Bruce Springsteen
The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story

CD 1 - The Promise - Thrill Hill Vault - Houston ’78 Bootleg: House Cut

  Badlands
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
But there's one thing I know for sure girl I don't give a damn
For the same old played out scenes baby 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 you better listen to me baby
Talk about a dream, try to make it real
You wake up in the night with a fear so real
You spend your life waiting for a moment that just don't come
Well don't waste your time waiting

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
You better get it straight darling
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
Now I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the faith that could save me
I believe in the hope and I pray that some day
It may raise me above these

Badlands you gotta live it every day
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
Awhoa whoa whoa whoa

Mmmmmmmmm
Mmmmmmmmm
Mmmmmmmmm
Mmmmmmmmm
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 you gotta live it every day
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep movin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
Awhoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands awhoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands awhoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands ahwoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands ahwoa whoa whoa whoa

  Streets Of Fire
When the night's quiet and you don't care anymore,
And your eyes are tired and there's
someone at your door
And you realize you wanna let go
And the weak lies and the cold walls you embrace
Eat at your insides and leave you face to face with
Streets of fire

I'm wandering, a loser down these tracks
I'm dying, but girl I can't go back
'Cause in the darkness I hear somebody call my name
And when you realize how they tricked you this time
And it's all lies but I'm strung out on the wire
In these streets of fire

I live now, only with strangers
I talk to only strangers
I walk with angels that have no place
Streets of fire

  It’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
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 said, "Don't that man look pretty."
The cripple on the corner cried out "Nickels for your pity."
Them gasoline boys downtown sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

I was the king of the alley, mama, 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
Just a backstreet gambler with the luck to lose
And when the heat came down and 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 out on the street

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 back up on the street

And them South Side sisters sure look pretty
The cripple on the corner cries out, "Nickels for your pity."
Them downtown boys they sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

  Darkness 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
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
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
In the darkness on the edge of town

  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
Well 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 eighty-eight
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, in the night, all night
Oh, you don't know what they can do to you
Spirits in the night (all night), in the night (all night)
Stand right up now and let it shoot through you

Well now Wild young 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 were 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 so nice, just as soft as a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night). Janey don't know what she do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night), in the night (all night)
Stand right up and let her shoot through me.

Now the night was bright and the stars threw light on Billy and Davy
dancin' in the moonlight
They were down near the water in a stone mud fight
Killer Joe gone passed out on the lawn
Well now Hazy Davy got really hurt, he ran into the lake in just his socks and a shirt
Me and Crazy Janey was makin' love in the dirt singin' our birthday songs
Janey said it was time to go
So we closed our eyes and said goodbye to gypsy angel row, felt so right
Together we moved like spirits in the night, all night
Baby don't know what they can do to you
Spirits in the night, all night
Stand right up and let it shoot right through you

  Independence Day
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 Independence Day
It's Independence Day
All down the line
Just say goodbye it's Independence Day
It's Independence 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 Independence Day
It's Independence Day all boys must run away
So say goodbye it's Independence Day
All men must make their way come Independence 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 Independence Day
Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
But won't you just say goodbye it's Independence Day
I swear I never meant to take those things away.

  The 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 whole 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

  Prove It All Night
I've been working real hard, trying to get my hands clean
We'll drive that dusty road from Monroe to Angeline
To buy you a gold ring and a pretty dress of blue
Baby just one kiss will get these things for you
A kiss to seal our fate tonight
A kiss to prove it all night

Prove it all night
Girl there's nothing else that we can do
So prove it all night, prove it all night
And girl I'll prove it all night for you

Everybody's got a hunger, a hunger they can't resist
There's so much that you want, you deserve much more than this
But if dreams came true, oh, wouldn't that be nice
But this ain't no dream we're living out through tonight
Girl, you want it, you take it, you pay the price

Prove it all night, prove it all night
Prove it all night, girl, and call the bluff
prove it all night, prove it all night and girl
I prove it all night for your love

Baby, tie your hair back in a long white bow
Meet me in the fields behind the dynamo
You hear the voices telling you not to go
They made their choices and they'll never know
What it means to steal, to cheat, to lie
What it's like to live and die

To prove it all night, prove it all night
Girl there's nothing else that we can do
So prove it all night, prove it all night
And girl I'll prove it all night for you
I'll prove it all night, I'll prove it all night

  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 goin' 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 goin' racin' in the street

  Thunder Road
The screen door slams
Mary's dress waves
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 savior 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 win

  Jungleland
The rangers had a homecoming in Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane

Well the Maximum Lawman run down Flamingo chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids round here look just like shadows always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand down in Jungleland

The midnight gang's assembled and picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light
Man there's an opera out on the Turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops, Cherry Tops, rips this holy night
The street's alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they vanished unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted explode into rock'n'roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street down in Jungleland

In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing to the records that the DJ plays
Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on
Just one look and a whisper, and they're gone

Beneath the city two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender in a bedroom locked
In whispers of soft refusal and then surrender in the tunnels uptown
The Rat's own dream guns him down as shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light

Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between what's flesh and what's fantasy and the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand but they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland

  The Ties That Bind
You been hurt and you're all cried out you say
You walk down the street pushin' people outta your way
You packed your bags and all alone you wanna ride,
You don't want nothin', don't need no one by your side
You're walkin' tough baby, but you're walkin' blind
to the ties that bind

(Chorus)
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind

Cheap romance, it's all just a crutch
You don't want nothin' that anybody can touch
You're so afraid of being somebody's fool
Not walkin' tough baby, not walkin' cool
You walk cool, but darlin', can you walk the line
And face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind

I would rather feel the hurt inside, yes I would darlin',
Than know the emptiness your heart must hide,
Yes I would darlin', yes I would darlin',
Yes I would baby

You sit and wonder just who's gonna stop the rain
Who'll ease the sadness, who's gonna quiet the pain
It's a long dark highway and a thin white line
Connecting baby, your heart to mine
We're runnin' now but darlin' we will stand in time
To face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind
You can't forsake the ties that bind

  Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry
You'd better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list, he's checkin' it twice
He's gonna find out whose daughter you're nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows if you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
(so you'd) better be good for goodness sake
Better be good for goodness sake

You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry
You'd better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows if you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
(so you'd) better be good for goodness sake
Better be good for goodness sake

You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry
You'd better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

  The Fever
Alright
When I get home from my job, I turn on the TV
But I can't keep my mind on the show
When I lay down at night, I don't get no sleep
So I turn on the radio
But Lord, the only thing I hear is you whisperin' in my ear
The words that you used to say
Well now the days grow longer
My love grows stronger
The fever gets worse every day
I got the fever for this girl

He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Nothing that a po' boy can do
When he's got the fever for a girl
He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Left this little boy blue

Well, I can remember comin' home
See you standin' at the stove
With the dishes on the table
Dinner ready to go
Well maybe out to a movie show
Something that you like to see
Because you were my sun in the morning
You're my moon at night
When I think about it, makes me feel alright
Well now the day grow longer
The love just grows stronger, baby
And the fever gets so bad at night
I got the fever for a girl

He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Nothing that a po' boy can do
When he's got the fever for a girl
He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Left this little boy blue
Alright

Ooh ooh ooh he's gonna be alright
Ooh ooh ooh he's gonna be alright
Ooh ooh ooh he's gonna be alright
Baby alright
Ooh ooh ooh he's gonna be alright
Baby alright
Ooh ooh ooh he's gonna be alright
Let's make it alright

Well I can remember coming home, turning on my TV
But he can't keep his mind on the show
When I lay down at night, I cannot get no sleep
So I turn on the radio
But still the only thing I hear is you whisperin' in my ear
Them words that you used to say
And now the days grow longer
And the love just grow stronger
And the fever gets bad everyday
I got the fever for this girl

He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Nothing a po' boy can do
When he's got the fever for a girl
He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Left this little boy blue
Alright

He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Nothing a po' boy can do
When he's got the fever for a girl
He's got the fever, oh he's got the fever
Left this little boy blue

Ooh ooh ooh he's gonna be alright
Alright

  FIRE
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 they didn't deny
Your words say split
But your words they lie
'Cause when we kiss
Fire

  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 rushes to my brain*
The blood rushes in my veins, fire rushes towards the sky**
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
Tonight

  BECAUSE THE NIGHT
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 you now

  POINT BLANK
Do you still say your prayers little darlin' do you go to bed at night
Prayin' that tomorrow, everything will be alright
But tomorrow's fall in number in number one by one
You wake up and you're dying you don't even know what from

Well they shot you point blank you been shot in the back
Baby point blank you been fooled this time little girl that's a fact
Right between the eyes baby, point blank right between the pretty lies that they tell
Little girl you fell

You grew up where young girls they grow up fast
You took what you were handed and left behind what was asked
but what they asked baby wasn't right
you didn't have to live that life,
I was gonna be your Romeo you were gonna be my Juliet
These days you don't wait on Romeo's you wait on that welfare check
and on all the pretty things that you can't ever have and on all the promises

That always end up point blank, shot between the eyes
Point blank like little white lies you tell to ease the pain
You're walkin' in the sights, girl of point blank
and it's one false move and baby the lights go out

Once I dreamed we were together again baby you and me
Back home in those old clubs the way we used to be
We were standin' at the bar it was hard to hear
The band was playin' loud and you were shoutin' somethin' in my ear
You pulled my jacket off and as the drummer counted four
You grabbed my hand and pulled me out on the floor
You just stood there and held me, then you started dancin' slow
And as I pulled you tighter I swore I'd never let you go

Well I saw you last night down on the avenue
Your face was in the shadows but I knew that it was you
You were standin' in the doorway out of the rain
You didn't answer when I called out your name
You just turned, and then you looked away like just another stranger waitin' to get blown away

Point blank, right between the eyes
Point blank, right between the pretty lies you fell
Point blank, shot right through the heart

Yea point blank, you've been twisted up till you've become just another part of it
Point blank, you're walkin' in the sights,
Point blank, livin' one false move just one false move away
Point blank, they caught you in their sights
Point blank, did you forget how to love, girl, did you forget how to fight.
Point blank they must have shot you in the head
Cause point blank, bang bang baby you're dead

  SHE'S THE ONE
With her killer graces and her secret places
That no boy can fill with her hands on her hips
Oh and that smile on her lips
Because she knows that it kills me
With her soft French cream
Standing in that doorway like a dream
I wish she'd just leave me alone
Because French cream won't soften them boots
And French kisses will not break that heart of stone
With her long hair falling
And her eyes that shine like a midnight sun
Oh-o she's the one, she's the one

That thunder in your heart
At night when you're kneeling in the dark
It says you're never gonna leave her
But there's this angel in her eyes
That tells such desperate lies
And all you want to do is believe her
And tonight you'll try just one more time
To leave it all behind and to break on through
Oh she can take you, but if she wants to break you
She's gonna find out that ain't so easy to do
And no matter where you sleep tonight or how far you run
Oh-o she's the one, she's the one

Oh, and just one kiss
She'd fill them long summer nights
With her tenderness that secret pact you made
Back when her love could save you from the bitterness
Oh she's the one, oh she's the one

  BACKSTREETS
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 lose everything
To go running on the backstreets
Running on the backstreets
Terry you swore we'd live forever
Taking it on the backstreets together

Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where 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 the 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
We swore forever friends
On the backstreets until the end
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets ...

  ROSALITA
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'm gonna 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 wanna be your son
The only lover I'm ever gonna need's your soft sweet little girl's tongue
Ah 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 lighter
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 Knees Willie you know they're gonna be there
Ah sloppy Sue and Big Bones Billie they'll be comin' 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, Oh baby come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Oh closets are for hangers, winners use the door
So use it Rosie, that's what its there for

Rosalita jump a little lighter
Senorita come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover ain't no liar
Rosalita you're my stone desire
Alright

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
Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny
But now you're sad, your mama's mad
And your papa says he knows that I don't have any money
Oh your papa says he knows that I don't have any money
Oh so your daddy says he knows that I don't have any money
(Oh your papa says he knows that I don't have any money)

Tell him this is last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance
Because a record company Rosie 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'

Rosalita jump a little lighter
Senorita come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover ain't no liar
Rosalita you're my stone desire

  BORN 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
Yes girl we were

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 know how it feels
I want to know if love is wild
Girl I want to know if love is real
Oh can you show me

Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rear-view 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 run

  DETROIT MEDLEY
Devil with a blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with a blue dress on
Devil with a blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with a blue dress on
Fee, fee, fi, fi, fo, fo, fum
Look at Molly now, here she comes
Wearin' her wig hat and shades to match
She's got high-heel shoes and an alligator hat
Wearin' her pearls and her diamond rings
She's got bracelets on her fingers, now, and everything
She's the devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress,
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress,
Devil with the blue dress on
Wearin' her perfume, Channel # 5
Got to be the finest looking woman alive
She looks so pretty every time she walks by
The boys are too nervous even to say "Hi"
Not too skinny, she's not too fat
She's a real humdinger and I like it like that
She's the devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress,
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress,
Devil with the blue dress on

Good golly, Miss Molly, you sure like to ball
Good golly, Miss Molly, you sure like to ball
While you're rockin' and rollin'
Can't you hear your mama call
From the early, early mornin' 'til the early, early nights
See Miss Molly rockin' at the House of Blue Lights
Good golly, Miss Molly, you sure like to ball
While you're rockin' and rollin'
Can't you hear your mama call
Hey!
Oh see, see see rider
Oh see, what you have done now
Oh see, see see rider
I said see, what you have done now
Ahh You made me love you
now, now, now your man has gone

Oh, I'm going with my baby, and I won't be back till fall yeah
Oh, I'm going with my baby, and I won't be back till fall yeah
And if I find me a new girl, I won't be back at all

Ah Jenny Jenny Jenny, wont you come along with me
Jenny Jenny Jenny, wont you come along with me
I worry bout you baby

Spinnin', spinnin' spinnin' spinnin' like a spinnin' top
Spinnin', spinnin' spinnin' spinnin' like a spinnin' top
Come along baby

Yeah see, see see rider
Oh see, what you have done now
Oh see, see see rider
Ah come on see, what you have done now
Ahh You made me love you
now, now, now, now your man has gone
Ah Jenny Jenny Jenny, wont you come along with me
Jenny Jenny Jenny, wont you come along with me
Come along girl
Spin spin spinnin like a spinnin top

  10th 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
I'm running on the bad side
And I got my back to the wall

Tenth Avenue freeze-out, Tenth Avenue freeze-out

I'm stranded in the jungle
Taking 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

  YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN (Song by Clark, Upchurch & Muldrow)
Hey pretty baby! (you can't sit down) 
A don't you hear the drummer thumpin' (you can't sit down)
You gotta shake it like a crazy (you can't sit down)
Because the band is sayin' something (you can't sit down)
And everybody is a jumpin'(you can't sit down)
You gotta slop, bop, flip flop, hip hop
Never stop
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down) 

You gotta move, move, move, a round and round
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down) 
You gotta fly, fly, fly, way off the ground 
You're puttin down, a crazy, shout
No, no, you can't sit down, no, no, you can't sit down

When you're on South Street (you can't sit down)
And the band is really bootin' (you can't sit down)
You hear the hip beat with the back beat (you can't sit down)
And you see the gang a groovin' (you can't sit down)
You gotta get your bottom movin' (you can't sit down)
You gotta make it, break it, shake it all around
You can't sit down, you can't sit down

Get in there honey!

You can't sit down, you can't sit down, you can't sit down
You can't sit down, you can't sit down, you can't sit down
You can't sit down, you can't sit down, you movin' em down,
A crazy shout, you can't sit down

A, yea, yea, yea, hey pretty baby
You know you really dance so fine now
You're really shakin' like a crazy
A don't you down lead the line now
We're gonna do it one more time now
You got to make it, break it, shake it,all around
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)

(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)
You gotta move, move, move, a round and round
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)
You gotta fly, fly, fly, way off the ground...

  QUARTER TO THREE
Don't you know that I danced, I danced till a quarter to three
With the help, last night, of Daddy G.
He was swingin' on the sax like a nobody could
And I was dancin' all over the room.
Oh, don't you know the people were dancin' like they were mad,
it was the swingin'est band they had, ever had.
It was the swingin'est song that could ever be,
It was a night with Daddy G.
Let me tell you now,
I never had it so good
Yeah and I know you never could
Until you get hip with that jive
And take a band like the Church Street Five.
Oh don't you know that I danced,
I danced till a quarter to three
With the help last night of Daddy G.
Everybody was as happy as they could be
And they were swingin' with Daddy G.
Blow Daddy!
Let me tell you now,
I never had it so good
Yeah and I know you never could
Until you get hip with that jive
And take a band like the Church Street Five.
Oh don't you know that I danced,
I danced till a quarter to three
With the help last night of Daddy G.
He was swingin' on the sax like a nobody could,
and I was dancin all over the room
Oh don't you know the
Dance, do bee wa dah
Dance, do bee wah dah
You can dance, do bee wah dah,
You can dance, dance, dance