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#43 Born to be my Baby
| life lessons in Bon Jovi songs

Welcome back, Jovi friends!
Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs continues with Born to be my Baby

Born to be my Baby is the third song on Bon Jovi’s fourth album;
New Jersey (1988).
Which was the one released after their biggie, Slippery When Wet.
Bon Jovi were now the biggest rock stars on the planet, and the band had to deliver.
And they did.

Unfamiliar with the song?
🎶🎧listen Born to be my Baby here

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context: DOUBLE NEW JERSEY

New Jersey would (and definitely “should”!) have been a double album, if it had been up to the band.
The record company blocked it, on grounds that they didn’t think fans would be able to pay for the higher price.
You can listen to all unreleased Bon Jovi outtakes here:
Rolling List of Hidden Bon Jovi Gems 1985 – current day
The extra songs from New Jersey start at “Love is War” all the way to Bon Jovi’s secret gem “Let’s Make It Baby”.
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video recorded Wednesday 4 February 2026

In this video:

A Dutch sunset in 18 minutes flat! 😬
And yes, a new light is on the way, fingers crossed🤓

1. Welcome to another episode 00:00
Of Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs
We’re at the 4th album New Jersey, the successor of their biggie Slippery When Wet.
They were hellbent to prove themselves, also because the press never gave them the light of day.

Resulting in an album that was so good, a lot of fans consider it their best!

2. Recap of the first 2 songs of New Jersey 03:13
To understand Born To Be My Baby, we first need to revisit the first two songs of this album, Lay Your Hands On Me and Bad Medicine.
Both of those songs were engineered to serve a specific purpose.

Born To Be My Baby lacked the clear direction, the first two songs did have.
Resulting in many variations of this song.

3. Five versions of Born To Be My Baby 05:12
In chronological order.

The first “version” of the song was Judgement Day, a demo that contains the “Na-na, Na-na-na na na” that would become the hallmark Born To Be My Baby.

1st version:
Judgement Day – Bon Jovi

2. Demo:
The demo, pretty much the song as we know it, but with different lyrics:
Bon Jovi | Born To Be My Baby | Rare Demo Version | Vancouver 1988

3. Album
Then there is the album version:
Bon Jovi – Born To Be My Baby – HQ

4. Video version
Bon Jovi – Born To Be My Baby (official video)

5. Acoustic version
Born To Be My Baby (Acoustic Version)

The acoustic version was a fan favorite, and fitted perfectly in the era, where Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora invented the whole Unplugged genre, with an acoustic performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Bruce Fairbairn the producer also leaned towards preferring Born to be my Baby as a ballad or slower song, instead of the uptempo one it is now.

4. Born to be my Baby is at number 18 10:58
Of “All Bon Jovi Songs Ranked” my favorite Bon Jovi article and indispensable for this series: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bon-jovi-songs-ranked/
By Tony Kuzminski.

After the song briefly disappeared from the setlist, it returned in 2000 and became a staple on the setlist for the concerts.

5. Harmonica added in live performances 12:15
There was a sixth version of Born to be my Baby! Because the live performance contained a harmonica.

timestamped on the harmonica
Bon Jovi – Born To Be My Baby (Rotterdam 1989) The Best Performance

Jon Bon Jovi had wanted to include the harmonica on the record too, but it was vetoed by the other bandmembers.

6. Life lesson 13:31
Cherish your clear visions, no matter how intimidating they seem!
BTBMB was a great song, but it could not compete with the first two songs of the album, which were created with a clear vision.

Next stop:
Living in Sin!

~Suzanne Beenackers
🇳🇱 Tikkie
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THIS SERIES
All videos, of Life lessons in Bon Jovi songs (playlist):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiGoDE3C06SeCKg4jvR2EoVHBOfXzHm_R

SOURCES for this series:

1. OUTTAKES
Handmade list with rare Bon Jovi songs
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiGoDE3C06SfkAr0Ll4wz-GlGnZJNZDYh
Rolling List of Hidden Bon Jovi Gems 1985 – current day

2. RANKED
My favorite Bon Jovi article and indispensable for this series:
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bon-jovi-songs-ranked/
By Tony Kuzminski.
List also covers any outtakes from the 2004 box set.

3. QUOTES
https://twostorytown.com/new-jersey-quotes
full page of quotes EVERYTHING anybody ever said about the 4th Bon Jovi album

4. BJ TOURS
https://bjtours.jimdofree.com/the-albums/1988-new-jersey/

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