"Darkness on the Edge of Town" was conceived in early 1976, shortly after the Born to Run tour ended.
Indeed, the title can be found in two lists of songs that were penned sometime in 1976, with rumors that band rehearsals during 1976 at Bruce's home at Holmdel, NJ included versions of "Darkness On The Edge Of Town".
Bruce and the E Street Band worked on the song for five days in June 1977, then set it aside, incomplete, for the rest of the year.
It is thought possible that Springsteen was working on "Darkness" all along, during the nine months that passed, and came up with the words at the last moment, which he did twice on Born to Run, with "Backstreets" and "She's the One".
[4] Though not released as a single, it was included on many live albums[5] and on the compilations The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003) and Greatest Hits (2009).