Thunder Road
The screen door slams Mary's dress sways Like a vision she dances across the porch As the radio plays Roy Orbison singing for the lonely Hey that's me and I want you only Don't turn me home again I just can't face myself alone again Don't run back inside Darling you know just what I'm here for So you're scared and you're thinking That maybe we ain't that young anymore Show a little faith, there's magic in the night You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright Oh and that's alright with me You can hide `neath your covers And study your pain Make crosses from your lovers Throw roses in the rain Waste your summer praying in vain For a saviour to rise from these streets Well now I'm no hero That's understood All the redemption I can offer, girl Is beneath this dirty hood With a chance to make it good somehow Hey what else can we do now? Except roll down the window And let the wind blow Back your hair Well the night's busting open These two lanes will take us anywhere We got one last chance to make it real To trade in these wings on some wheels Climb in back Heaven's waiting on down the tracks Oh-oh come take my hand Riding out tonight to case the promised land Oh-oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road Oh Thunder Road, Lying out there like a killer in the sun Hey I know it's late we can make it if we run Oh Thunder Road, sit tight take hold Thunder Road Well I got this guitar And I learned how to make it talk And my car's out back If you're ready to take that long walk From your front porch to my front seat The door's open but the ride it ain't free And I know you're lonely For words that I ain't spoken But tonight we'll be free All the promises'll be broken There were ghosts in the eyes Of all the boys you sent away They haunt this dusty beach road In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets They scream your name at night in the street Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet And in the lonely cool before dawn You hear their engines roaring on But when you get to the porch they're gone On the wind, so Mary climb in It's a town full of losers And I'm pulling out of here to winAdam Raised a Cain
In the summer that I was baptized, My father held me to his side, As they put me to the water, He said how on that day I cried. We were prisoners of love, a love in chains, He was standin' in the door, I was standin' in the rain, With the same hot blood burning in our veins, Adam raised a Cain. All of the old faces, Ask you why you're back, They fit you with position, And the keys to your daddy's Cadillac, In the darkness of your room, Your mother calls you by your true name, You remember the faces, the places, the names, You know it's never over, it's relentless as the rain, Adam raised a Cain. In the Bible Cain slew Abel And East of Eden he was cast You're born into this life paying, For the sins of somebody else's past, Daddy worked his whole life, for nothing but the pain, Now he walks these empty rooms, looking for something to blame, You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames, Adam raised a Cain. Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream, Adam raised a Cain.Spirit in the Night
Crazy Janey and her mission man were back in the alley tradin' hands `Long came Wild Billy with his friend G-man all duded up for Saturday night Billy slammed on his coaster brakes and said anybody wanna go on up to Greasy Lake It's about a mile down on the dark side of Route 88 I got a bottle of rose so let's try it We'll pick up Hazy Davy and Killer Joe and I'll take you all out to where the gypsy angels go They're built like light And they dance like spirits in the night (all night) in the night (all night) Oh you don't know what they can do to you Spirits in the night, in the night Stand up now and let it shoot through you Well now Wild Billy was a crazy cat and he shook some dust out of his coonskin cap He said "Trust some of this it'll show you where you're at or at least it'll help you really feel it" By the time we made it up to Greasy Lake I had my head out the window and Janey's fingers in the cake I think I really dug her `cause I was too loose to fake I said "I'm hurt" she said "Honey let me heal it" And we danced all night to a soul fairy band And she kissed me just right like only a lonely angel can She felt just right just like as sweet as a spirit in the night In the night baby don't know what she do to you Spirits in the night, in the night Stand up now and let her shoot right through you Now the night grew bright and the stars threw light in Billy and Davy Dancin' in the moonlight We were down near the water in a stone mud fight Killer Joe'd passed out on the lawn Well Hazy Davy got really hurt he crawled into the lake in just his socks and a shirt Me and Crazy Janey were makin' love in the dirt singin' our birthday songs Janey said "Hey little brother don't you think it's time now we go" So we closed our eyes and said goodbye to gypsy angel row felt just right Together we moved like spirits in the night, all night Baby don't know what it do to you Spirits in the night, all night Stand up now and let it shoot right through you4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight, Forcin' a light into all those stoney faces left stranded on this warm July, Down in town the circuit's full of switchblade lovers so fast, so shiney, so sharp, As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark, And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers on the shore, Chasin' all them silly New York virgins by the score. Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us, Those pier lights, our carnival life forever, Oh love me tonight for I may never see you again, Hey, Sandy girl, my baby. Now the greasers, they tramp the streets or get busted for sleepin' on the beach all night, Them boys in their high heels, ah Sandy, their skins are so white, And me, I just got tired of hangin' in them dusty arcades bangin' them pleasure machines, Chasin' the factory girls underneath the boardwalk where they all promised to unsnap their jeans, And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag, I got on it last night and my shirt got caught, And it kept me spinnin', they didn't think I'd ever get off. Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us, Those pier lights, our carnival life on the water, Runnin' laughin' underneath the boardwalk with the boss's daughter, I remember, Sandy girl, my baby. Sandy, the angels have lost their desire for us, I spoke to 'em just last night and they said they won't set themselves on fire for us anymore, Every summer when the weather gets hot they ride that road down from heaven on theyr Harleys they come and they go And you can see 'em dressed like a star in all the cheap little seashore bars parked making love with their babes out on the Kokomo, Well the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do, This boardwalk life for me is through, You know you ought to quit this scene too. Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us, The pier lights our carnival life forever, Oh love me tonight and I promise I'll love you forever,Paradise by the "C"
InstrumentalFire
I'm driving in my car I turn on the radio I'm pulling you close You just say no You say you don't like it But girl I know you're a liar 'Cause when we kiss Fire Late at night I'm takin' you home I say I wanna stay You say you wanna be alone You say you don't love me Girl you can't hide your desire 'Cause when we kiss Fire You had a hold on me Right from the start A grip so tight I couldn't tear it apart My nerves all jumpin' Actin' like a fool Well your kisses they burn But your heart stays cool Romeo and Juliet Samson and Delilah Baby you can bet Their love didn't deny Your words say split But your words they lie 'Cause when we kiss FireGrowin' Up
I stood stonelike at midnight suspended in my masquerade I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said`Sit down'I stood up Ooh-ooh growin' up The flag of piracy flew from my mast my sails were set wing to wing I had a jukebox graduate for first mate she couldn't sail but she sure could sing I pushed B-52 and bombed `em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing I broke all the rules strafed my old high school never once gave thought to landing I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said`Come down'I threw up Ooh-ooh growin' up I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere and you know it's really hard to hold your breath I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared I was the cosmic kid Well my feet they finally took root in the earth but I got me a nice little place in the stars I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said`Sit down'I stood up Ooh-ooh growin' up Ooh-ooh growin' upIt's Hard to be a Saint in the City
I had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova I could walk like Brando right into the sun Then dance just like a Casanova With my blackjack and jacket and hair slicked sweet Silver star studs on my duds like a Harley in heat When I strut down the street I could feel its heartbeat The sisters fell back and said "Don't that man look pretty" The cripple on the corner cried out "Nickels for your pity" Them downtown boys sure talk gritty It's so hard to be a saint in the city I was the king of the alley I could talk some trash I was the prince of the paupers crowned downtown at the beggar's bash I was the pimp's main prophet I kept everything cool A backstreet gambler with the luck to lose And when the heat came down it was left on the ground The devil appeared like Jesus through the steam in the street Showin' me a hand I knew even the cops couldn't beat I felt his hot breath on my neck as I dove into the heat It's so hard to be a saint when you're just a boy And the sages of the subway sit just like the living dead As the tracks clack out the rhythm their eyes fixed straight ahead They ride the line of balance and hold on by just a thread But it's too hot in these tunnels you can get hit up by the heat You get up to get out at your next stop but they push you back down in your seat Your heart starts beatin' faster as you struggle to your feet Then you're outa that hole and back up on the street And them South Side sisters sure look pretty The cripple on the corner cries out "Nickels for your pity" And them downtown boys sure talk gritty It's so hard to be a saint in the cityBackstreets
One soft infested summer Me and Terry became friends Trying in vain to breathe The fire we was born in Catching rides to the outskirts Tying faith between our teeth Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house Getting wasted in the heat And hiding on the backstreets Hiding on the backstreets With a love so hard and filled with defeat Running for our lives at night on them backstreets Slow dancing in the dark On the beach at Stockton's Wing Where desperate lovers park We sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings Huddled in our cars Waiting for the bells that ring In the deep heart of the night We let loose of everything To go running on the backstreets Running on the backstreets Terry you swore we'd live forever Taking it on them backstreets together Endless juke joints and Valentino drag Where famous dancers scraped the tears Up off the street dressed down in rags Running into the darkness Some hurt bad some really dying At night sometimes it seemed You could hear the whole damn city crying Blame it on the lies that killed us Blame it on the truth that ran us down You can blame it all on me Terry It don't matter to me now When the breakdown hit at midnight There was nothing left to say But I hated him And I hated you when you went away Laying here in the dark You're like an angel on my chest Just another tramp of hearts Crying tears of faithlessness Remember all the movies, Terry We'd go see Trying to learn how to walk like heroes We thought we had to be Well after all this time To find we're just like all the rest Stranded in the park And forced to confess To hiding on the backstreets Hiding on the backstreets Where we swore forever friends On the backstreets until the end Hiding on the backstreets Hiding on the backstreets...Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Spread out now Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mama's reins, You know playin' Blind Man's Bluff is a little baby's game, You pick up Little Dynamite, I'll pick up Little Gun And together we're gonna go out tonight and make that highway run You don't have to call me lieutenant, Rosie, and I don't want to be your son, The only lover I'm ever gonna need's your soft, sweet little girl's tongue, And Rosie, you're the one. Dynamite's in the belfry, baby, playin' with the bats, Little Gun's downtown in front of Woolworth's tryin' out his attitude on all the cats, Papa's on the corner waitin' for the bus, Mama, she's home in the window, waitin' up for us, She'll be there in that chair when they wrestle her upstairs cause you know we ain't gonna come, I ain't here on business, baby, I'm only here for fun And Rosie, you're the one. Rosalita, jump a little higher Senorita, come sit by my fire I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar Rosalita, you're my stone desire. Jack the Rabbit and Weak Knee Willie, don't you know they're gonna be there, Sloppy Sue and Big Bone Billy, they'll be coming up for air, We're gonna play some pool, skip some school, act real cool, stay out all night, it's gonna feel alright, So Rosie come out tonight, little baby come out tonight Windows are for cheaters, chim'neys for the poor, Closets are for hangers, winners use the door, So use it Rosie, that's what it's there for. (Repeat Chorus) Now I know your mama, she don't like me cause I play in a rock and roll band, And I know your daddy, he don't dig me but he never did understand, Your papa lowered the boom, he locked you in your room I'm comin' to lend a hand, I'm comin' to liberate you, confiscate you, I want to be your man Some day we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny But now you're sad, your momma's mad, and your papa says he knows that I don't have any money and your papa says he knows that I don't have any money and your papa says he knows that I don't have any money Well tell him this is his last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance, Cause Rosie the record company just gave me a big advance. And my tires were slashed and I almost crashed but the Lord had mercy, And my machine, she's a dud, out stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey Well hold on tight, stay up all night, cause Rosie I'm comin' on strong, By the time we meet the morning light I will hold you in my arms I know a pretty little place in Southern California, down San Diego way, There's a little cafe, where they play guitars all night and day You can hear them in the back room strummin', so hold tight baby cause don't you know daddy's comin' Everybody sing. (Repeat Chorus)Raise Your Hand
(S. Cropper, E. Floyd, A. Isbell) If there's something you need That you just don't have Well just don't sit there Feeling bad Come on now get up Try and understand Just raise your hand Baby here I am You know I'm standing in line I wanna give you my love Please let me try Come on now get up Try and understand Just raise your handHungry Heart
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore Jack I went out for a ride and I never went back Like a river that don't know where it's flowing I took a wrong turn and I just kept going (Chorus) Everybody's got a hungry heart Everybody's got a hungry heart Lay down your money and you play your part Everybody's got a hungry heart I met her in a Kingstown bar We fell in love I knew it had to end We took what we had and we ripped it apart Now here I am down in Kingstown again (Chorus) Everybody needs a place to rest Everybody wants to have a home Don't make no difference what nobody says Ain't nobody like to be alone (Chorus)Two Hearts
I went out walking the other day Seen a little girl crying along the way She'd been hurt so bad said she'd never love again Someday your crying girl will end And you'll find once again (Chorus) Two hearts are better than one Two hearts girl get the job done Two hearts are better than one Once I spent my time playing tough guy scenes But I was living in a world of childish dreams Someday these childish dreams must end To become a man and grow up to dream again Now I believe in the end (Chorus) Sometimes it might seem like it was planned For you to roam empty hearted through this land Though the world turns you hard and cold There's one thing mister, that I know That's if you think your heart is stone And that you're rough enough to whip this world alone Alone buddy there ain't no peace of mind That's way I'll keep searching till I find my special one (Chorus)
Disk 2
Cadillac Ranch
Well, there she sits buddy justa gleaming in the sun There to greet a working man when his day is done I'm gonna pack my pa and I'm gonna pack my aunt I'm gonna take them down to the Cadillac Ranch Elderado fins, whitewalls and skirts Rides just like a little bit of heaven here on earth Well buddy when I die throw my body in the back And drive me to the junkyard in my Cadillac Cadillac, Cadillac Long and dark, shiny and black Open up your engines let 'em roar Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur James Dean in that Mercury '49 Junior Johnson running through the woods of Caroline Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans- Am All gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch Cadillac, Cadillac Long and dark, shiny and black Open up your engines let 'em roar Tearing up the highway just a big old dinosaur Hey, little girlie in the blue jeans so tight Driving alone through the Wisconsin night You're my last love baby you're my last chance Don't let them take me to the Cadillac Ranch Cadillac, Cadillac Long and dark, shiny and black Pulled up to my house today Came and took my little girl awayYou Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
Yesterday I went shopping buddy down to the mall Looking for something pretty I could hang on my wall I knocked over a lamp before it hit the floor I caught it A salesman turned around said, "boy, you break that thing you bought it." (Chorus) You can look but you better not touch boy You can look but you better not touch boy Mess around and you'll end up in dutch boy You can look but you better not, no you better not, no you better not touch Well I came home from work and I switched on Channel 5 There was a pretty little girly lookin' straight into my eyes Well I watched as she wiggled back and forth across the screen She didn't get me excited she just made me feel mean (Chorus) Well I called up Dirty Annie on the telephone I took her out to the drive-in just to get her alone I found a lover's rendezvous, the music low, set to park I heard a tapping on the window and a voice in the dark (Chorus)Independence Day
Well papa go to bed now it's getting late Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now I'll be leaving in the morning from St. Mary's Gate We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us There's a darkness in this town that's got us too But they can't touch me now And you can't touch me now They ain't gonna do to me What I watched them do to you So say goodbye it's Independance Day It's Independance Day All down the line Just say goodbye it's Independance Day It's Independance Day this time Now I don't know what it always was with us We chose the words, and yeah, we drew the lines There was just no way this house could hold the two of us I guess that we were just too much of the same kind Well say goodbye it's Independance Day It's Independance Day all boys must run away So say goodbye it's Independance Day All men must make their way come Independance Day Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint And the highway she's deserted clear down to Breaker's Point There's a lot of people leaving town now leaving their friends, their homes At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone Well papa go to bed now, it's getting late Nothing we can say can change anything now Because there's just different people coming down here now and they see things in different ways And soon everything we've known will just be swept away So say goodbye it's Independance Day Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say But won't you just say goodbye it's Independance Day I swear I never meant to take those things awayBadlands
Lights out tonight, Trouble in the heartland, Got a head-on collision, Smashin' in my guts, man, I'm caught in a crossfire, That I don't understand, I don't give a damn, For the same old played out scenes, I don't give a damn, For just the in betweens, Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul I want control right now Talk about a dream, Try to make it real You wake up in the night With a fear so real, Spend your life waiting, For a moment that just don't come, Well, don't waste your time waiting, (Chorus) Badlands, you gotta live it every day, Let the broken hearts stand As the price you've gotta pay, We'll keep pushin' till it's understood, And these badlands start treating us good Workin' in the field Till you get your back burned, Workin' `neath the wheels Till you get your facts learned, Baby, I got my facts Learned real good right now, Poor man wanna be rich, Rich man wanna be king, And a king ain't satisfied, Till he rules everything, I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got I believe in the love that you gave me, I believe in the hope that can save me, I believe in the faith And I pray, that some day it may raise me, Above these badlands (Chorus) For the ones who had a notion, A notion deep inside, That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me I wanna find one place, I wanna spit in the face of these badlands (Chorus)Because the Night
(B. Springsteen and P. Smith) Take me now baby here as I am Pull me close try and understand I work all day out in the hot sun Stay with me now till the mornin' comes Come on now try and understand The way I feel when I'm in your hands Take me now as the sun descends They can't hurt you now They can't hurt you now They can't hurt you now CHORUS: Because the night belongs to lovers Because the night belongs to us Because the night belongs to lovers Because the night belongs to us What I got I have earned What I'm not I have learned Desire and hunger is the fire I breathe Just stay in my bed till the morning comes Come on now try and understand The way I feel when I'm in your hands Take me now as the sun descends They can't hurt you now They can't hurt you now They can't hurt you now (CHORUS) Your love is here and now The vicious circle turns and burns without Though I cannot live forgive me now The time has come to take this moment and They can't hurt us now (CHORUS)Candy's Room
In Candy's room there are pictures of her heroes on the wall, But to get to Candy's room, you gotta walk the darkness of Candy's hall, Strangers from the city, call my baby's number and they bring her toys, When I come knocking, she smiles pretty, she knows I wanna be Candy's boy There's a sadness hidden in that pretty face, a sadness all her own, from which no man can keep Candy safe. We kiss, my heart's pumpin' to my brain The blood rushes in my veins, when I touch Candy's lips, We go driving driving deep into the night, I go driving deep into the light, in Candy's eyes. She says, Baby if you wanna be wild, You got a lot to learn, close your eyes, Let them melt, let them fire, Let them burn Cause in the darkness, there'll be hidden worlds that shine, When I hold Candy close she makes these hidden worlds mine, She has fancy clothes and diamond rings She has men who give her anything she wants, but they don't see, That what she wants is me, Oh, and I want her so, I'll never let her go, no, no, no, She knows that I'd give All that I got to give, All that I want, all that I live, To make Candy mine TonightDarkness on the Edge of Town
They're still racing out at the Trestles, But that blood it never burned in her veins, Now I hear she's got a house up in Fairview, And a style she's trying to maintain. Well, if she wants to see me, You can tell her that I'm easily found, Tell her there's a spot out `neath Abram's Bridge, And tell her, there's a darkness on the edge of town. Everybody's got a secret, Sonny, Something that they just can't face, Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it, They carry it with them every step that they take. Till some day they just cut it loose Cut it loose or let it drag `em down, Where no one asks any questions, Or looks too long in your face, In the darkness on the edge of town. Some folks are born into a good life, Other folks get it anyway, anyhow, I lost my money and I lost my wife, Them things don't seem to matter much to me now. Tonight I'll be on that hill `cause I can't stop, I'll be on that hill with everything I got, Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost, I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost, For wanting things that can only be found In the darkness on the edge of town.Racing in the Street
I got a sixty-nine Chevy with a 396 Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor She's waiting tonight down in the parking lot Outside the Seven-Eleven store Me and my partner Sonny built her straight out of scratch And he rides with me from town to town We only run for the money, got no strings attached We shut `em up and then we shut `em down Tonight, tonight the strip's just right I wanna blow `em off in my first heat Summer's here and the time is right For racin' in the street We take all the action we can meet And we cover all the northeast state When the strip shuts down we run `em in the street From the fire roads to the interstate Some guys they just give up living And start dying little by little, piece by piece, Some guys come home from work and wash up, And go racin' in the street. Tonight, tonight the strip's just right I wanna blow `em all out of their seats Calling out around the world, we're going racin' in the street. I met her on the strip three years ago In a Camaro with this dude from L.A. I blew that Camaro off my back, And drove that little girl away, But now there's wrinkles around my baby's eyes And she cries herself to sleep at night When I come home the house is dark She sighs "Baby did you make it all right," She sits on the porch of her Daddy's house But all her pretty dreams are torn, She stares off alone into the night With the eyes of one who hates for just being born For all the shut down strangers and hot rod angels, Rumbling through this promised land Tonight my baby and me, we're gonna ride to the sea And wash these sins off our hands. Tonight, tonight the highway's bright Out of our way, mister you best keep `Cause summer's here and the time is right For racin' in the streetThis Land is Your Land
(W. Guthrie) Well I rode that ribbon highway I saw above me the endless sky I saw below me the golden valley This land was made for you and me I've roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps Through the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts And all around me a voice was calling This land was made for you and me CHORUS: This land is your land This land is my land From California To the New York island From the Redwood Forest To the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me Well the sun came shining and I was strolling Through wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling And a voice was sounding As the fog was lifting Saying this land was made for you and me (CHORUS)Nebraska
I saw her standin' on her front lawn just twirlin' her baton Me and her went for a ride sir and ten innocent people died From the town of Lincoln Nebraska with a sawed off .410 on my lap Through to the badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path I can't say that I'm sorry for the things that we done At least for a little while sir me and her we had us some fun The jury brought in a guilty verdict and the judge he sentenced me to death Midnight in a prison storeroom with leather straps across my chest Sheriff when the man pulls that switch sir and snaps my poor neck back You make sure my pretty baby is sittin' right there on my lap They declared me unfit to live said into that great void my soul'd be hurled They wanted to know why I did what I did Well sir I guess there's just a meanness in this worldJohnny 99
Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none He came home too drunk from mixin' Tanqueray and wine He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call'm Johnny 99 Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top When an off duty cop snuck up on him from behind Out in front of the Club Tip Top they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99 Well the city supplied a public defender but the judge was Mean John Brown He came into the courtroom and stared poor Johnny down Well the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crime Prison for 98 and a year and we'll call it even Johnny 99 A fistfight broke out in the courtroom they had to drag Johnny's girl away His mama stood up and shouted "judge don't take my boy this way" Well son you got a statement you'd like to make Before the bailiff comes to forever take you away Now judge I had debts no honest man could pay The bank was holdin' my mortgage and they was takin' my house away Now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man But it was more `n all this that put that gun in my hand Well your honor I do believe I'd be better off dead And if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head Then won't you sit back in that chair and think it over judge one more time And let `em shave off my hair and put me on that esecution lineReason to Believe
Seen a man standin' over a dead dog lyin' by the highway in a ditch He's lookin' down kinda puzzled pokin' that dog with a stick Got his car door flung open he's standin' out on Highway 31 Like if he stood there long enough that dog'd get up and run Struck me kinda funny seem kinda funny sir to me Still at the end of every hard day people find some reason to believe Now Mary Lou loved Johnny with a love mean and true She said baby I'll work for you every day and bring my money home to you One day he up and left her and ever since that She waits down at the end of that dirt road for young Johnny to come back Struck me kinda funny funny yea indeed how at the end of every hard earned day you can find some reason to believe Take a baby to the river Kyle William they called him Wash the baby in the water take away little Kyle's sin In a whitewash shotgun shack an old man passes away take his body to the graveyard and over him they pray Lord won't you tell us, Tell us what does it mean At the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe Congregation gathers down by the riverside Preacher stands with his bible, groom stands waitin' for his bride Congregation gone and the sun sets behind a weepin' willow tree Groom stands alone and watches the river rush on so effortlessly Wonderin' where can his baby be still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believeBorn in the U.S.A.
Born down in a dead man's town The first kick I took was when I hit the ground You end up like a dog that's been beat too much Till you spend half your life just covering up Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Got in a little hometown jam so they put a rifle in my hand Sent me off to a foreign land yo go and kill the yellow man Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Come back home to the refinery Hiring man said "son if it was up to me" Went down to see my V.A. man He said "son don't you understand now" Had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong They're still there he's all gone He had a woman he loved in Saigon I got a picture of him in her arms now Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I'm ten years burning down the road Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.Seeds
Well a great black river a man had found So he put all his money in a hole in the ground And he sent a big steel arm drivin' down down down Man now I live on the streets of Houston town Packed up my wife and kids when winter came along And we headed down south with just spit and a song But they said "Sorry son it's gone gone gone" Well there's men hunkered down by the railroad tracks The Elkhorn Special blowin' my hair back Tents pitched on the highway in the dirty moonlight And I don't know where I'm gonna sleep tonight Parked in the lumberyard freezin' our asses off My kids in the back seat got a graveyard cough Well I'm sleepin' up in front with my wife Billy club tappin' on the windshield in the middle of the night Says "Move along man move along" Well big limousine long shiny and black You don't look ahead you don't look back How many times can you get up after you've been hit? Well I swear if I could spare the spit I'd lay one on your shiny chrome And send you on your way back home So if you're gonna leave your town where the north wind blow To go on down where that sweet soda river flow Well you better think twice on it Jack You're better off buyin' a shotgun dead off the rack You ain't gonna find nothin' down here friend Exept seeds blowin' up the highway in the south wind Movin' on movin' on it's gone gone it's all gone
Disk 3
The River
I come from down in the valley Where mister, when you're young They bring you up to do like your daddy done Me and Mary we met in high school When she was just seventeen We'd drive out of this valley down to where the fields were green We'd go down to the river And into the river we'd dive Oh down to the river we'd ride Then I got Mary pregnant And, man, that was all she wrote And for my 19th birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat We went down to the courthouse And the judge put it all to rest No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle No flowers, no wedding dress That night we went down to the river And into the river we'd dive Oh down to the river we did ride I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy Now all them things that seemed so important Well, mister they vanished right into the air Now I just act like I don't remember Mary acts like she don't care But I remember us riding in my brother's car Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir At night on them banks I'd lie awake And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take Now those memories come back to haunt me They haunt me like a curse Is a dream a lie if it don't come true Or is it something worse, That sends me Down to the river Though I know the river is dry That sends me down to the river tonight Down to the river My baby and I Oh down to the river we rideWar
(B. Strong and N. Whitfield) War What is it good for Absolutely nothing War What is it good for Absolutely nothing War is something that I despise For it means destruction of innocent lives War means tears in thousands of mothers' eyes When their sons go out to fight to give their lives CHORUS: War What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again War What is it good for Absolutely nothing War It's nothing but a heartbreaker War Friend only to the undertaker War is the enemy of all mankind The thought of war blows my mind Handed down from generation to generation Induction destruction Who wants to die (CHORUS) War has shattered many young men's dreams Made them disabled bitter and mean Life is too precious to be fighting wars each day War can't give life it can only take it away War It's nothing but a heartbreaker War Friend only to the undertaker Peace love and understanding There must be some place for these things today They say we must fight to keep our freedom But Lord there's gotta be a better way That's better than War (CHORUS)Darlington County
Driving in to Darlington County Me and Wayne on the Fourth of July Driving in to Darlington County Lookin' for some work on the county line We drove down from New York City where the girls are pretty but they just want to know your name Driving into Darlington City Got a union connection with an uncle of Wayne's We drove eight-hundred miles without seeing a cop We got rock'n'roll music blasting off the t-top singing CHORUS Sha-la la Sha la la la Sha-la la la la la la REPEAT CHORUS Hey little girl standing on the corner Today's your lucky day for shure all right Me and my buddy we're from New York City We got $200, we want to rock all night Girl, you're looking at two big spenders Why the world don't know what me and Wayne might do Our pa's each own one of the World Trade Centers For a kiss and a smile I'll give mine all to you Come on baby take a seat on my fender It's a long night tell me what else were you gonna do Just me and you, we could sha la la Little girl sitting in the window Ain't seen my buddy in seven days County man tells me the same thing He don't work and he don't get paid Little girl you're so young and pretty Walk with me and you can have your way And we'll leave this Darlington City for a ride down that Dixie Highway Driving out of Darlington County My eyes seen the glory of the coming of the Lord Driving out of Darlington County seen Wayne handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper's Ford REPEAT CHORUS 3 TIMESWorking on the Highway
Friday night's pay night guys fresh out of work Talking about the weekend, scrubbing off the dirt Some heading home to their families, some looking to get hurt Some going down to Stovell wearing trouble on their shirts I work for the county out on 95 All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss Someday mister I'm gonna lead a better life than this Working on the highway laying down the blacktop Working on the highway all day long I don't stop Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock Working on the highway Working on the highway I met her at a dance down at the union hall She was standing with her brothers, back up against the wall Sometimes we'd go walking down the union tracks One day I looked straight at her and she looked straight back So I'm working on the highway laying down the blacktop Working on the highway all day long I don't stop Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock Working on the highway Working on the highway I saved up my money and I put it all away I went to see her daddy but we didn't have much to say "Son, can't you see that she's just a little girl she don't know nothing about this cruel, cruel world" We lit out down to Florida we got along all right One day her brother came and got her and they took me in a black and white The prosecutor kept the promise that he made on that day And the judge got mad and he put me straight away I wake up every morning to the work bell clang Me and the warden go swinging on the Charlotte County road gang I'm working on the highway laying down the blacktop Working on the highway all day long I don't stop Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock Working on the highway Working on the highway Working on the highway laying down the blacktop Working on the highway all day long I don't stop Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock Working on the highway Working on the highwayThe Promised Land
On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert I pick up my money and head back into town Driving cross the Waynesboro county line I got the radio on and I'm just killing time Working all day in my daddy's garage Driving all night chasing some mirage Pretty soon little girl I'm gonna take charge. (Chorus) The dogs on Main Street howl, `Cause they understand, If I could take one moment into my hands Mister, I ain't a boy, no, I'm a man, And I believe in a promised land. I've done my best to live the right way I get up every morning and go to work each day But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode Explode and tear this town apart Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart Find somebody itching for something to start (Chorus) There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm Gonna be a twister to blow everything down That ain't got the faith to stand its ground Blow away the dreams that tear you apart Blow away the dreams that break your heart Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted (Chorus) I believe in a promised land...Cover Me
The times are tough now Just getting tougher This old world is rough It's just getting rougher Cover me Come on baby cover me Well I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Promise me baby you won't let them find us Hold me in your arms Let's let our love blind us Cover me Shut the door and cover me Well I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Outside's the rain, the driving snow I can hear the wild wind blowing Turn out the light Bolt the door I ain't going out there no more This whole world is out there just trying to score I've seen enough I don't want to see any more Cover me Come on and cover me I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Looking for a lover who will come on in and cover meI'm on Fire
Hey little girl is your daddy home Did he go away and leave you all alone I got a bad desire I'm on fire Tell me now baby is he good to you Can he do to you the things that I do I can take you higher I'm on fire Sometimes it's like someone tooh a knife baby edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley through the middle of my soul At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet and a freight train running through the middle of my head Only you can cool my desire I'm on fireBobby Jean
Well I came by your house the other day Your mother said you went away She said there was nothing that I could have done There was nothing nobody could say Me and you we've known each other ever since we were sixsteen I wished I would have known I wished I could have called you Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean Now you hung with me when all the others turned away, turned up their noise We liked the same music, we liked the same bands, we liked the same clothes We told each other that we were the wildest The wildest things we'd ever seen Now I wished you would have told me I wished I could have talked to you Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean Now we went walking in the rain talking about the pain from the world we hid Now there ain't nobody, nowherer nohow gonna ever understand me the way you did Maybe you'll be out there on that road somewhere, in some bus or train traveling along, in some motel room there'll be a radio playing and you'll hear me sing this song Well, if you do, you'll know I'm thinking of you and all the miles in between and I'm just calling one last time Not to change your mind, but just to say I miss you baby, good luck, goodbye Bobby JeanMy Hometown
I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand Into the busstop To pick up a paper for my old man I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown This is your hometown This is your hometown This is your hometown In `65 tension was running high, at my high-school There was a lot of fights between the black and white There was nothing you could do Two cars at a light on a Saturday night, in the back seat there was a gun Words were passed, in a shotgun blast Troubled times had come, to my hometown My hometown My hometown My hometown Now Main Street's whitewashed windows And vacant stores Seems like there ain't nobody Wants to come down here no more They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown Your hometown Your hometown Your hometown Last night me and Kate we laid in bed talking about getting out Packing up our bags maybe heading south I'm 35, we got a boy of our own now Last night I sat him up, behind the wheel and said son take a good look around, this is your hometownBorn to Run
In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines Sprung from cages out on highway 9, Chrome wheeled, fuel injected And steppin' out over the line Baby this town rips the bones from your back It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap We gotta get out while we're young `Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend I want to guard your dreams and visions Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims And strap your hands across my engines Together we could break this trap We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back Will you walk with me out on the wire `Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider But I gotta find out how it feels I want to know if love is wild Girl I want to know if love is real Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors And the boys try to look so hard The amusement park rises bold and stark Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight In an everlasting kiss The highway's jammed with broken heroes On a last chance power drive Everybody's out on the run tonight But there's no place left to hide Together, Wendy, we can live with the sadness I'll love you with all the madness in my soul Someday girl, I don't know when, we're gonna get to that place Where we really want to go And we'll walk in the sun But till then tramps like us Baby we were born to runNo Surrender
We busted out of class had to get away from those fools We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school Tonight I heart the neighborhood drummer sound I can feel my heart begin to pound you say you're tired and you just want to close your eyes and follow your dreams down CHORUS We made a promise we swore we'd always remember No retreat no surrender Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend, no retreat no surrender Now young faces grow sad and old and hearts of fire grow cold, we swore blood brothers against the wind. I'm ready to grow young again and hear your sister's voice calling us home across the open yards well maybe we could cut someplace of our own with these drums and these guitars CHORUS Blood brothers in the stormy night with a vow to defend no retreat no surrender Now on the street tonight the lights grow dim the walls of my room are closing in There's a war outside still raging You say it ain't ours anymore to win I want to sleep beneath paecaful skies in my lover's bed with a wide open country in my eyes an these romantic dreams in my headTenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Tear drops on the city Bad Scooter searching for his groove Seem like the whole world walking pretty And you can't find the room to move Well everybody better move over, that's all 'Cause I'm running on the bad side And I got my back to the wall Tenth Avenue freeze-out, Tenth Avenue freeze-out Well I was stranded in the jungle Trying to take in all the heat they was giving The night is dark but the sidewalk's bright And lined with the light of the living From a tenement window a transistor blasts Turn around the corner things got real quiet real fast She hit me with a Tenth Avenue freeze-out Tenth Avenue freeze-out And I'm all alone, I'm all alone And kid you better get the picture And I'm on my own, I'm on my own And I can't go home When the change was made uptown And the Big Man joined the band From the coastline to the city All the little pretties raise their hands I'm gonna sit back right easy and laugh When Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half With a Tenth Avenue freeze-out, Tenth Avenue freeze-out Tenth Avenue freeze-out...Jersey Girl
(T. Waits) I got no time for the corner boys Down in the street making all that noise Or the girls out on the avenue 'Cause tonight I wanna be with you Tongight I'm gonna take that ride Across the river to the Jersey side Take my baby to the carnival And I'll take her aon all the rides 'Cause down the shore everything's all right You and your baby on a Saturday night You know all my dreams come true When I'm walking down the street with you CHORUS: Sha la la la la la la Sha la la la la la la la la Sha la la la la la la la Sha la la la I'm in love with a Jersey girl You know she thrills me with all her charms When I'm wrapped up in my baby's arms My little girl gives me everything I know that some day she'll wear my ring So don't bother me man I ain't got no time I'm on my way to see that girl of mine 'Cause nothing matters in this whole wide world When you're in love with a Jersey girl (CHORUS) I see you on the street and you look so tired I know that job you got leaves you so uninspired When I come by to take you out to eat You're lyin' all dressed up on the bed baby fast alseep Go in the bathroom and put your makeup on We're gonna take that little brat of yours and drop her off at your mom's I know a place where the dancing's free Now baby won't you come with me 'Cause down the shore everythings all right You and your baby on a Saturday night Nothing matters in this whole wide world When you're in love with a Jersey girlNOTES
Place, date: Track Number Roxy, 10/18/75: Track 1 Roxy, 7/7/78: Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Winterland, 12/16/78 Tracks 6 Arizona State University, 11/5/80: Track 17 Nassau Coliseum, 12/28/80: Tracks 12, 18, 22, Nassau Coliseum, 12/29/80: Tracks 15, 20 Nassau Coliseum, 12/31/80: Track 4 Meadowlands Arena, 7/6/81: Tracks 14, 16, 21 Meadowlands Arena, 7/8/81: Tracks 13, 19 Meadowlands Arena, 7/9/81: Track 40 Meadowlands Arena, 8/6/84: Tracks 23, 38 Meadowlands Arena, 8/19/84: Track 25 Meadowlands Arena, 8/20/84: Track 39 Giants Stadium, 8/19/85: Tracks 24, 31, 34, 37 Giants Stadium, 8/21/85: Track 35 Los Angeles Coliseum, 9/30/85: Tracks 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36, PRODUCED BY Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuch Plotkin PERFORMED BY Roy Bittan, piano / synthesizer / background vocals Clarence Clemons, saxophone / percussions / background vocals Danny Federici, organ / accordion / glockenspiel / piano / second synthesizer on "My Hometown" / background vocals Nils Lofgren, 1984-, electric guitar / acoustic guitar / background vocals Patti Scialfa, 1984-, background vocals, second synthesizer on "Born in the U.S.A." Bruce Springsteen, vocals / electric guitar / harmonica / acoustic guitar on "No Surrender" Garry Tallent, bass / background vocals Steve Van Zandt, through 1981, electric guitar / acoustic guitar / background vocals Max Weinberg, drums Miami Horns on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out": Richie La Bamba (trombone), Mark Pender (trumpet), Stan Harrison (tenor saxophone), Eddie Manion (baritone saxophone) ENGINEED BY Toby Scott MIXED BY Bob Clearmountain MIXING ASSISTANT Paul Hamingson MASTERED BY Bob Ludwig ART DIRECTION Sandra Choron COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Neal Preston