The title of the song refers to the explosion of cable television in the early 1990s, when having “57 channels” was considered a lot – yet still, “nothing on” seemed worth watching.
Theme: A satirical take on media overload and cultural emptiness, reflecting on the paradox of having endless entertainment options but still feeling disconnected or uninspired.
Genre: Rockabilly / Rock.
Length: 2 minutes, 28 seconds.
Recorded at Signet Sound Studios in Los Angeles.
Key personnel: Bruce Springsteen (vocals, bass), Jeff Porcaro (drums, percussion), and Roy Bittan (keyboards).
Production Team: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, and Roy Bittan.
Springsteen played the bass himself on this track, which was a bit of a departure from his usual guitar-centered performances. The minimalist arrangement matches the song’s ironic tone.
Album: Human Touch
Album release date: March 31, 1992.
Single release date: June 1992.
Label: Columbia Records.
Formats: 7-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl, CD, cassette (also released in Japan and the UK)
Chart performance in The Netherlands (Dutch Top 40): #29.
The song was accompanied by a quirky music video that featured a car crashing through a pyramid of TV sets – a nod to the 1975 “Media Burn” performance art piece by Ant Farm.
With a few chords and a deadpan delivery, Springsteen captured the irony of modern life – surrounded by noise, yet starved for meaning.
57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)
I bought a bourgeois house in the Hollywood hills
With a truckload of hundred thousand dollar bills
Man came by to hook up my cable TV
We settled in for the night my baby and me
We switched ’round and ’round ’til half-past dawn
There was fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on
Well now home entertainment was my baby’s wish
So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
I tied it to the top of my Japanese car
I came home and I pointed it out into the stars
A message came back from the great beyond
There’s fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on
Well we might’a made some friends with some billionaires
We might’a got all nice and friendly
If we’d made it upstairs
All I got was a note that said “Bye-bye John
Our love is fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on”
So I bought a .44 magnum it was solid steel cast
And in the blessed name of Elvis well I just let it blast
‘Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet
And they busted me for disturbin’ the almighty peace
Judge said “What you got in your defense son?”
“Fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on”
I can see by your eyes friend you’re just about gone
Fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on…
Fifty-seven channels and nothin’