New Bon Jovi album Burning Bridges coming out in August + new song Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning

At the time of writing this blog post, there has been no announcement about this on Bon Jovi's website, Facebook page or Twitter. However, several websites have reported that a new Bon Jovi album, Burning Bridges, will be released in a little over a month's time on August 21, 2015. And Jon's brother Matt did tweet this:

@eddie73rocks new album

— Matthew Bongiovi (@TheMattBongiovi) July 18, 2015

Here's what Billboard had to say:

Bon Jovi is releasing a special fan album leading up to its overseas fall tour, Billboard has learned.

The band is releasing two new tracks not even one month before the Aug. 21 release of their new album, Burning Bridges.

A spokesperson for Bon Jovi tells Billboard: “Burning Bridges, which will be released August 21st, is an album for fans and will accompany an upcoming international tour. The band is hard at work on their next album, which will see a full-scale release in 2016.”

The first track -- “We Don’t Run” -- is written by Jon Bon Jovi and Grammy-winning producer John Shanks. An anthem in the Bon Jovi tradition, the tune features meaty production and a shredding guitar solo by Shanks. Shanks has a long history with the band, having produced What About Now, The Circle, Lost Highway and Have a Nice Day.

The song leads off with a driving drum beat and a chain-gang chorus before Bon Jovi gets down to business with a gritty vocal throwing down the gauntlet as he sings, “Not afraid of burning bridges/ 'Cause I know they’re gonna light my way/ Like a phoenix from the ashes/ Welcome to the future, it’s a new day!”

The second -- "Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning" -- is a happier, more romantic, bright pop song with a hooky chorus featuring the lyrics “Saturday night gave me Sunday morning/ Opened my eyes and it’s a new day dawning/ Think I might have pushed my luck a time or two/ Everything about us is what gets me through.” It's classic Bon Jovi and sure to inspire a big sing-along on the road.

Credited to Jon Bon Jovi, John Shanks and former guitarist Richie Sambora, the song -- released internationally on July 16 -- was written previous to Sambora’s departure from the group.

While the band's live dates kick off overseas on Sept. 11, fans can catch keyboardist David Bryan in a solo headlining spot Aug. 29 at the Rock the Farm event at Regan's Hollow Farm in Farmingdale, New Jersey.

I'm not entirely sure what "a special fan album" means (Outtakes from previous albums?) or why we've heard about it from everyone but an official Bon Jovi channel. And if John Shanks is playing a "shredding guitar solo", then perhaps guitar duties on this album are being shared between JBJ, Shanks and Bobby Bandiera. That's only a guess obviously, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. And if they're including songs that Richie co-wrote, it's likely he also recorded them at the time, so have they re-recorded his guitar parts and backing vocals and/or removed him from the mix? So many questions, so few answers.

Phil X is apparently taking this Blackbird Pedalboard with him on the upcoming Bon Jovi Asian tour, though, so presumably he's still the go-to live guitarist for the foreseeable future.

Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning premiered on Austrian radio a day ago. Listen to it here. What do you think of the track?

This was my attempt at transcribing the lyrics. I'm pretty sure some of them are wrong so please feel free to correct me! :)

(EDIT: A lyric video for Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning has now been released, so I've edited the transcription according to the official lyrics.)

I was living my life like a long lost weekend
Never felt nothing, jumping right into the deep end
I wasn't missing nothing that was ever worth getting
Never hung around enough to regret it

You came walking in late but just in time
You ended my excuses with a ten cent rhyme
Your shoes and attitude were stacked way up high
I knew right then you were the story of my life

Oh, Saturday night gave me Sunday morning
Opened my eyes now it's a new day dawning
Think I might've pushed my luck a time or two
Everything about us is what gets me through
I never thought I'd hear the church bells ringing
I never learned the song this heart was singing
No regrets, I took that step and I'm still falling
Saturday nights gave me Sunday morning, yeah

When you're driving down a street that's only going one way
When every day starts feeling like a month of Mondays
You should know I still got something left to prove
Know what it takes to get back to you

Oh, Saturday night gave me Sunday morning
Opened my eyes now it's a new day dawning
Think I might've pushed my luck a time or two
Everything about us is what gets me through
I never thought I'd hear the church bells ringing
I never learned the song this heart was singing
No regrets, I took that step and I'm still falling
Saturday nights gave me Sunday morning, yeah

Remember those nights staring out at the lights
Making time with our feet in the sand
Making up words to our favourite songs
Laughing loud with those drinks in our hands
As that boy put his head on her shoulder
She pulled him tight to get a bit closer
And as the world just disappeared
You whispered in my ear

Oh, those Saturday nights gave me Sunday morning
Opened my eyes now it's a new day dawning
Think I might've pushed my luck a time or two
Everything about us is what gets me through
I never thought I'd hear the church bells ringing
I never learned the song this heart was singing
No regrets, I took the step and I'm still falling
Saturday nights gave me Sunday morning, yeah
Sunday morning