Land Of Hope And Dreams – People Get Ready

Encore: Thunder Road, Born To Run, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Glory Days, Dancing In The Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, I’ll See You In My Dreams