Mary Queen Of Arkansas
Mary queen of Arkansas, it's not too early for dreamin' The sky is grown with cloud seed sown and this bastard's love is redeeming Mary, my queen, your soft hulk is reviving Oh and you're not too late to desecrate, the servants are just rising Well I'm just a lonely acrobat, the livewire is my trade I've been a change man at your laundromat and a wharf rat of your state Mary, my queen, your blows for freedom are missing You're not man enough for me to hate or woman enough for kissing The big top is for dreamers, we can take the circus all the way to the border And the gallows wait for martyrs whose papers are in order But I wasn't born to live to die and you were not born for queenin' It's not too late, we can still infiltrate, the servants are just leavin' Mary queen of Arkansas, your white skin is deceivin' You wake and wait to lie in bait but you know you can't keep me from leavin' Because on your bed, Mary, I see the shadow of a noose I don't understand how you can hold me so tight and love me so loose And I know a place where we can go, Mary Where I can get a good job and start out all over again clean I got contacts deep in Mexico where the servants have been seenIt's Hard To Be A Saint In The City
Well 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 Well I walked like Brando right into the sun And danced just like a Casanova Well with my blackjack and jacket and hair slicked sweet Silver star studs on my duds like a Harley in heat When I bop down the street I can hear its heartbeat And all the women fell back and said "Don't that man look pretty?" The cripple on the corner cries out "Nickels for your pity" And the gasoline boys downtown they sure talk gritty It's so hard to be a saint in the city Well I was the king of the alley, I could talk trash I was the prince of the paupers, crowned downtown at the beggar's bash I was the pimp's main prophet but I kept everything cool Just 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 Showing 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 out on the street And the sages of the subway sit just like the living dead The tracks clack out the rhythm, their eyes fixed straight ahead They ride the line of balance and hold on by just a thread It's too hot in these tunnels, you can get hit up by the heat I get up to get out at the next stop but they push me down in the seat My heart starts beating faster as I struggle to my feet And I get out of that hole and I'm back up on the street Now the southside sisters sure look pretty And the cripple on the corner knows I don't pay for no pity And them gasoline boys, yeah, they sure talk gritty It's so hard to be a saint in the cityGrowin' 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 strode 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... 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 gears set stubborn on standing We broke all the rules, I strafed my old high school and never once gave thought to landing I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd but when they said "come down" I threw up Ooh... growin' up I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere and you know it's really hard to hold your breath I lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress 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 mother breast of the crowd but when they said "pull down" I pulled up Ooh... growin' up Ooh... growin' upDoes This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
Hey bus driver, keep the change, bless your children, give them names Don't trust men who walk with canes Drink this and in a week you'll have wings on your feet Broadway Mary, Joan Fontaine, advertiser on the downtown train Christmas crier bustin' cane He's in love again Where dock workers' dreams mix with panthers' schemes to someday own the rodeo Tainted women in Vistavision perform for out-of-state kids at the late show Wizard imps and sweat-sock pimps Mixed with interstellar mongrel nymphs Rex said his lady left him limp Well you know love's like that Well Mary Lou found out how to cope She rides to heaven on a gyroscope The Daily News asks her for the dope And she says "Man, the dope's that there's still hope" Well now queen of diamonds, ace of spades Newly discovered lovers of the everglades They take out a full-page ad in the trades to announce their arrival Senorita, Spanish rose, wipes her eyes and blows her nose Uptown in Harlem she throws a rose to some lucky young matadorBishop Danced
Bishop danced with a thumbscrew woman Did a double-quick back flip and slid across the floor The Catholic traffic flowed freely 'cross the river And fiddlestick fiddled quick out the front door Oh baby dumpling, mama's in the back tree If the bow breaks, mama might fall Little sad and only baby don't be lonely Mama knows 'rithmatic, knows how to take a fall Mama knows 'rithmatic, knows how to take a fall CHORUS: And the kids are crying "Flapjacks, make 'em fat, early in the morning" Little Jack, grab your hat, hear the breakfast call Muskrat, bat a cat, kick him in the fireplace There's someone in the kitchen blowing "Dinah" on their horn There's someone in the kitchen blowing "Dinah" like they're born Well maverick daddy got a one-eyed bride She glides like a monkey-mule kicking on the back slide Over hill, over hill, daddy don't you spill now Papa got a switch stick, he's pumping little Bill Papa got a switch stick, he's pumping little Bill And Billy he's crying "Tomahawk, tomahawk, daddy better duck now" The Mohawks, the Mohawks, they're still out there in the woods Monatuk, Ocanuk, runnin' through my dreams now With fire on their fingertips and indian screams With fire on their fingertips and feathers made of moonbeams Well early in the morning the cannoneer cried "I seen the sailor's warning in the western sky" Well mountain man, if you can, cut me down a fir tree Branches full of candlesticks for baby and me And my darling cried, she said "Honey the weathervane lately it's been pointing the way to heaven" Scatterbrains, scatterbrains, watch out where you fall Champagne, champagne, a round for all the old choir boys They're busting off the altar chasing Dinah through the hall They're busting off the altar chasing Dinah through the hall (CHORUS)Santa Ana
From the tin rooftop the little boy did watch The procession down through town Through the museum where Daniel whupped the Devil With them boys from the underground Where the Giants of Science fight for tight control Over the wildlands of New Mexico Sam Houston's ghost's in Texas fighting for his soul And the townsfolk rest uneasy beneath the guns of Kid Colt And the kid says "Hey, where's Santa Ana?" He who could romance the dumb into talking Take a chance with me tonight, my contessa If it don't work out I ain't lame, I can walk Now some folks think cancer's taken to the streets of this town Well Sandy eats her candy and then lays her money down Them cats are in from the canyons to strut their stuff in town But there's only secret sinners here Lord, there's only secret thieves Only a fool would try to save What the desert chose to leave And hey there senorita With your playboys in their Spanish bandanas French cream won't soften those boots, baby French kisses will not break your heart Oh painted night set free with light Glows outside the Rainbow Saloon Matching braces with a Spanish lady 'Neath a graduation moon No more colleges, no more coronations Some punk's idea of a teenage nation Has forced Santa Ana to change his station From soldier to cartoon And the Giants of Science spend their days and nights Not with wives, not with lovers, but searchin' for the lights They spotted in the desert on their helicoptor flights Just to be lost in the dust and the night Hey my contessa, in your juke joint rags you always bring candy for the kids Come waltz with me tonight senorita 'Cause only fools are alone on a night like thisSeaside Bar Song
Well Billy bought a Chevy '40 coupe deluxe Chrome wheels, stick shift, give her gas, pop the clutch Girls on the corner like a diamond they shine Someday Billy I'm gonna make 'em all mine Hey girl, you wanna ride in Daddy's Cadillac 'Cause I love the way your long hair falls down your back Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley's at the Seaside Bar We'll run barefoot in the sand and listen to his guitar You say your mama's gonna meet you when the morning comes Yeah, papa's gonna beat you 'cause he knows you're out on the run I'm gonna live a life of love and tonight you're the one The highway is alive tonight so baby do not be frightened There's something about a pretty girl on a sweet summer night That gets this boy excited The radio man finally understands and plays you something you can move to You lay back, cut loose your drive power Your girl leans over says, "Daddy can you turn that radio up any louder?" The juke joint's hummin', everybody came down Little Willie and the Soul Brooms layin' all his stuff now Well don't let that daylight steal your soul Get in your wheels and roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll Oh that's alright now Oh go on, go on, go on Oh mama's gonna meet you when the morning comes And your daddy's gonna beat you 'cause he knows you're out on the run But I don't care, I wanna live a life of love while the night's still youngZero And Blind Terry
The Skulls met the Pythons Down at the First Street station Alliances have been made in alleyways All across the nation These boys live off the milk of a silver jet And the love of sweet young women Now the Pythons are down from old Englishtown And they're lookin' to do some livin' Well the leader of the Pythons Is a kid they just call Zero Now Terry's pop says these kids are some kind of monsters But Terry says "No, pop, they're just plain heroes" Zero and Terry they found a love that burns like wildfire Now Terry's daddy understood that this Zero was no good A child, a thief and a liar Well from out of the darkness that breaks the dawn Zero rode like twilight He said "Tonight's the night, blind Terry, come on" Terry come on, tonight is the night Pack your bags, baby And together they ran like reindeers through the street Like tomorrow the earth was gonna catch on fire Now Terry's dad hired some troopers to kill Zero and bring Terry back home They crawled up in the night Like firelight Now snow-white troopers from the council of crime Rode silver foxes through Terry's field Oh they met the Pythons down on Route 9 but they refused to yield The Pythons fought with buzz guns And the troopers with swords like light And Zero and Terry they ran away As the gang fought all through the night Well now some folks say Zero and Terry got away Others said they were caught and brought back But still them young pilgrims to this day Go to that spot way down by the railroad track Where the Troopers met the Pythons Old timers cry on a hot August night If you look hard enough, if you try You'll catch Zero and Terry and all the Pythons Oh just hiking the streets of the sky Just walkin', hiking the streets of the sky Just hiking the streets of the sky Hey ZeroLinda Let Me Be The One
The midnight boys are outside Scraping tears up off the street Standin' guard beneath the window Where only Linda sleeps The leader is a kid named Eddie Walkin' like an angel in defeat He trashes her old man's car, slashes Linda's name in the seat And calls out CHORUS: Linda will you let me be the one Linda will you let me be the one Linda will you let me be the one Linda will you let me be the one In a room full of contenders Eddie spars till he drops to his bed and surrenders Draped in the scarves He stole from Linda's bedroom The night he layed at her feet When the midnight boys were stranded Down on Cason Street (CHORUS) In the basement of St. Mary's Eddie hides from the rain In with the stolen sisters 'til the streets are dry again Talkin' fast cars and spare parts Empty homes and broken hearts Distant worlds with strange girls And kneeling with Linda in the dark (CHORUS)Thundercrack
Her brains they rattle and her bones they shake Whoah, she's an angel from the Innerlake Thundercrack, baby's back This time she'll tell me how she really feels Bring me down to her lightning shack You can watch my partner reelin' CHORUS: She moves up, she moves back Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner She does this thing she calls the "Jump Back Jack" She's got the heart of a ballerina She's straight from the Bronx Hung off the line She slips, she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps, she grinds Even them dance hall hacks From the west side of the tracks Move in close to catch her timin' (CHORUS) She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls Her hair ain't brown and her eyes ain't either Round and round and round and round My heart's wood, she's a carpenter She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner Dance with me, partner, till the dawn Thundercrack, baby's back This time she'll tell me how she really feels Bring me down to her lightning shack You can watch my partner reelin' (CHORUS) She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls Her hair ain't brown and her eyes ain't either Round and round and round and round My heart's wood, she's a carpenter She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner Dance with me, partner, all nightRendezvous
I had a dream our love would last forever I had a dream tonight my dream comes true Well if you'll hold me tight We'll be riders, girl, on the night Ooh, I want a rendezvous Haven't I told you, girl, how much I like you I got a feeling that you like me too Well if you hold me tight We'll be riders, girl, on the night Ooh, I want a rendezvous You deserve so much more than this, girl Well I'm ridin' on the power and livin' on the promise in your last kiss Because I had a dream our love would last forever I had a dream tonight my dream comes true And if you'll hold me tight We'll be riders, girl, on the night Ooh, ooh, rendezvous I want a rendezvous I want a rendezvousGive The Girl A Kiss
I ain't lookin' just for excitement Baby that's just a fact If you want to get to her heart You better let her know just where you're at CHORUS: It ain't written in the sky above No fortune teller told me this You gotta tell her that you love her Tell her that you need her And give that girl a great big kiss Give that girl a great big kiss Now if you're such a fool you think It don't matter, baby, what you say Maybe you better tell her how you're feelin' It ain't gonna happen any other way (CHORUS) Now baby all I wanna do Is darlin' make sweet love to you Now I don't know what the meaning is Why you wanna hide the things you feel and say But baby it's just a natural fact Love was never meant to be that way (CHORUS) Now baby all I wanna do Is darlin' make sweet love to youIceman
Sleepy town ain't got the guts to budge Baby, this emptiness has already been judged I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got You're a strange part of me, you're a preacher's girl And I don't want no piece of this mechanical world Got my arms open wide and my blood is runnin' hot We'll take the midnight road right to the devil's door And even the white angels of Eden with their flamin' swords Won't be able to stop us from hittin' town in this dirty old Ford Well it don't take no nerve when you got nothin to guard I got tombstones in my eyes and I'm runnin' real hard My baby was a lover and the world just blew her away Once they tried to steal my heart, beat it right outta my head But baby they didn't know that I was born dead I am the Iceman, fightin' for the right to live I say better than the glory roads of heaven, better off ridin' Hellbound in the dirt, better than the bright lines of the freeway Better than the shadows of your daddy's church Better than the waiting, baby better off is the searchBring On The Night
I lie in bed but baby I can't sleep no matter how hard I try There's something bad, baby, wrong with me whenever I close my eyes The dreams of Mary keep me awake with every little curve in place When I walk home in the daybreak I pray come back home, baby, won't you give me Darlin' bring on the night, oh yeah darlin', bring on the night Oh now darlin', bring on the night I walk the street, I'm lookin' for romance I end up stumblin' in some stupid half-trance As I watch the lovers mix with circumstance We watch the disco dancers dance I look for connection in some new eyes But for protection they're tranquilized Forbidding close inspection of who's tellin' who Forbidding close inspection of who's tellin' who lies Bring on the night, oh yeah darlin', bring on the night Oh now darlin', bring on the night Is it as simple as it seems I don't know what I'm doin' here, is it as simple as it seems Is it as simple as I fear, well if I'm right . . . I look for connection in some new eyes But for protection they're tranquilized Forbidding close inspection of who's tellin' who Forbidding close inspection of who's tellin' who Baby of who's tellin' who lies Bring on the night, oh yeah darlin', bring on the night Oh now baby, bring on the night, oh now darlin' bring on the night Come home darlin', bring on the night Oh now darlin' bring on the nightSo Young And In Love
There's flying angels on your fire escape They lie to your mama for you, try to keep you safe You're with them fire alley virgins on a midnight vamp Lost your heart on Main Street to a beautiful tramp You lost your mind She's sent from above You're so young and in love So young and in love So young and in love So young and in love So young and in love Rat traps filled with soul crusaders They're soppin' 'n' boppin' 'n' moppin' with Little Melvin and the Invaders Missy's on the dance floor doin' her stuff Leroy's dancin' doin' the continental strut Sent from above So young and in love So young and in love So young and in love So young and in love Everybody's reelin' when the band hits the ceilin' Don't you know you wanna go The kids start rockin' when the boys start knockin' And everybody wants to go Let's go! Joint's shut down but you don't wanna go home You're in the shady side of town and you're all alone Papa's chewin' your ear off, you ain't got no cash Mama's chewin' your ear off 'bout hangin' out with trash So fine, sent from above So young and in love So young and in love So young and in love So young and in loveHearts Of Stone
You stare in the mirror at the lines in your face And you try to see, girl The way things were when we were at your place In the days it was just you and me, girl And you cry because things ain't like before Well don't you know they can't be that way anymore But don't worry baby CHORUS: I can't talk now, I'm not alone So put your ear close to the phone 'Cause this is the last dance This is the last chance for hearts of stone If there was something, baby, that I could do Something that would last, honey, I would But we all know, girl, especially you do How you can't return to your past, no So girl close your eyes and I'll be there Hold me once more and we can go anywhere Ah, we could... (CHORUS) And you cry because things ain't like before Well don't you know they can't be like that anymore Well I know it, baby (CHORUS)Don't Look Back
Cold rain runnin' down the front of my shirt I'm flat on my back, wheels in the dirt Angel makes her face up out on Baker Street She's straddling the shifter in my front seat There's nothing to lose, it's a heartbreak The deck's stacked So put your foot to the floor and darlin' don't look back We're makin' night tracks through the blazin' rain Blowin' pistons workin' the fast lane Red line burnin', pocket's full of cash Angel writes her name in lipstick on my dash There's nothing to lose It's a bad break but baby we're backed Tonight we'll blow off their doors and honey we won't look back We held it in our hearts in a pourin' rain We made it through the heart of a hurricane We tore it apart and put it together again Well angel, won't you believe in love for me C'mon and meet me tonight, darling, out in the street We'll move with the city in the dark You gotta walk it, talk it, in your heart There's nothing to lose, it's a heartache The deck's stacked So put your foot to the floor, darlin' Tonight we'll blow off their doors, baby We're gonna even the score And honey we won't look back
Notes
Bruce Springsteen Guitar, Vocals, Armonica All Tracks Danny Federici Organ, Glockenspiel, Accordion Tracks 5 - 17 Garry Tallent Bass Tracks 6 - 17 Vini Lopez Drums Tracks 6 - 8, 10 David Sancious Piano, Organ Tracks 6 - 8, 10 Clarence Clemons Saxophone, Percussion Tracks 7 - 12, 14 - 16 Stevie Van Zandt Guitar Tracks 11 - 14, 16, 17 Roy Bittan Piano, Keyboards Tracks 9, 11 - 17 Max Weinberg Drums Tracks 9, 11 - 17Produced By
John Hammond 1 - 4 Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos 6 - 8, 10 John Landau, Bruce Springsteen 9, 12,13, 15 - 17 Bruce Springsteen, John Landau, Mike Appel 11 Bruce Springsteen, John Landau, Stevie Van Zandt 14
1 - Mary Queen of Arkansas
- Recorded at CBS Studios (NY), 5/3/72. Recorded and Mixed by Phil Giambalvo. Assistant: S. Tonkel
2 - It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
- Recorded at CBS Studios (NY), 5/3/72. Recorded and Mixed by Phil Giambalvo. Assistant: S. Tonkel
3 - Growin' up
- Recorded at CBS Studios (NY), 5/3/72. Recorded and Mixed by Phil Giambalvo. Assistant: S. Tonkel
4 - Does This Bus Stop at 82 nd Street?
- Recorded at CBS Studios (NY), 5/3/72. Recorded and Mixed by Phil Giambalvo. Assistant: S. Tonkel
5 - Bishop Danced
- Recorded at Max's Kansas City (Live), 2/19/73 Mixed by Thom Panunzio
6 - Santa Ana
- Recorded at 914 Sound Recording, 6/28/73 Recorded by Louis Lehav Mixed by Ed Thacker
7 - Seaside Bar Song
- Recorded at 914 Sound Recording, 6/28/73 Recorded by Louis Lehav Mixed by Ed Thacker
8 - Zero and Blind Terry
- Recorded at 914 Sound Recording, 6/28/73 Recorded by Louis Lehav Mixed by Ed Thacker
9 - Linda Let Me Be the One
- Recorded at the Record Plant (NY), 6/28/75 Recorded by Jimmy Iovine Mixed by Ed Thacker
10 - Thundercrack
- Recorded at 914 Sound Recording, 6/28/73 Recorded by Louis Lehav Mixed by Ed Thacker
11 - Rendezvous
- Recorded at the Record Plant (LA Remote) (Live) Recorded by Toby Scott Mixed bi Ed Thacker
12 - Give the Girl a Kiss
- Additional Musicians: Ed Manion (Baritone Sax),
Mark "The Lover Man" Pender (Trumpet), Richie "LA Bamba" Rosemberg (Trombone),
Mike Spengler (Trumpet), Jerry Vivino (Tenor Sax). Recorded at the Record Plant (NY), 11/10/77, Recorded by Jimmy Iovine Mixed by Bob Clearmountain13 - Iceman
- Recorded at the Record Plant (NY), 10/27/77, Recorded by Jimmy Iovine Mixed by Tom Panunzio
14 - Bring on the Night
- Recorded at the Power Station, 6/13/79, Recorded by Neil Dorfsman Mixed by Ed Thacker
15 - So Young and in Love
- Recorded at the Record Plant (NY), 1/6/74, Recorded by Jimmy Iovine Mixed by Ed Thacker
16 - Hearts of Stone
- Additional Musicians: Mario Cruz (Tenor Sax),
Ed Manion (Baritone Sax), Mark "The Lover Man" Pender (Trumpet),
Richie "LA Bamba" Rosemberg (Trombone), Mike Spengler (Trumpet). Recorded at the Record Plant (NY), 10/14/77, Recorded by Jimmy Iovine Mixed by Bob Clearmountain17 - Don't Look Back
- Recorded at the Record Plant (NY), 7/2/77, Recorded by Jimmy Iovine Mixed by Cuck Plotkin, Jimmy Iovine