Bruce Springsteen
THE ESSENTIAL

CD 1 - CD 2 - CD 3

  From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
At sixteen she quit high school
To make a fortune in the Promised Land
She got a job behind the counter
In an all-night hamburger stand
She rode faithfully home to Mama
Now, Mama don't you worry none
From small things, Mama, big things one day come

It was late one Friday
He pulled in out of the dark
He was tall and handsome
First she took his order, then she took his heart
They bought a house up on the hillside
Where little feet soon would run
From small things, Mama, big things one day come

Oh, but love is bleeding
It's sad but it's true
When your heart is beating
You don't want to hear the news
She packed her bags

And with a Wyoming County Interstate map
She drove down to Tampa
In an Eldorado Grand
She wrote back, Dear Mama
Life is just heaven in the sun
From small things, Mama, big things one day come

Well, she shot him dead on a sunny Florida road
When they caught her all she said
Was she couldn't stand the way he drove
Back home lonesome Johnny waits for his baby's parole
He waits high on the hillside
Where the Wyoming rivers roll
And his seed have almost grown now
To a daughter and a handsome son
From small things, Mama, big things one day come

  The Big Payback
I bought a scooter and I rented a shack
Out in the sun, by the railroad track
I got a job and I'm a-breakin' my back
Workin' and workin' for the big payback

I keep a puttin' and a puttin' out
I keep a sweatin' like a' all get out
I work so long that I'm a losin' track
Waitin', waitin' on the big payback

Well, it's a wham, bam, thank you ma'am,
god damn, look out Sam
It's a gone-dead train rumblin' down this track 
They got your neck in the noose, you're draggin' long in back
Chasin' and chasin' the big payback

Oh what my foreman does well I don't know
He just throws me a shovel and yells "Go, Bobby, Go"

Oh well-a all day long he's just a busy wise crack
While I'm sweatin' and sweatin' for the big payback

Well, it's a wham, bam, thank you ma'am,
god damn, look out Sam
It's a gone-dead train rumblin' down this track 
They got your neck in the noose, your hands are tied up in back
And you're a-workin' and workin' for the big payback

I quit that job, and Mister I ain't goin' back
Got me a knife and she's a long and black
I'll tell you how I make the peace at night, Mack
Down in the alley of the big payback

I go a wham, bam, thank you ma'am, god damn, c'mon man
You're a gone-dead train rumblin' down this track 
I got your neck in the noose and I don't give a damn, Jack

I'm on that long lost highway of the big payback
I'm on that long lost highway of the big payback 
I'm on that long lost highway of the big payback

  Held without a Gun
I was out riding, just takin' it slow
Looked at my tank, it was reading low
Pulled in an Exxon station out on Highway One
Held Up Without a Gun, Held Up Without a Gun

Some damm fool with a guitar walks in from the street
Ain't got no where to go, ain't got nothing to eat
Man with a cigar says "sign here son" Look Out!
Held Up without a Gun, Held Up Without a Gun

Now it's a sin and it oughta be a crime
You know it happens buddy all the time
Tryin' make a livin' trying to have a little fun
Held Up Without a Gun, Held Up Without a Gun
Held Up Without a Gun...

  Trapped
Well it seems like I'm caught up in your trap again
And it seems like I'll be wearin' the same ol' chains
Good will conquer evil and the truth will set you free
Then I know someday I'll find the key
Then I know somewhere I'll find the key
Well it seem like I've been playin' the game way too long
And it seems the game I played has made you strong
Well when the game is over, I won't walk out a loser
And I know that I'll walk out of here again
And I know that someday I'll walk out of here again

But now I'm trapped...Oh yeah!
Trapped...Oh yeah yeah!
Trapped...Oh yeah!
Trapped...Oh yeah!

Now it seems like I've been sleepin' in your bed too long
And it seems like you've been meanin' to do me harm
But I'll teach my eyes to see beyond these walls in front of me

And someday I'll walk out of here again
Yeah I know someday I'll walk out of here again

Well it seem like I've been playin' the game way too long
And it seems the game I played has made you strong

Because I'm trapped...Oh yeah!
Trapped...Oh yeah yeah!
Trapped...Oh yeah yeah!
Trapped...Oh yeah!

I'm trapped...Oh yeah yeah!
Trapped...Oh yeah yeah
Trapped...Oh yeahhhhhh
Trapped....oh yeahhhh
I'm trapped

  None But the Brave
Tonight down on Union Street
I'm thinkin' back, baby, to you and me
To the way you used to be
And your words come back to me
From passing cars
Their voices sing out
In empy bars where guitars ring out
We'd be the lucky one to get out
You said, None baby but the brave
No one baby but the brave
Oh strong enough to save something
From what they gave
None baby but the brave
No one baby but the brave
Now in dreams these nights I see you my friend
The way you were back then
Ah, on a night like this
I know that girl no longer exists
Except for a moment in some stranger's eyes
Or in a nameless girl
In cars rushin' by
That's where I find you tonight
And in my heart it still survives
To none, baby, but the brave

No one baby but the brave
Oh strong enough to save
Something from the love they gave
Yeah, none baby but the brave
No one baby but the brave
Now tonight once more I search
Every face on that crowded floor
Looking for I don't know what for
Something that ain't there no more
There's a girl standin' by the band
She reminds me of you
And I asked her to danceAs the drummer counts his play
I take her hand and we move away
And tonight, now I'll see old friends
caught in things they got no chance to win
Just gettin' beaten, and then playin' again
'Till their strength gives out
Or their hearts give in
Who's that man who thinks
he can decide whose dreams will live
And who(se) shall be pushed aside
Did he ever walk down this streets at night
And looked into the eyes

Baby, of none, baby, but the brave
No one baby but the brave
No, none baby but the brave
No one baby but the brave
No one baby,no one but the brave

  Missing
Woke up this morning, there was a chill in the air
Went to the kitchen, my cigarettes were lying there
Jacket hung on the chair, the way I left it last night
Everything was in place, everything seemed alright
But you were missing, missing 

Last night I dreamed the sky went black
You were drifting down, couldn't get back
Lost in trouble, so far from home
I reached for you, my arms were like stone
Oh, but you were missing, missing... missing

Searched for something to explain
In the whispering rain and the trembling leaves
Tell me baby, where did you go
You were here just a moment ago

At nights I still hear your footsteps fall
I can hear your voice moving down the hall

Drifting through the bedroom
I lie awake but I don't move

  Limbo (Lift me Up)
I don't need your answered prayers
Or the chains your lover wears
I don't need your rings of gold
Or the secrets that you hold
Lift me up, darling
Lift me up and I'll fall with you lift me up
Let your love lift me up

I don't need your sacred vow
Or the promise tomorrow brings
There behind the morning clouds
I'll take the faith the daylight brings
Lift me up, darling
Lift me up, and I'll fall with you lift me up
Let your love lift me up

When the morning bright
Lifts away this night
And the light above
We will find our love, we will find our love

Your skin, your hand upon my neck
This skin, your fingers on my skin
This kiss, this heartbeat this breath
This heart, this heart this wilderness
Lift me up darling
Lift me up and I'll fall with you lift me up
Let your love lift me up

  Viva Las Vegas
Hey blackjack dealer, Hit me man!
Bright lights city gonna set my soul gonna set my soul on fire
I got a whole lotta money that's ready to burn so get those stakes up high
There's a thousand pretty women just-a waiting out there
hey're all living just the devil may care
And I'm just a devil with love to spare
So Viva Las Vegas

I wish that there were more than twenty-four hours in a day
Even if there were forty more I wouldn't sleep a minute away
There's blackjack, poker, and roulette wheel
A fortune won and lost on every deal
All you need is money and nerves of steel
Viva Las Vegas

Well viva Las Vegas with the neon flashing

And the walls crashing all your hopes down the drain
Yea viva Las Vegas turning day into nighttime
Turning night into daytime if you seen it once you'll never be the same again

I'm gonna be on the run I'm gonna have me some fun if it costs me my very
last dime
If I wind up broke, well, I'll always remember that I had me a swinging time
I'm gonna give it everything I got
Lady Luck I want you let the dice stay hot
Let me shoot a seven with every shot
Viva Las Vegas
Busted!
Hey man, you going anywhere near Vegas?

  County Fair
Every year when summer comes around
They stretch a banner 'cross the main street in town
You can feel somethin' happenin' in the air
Well, from Carol's house up on Telegraph Hill
You can see the lights goin' up out in the soldiers' field
Gettin' ready for the county fair

County fair, county fair
Everybody in town will be there
So come on, hey, we're goin' down there
Well, little girl with the long blond hair
Come win your daddy one of them stuffed bears
Baby, down at the county fair

Now you'll be hangin' tight when we hit the top
And that roller coaster's ready to drop
You'll be braggin' that you wasn't even scared
Well, baby, you know I just love the sound
Of the pipe organ on the merry-go-round
Baby, down at the county fair

County fair, county fair

Now at the north end of the field, well, they set up a stand
And they got a little rock roll band
And people dancin', yeah, out in the open air
Well, it's James Young The Immortal Ones
Just two guitars, baby, bass and drums
Rockin' out at the county fair

County fair, county fair

Now it's gettin' late but 'fore we head back to town
We let the fortune wheel spin 'round
Oh mister, tell me what's waitin' out there
On my way out I steal a kiss in the dark
I hope I can remember where our car's parked
Baby, at the county fair

Now off down the highway there's a last stream of cars
As we sit awhile in my front yard
With the radio playin' somethin' low
I pull Carol close to my heart
And I lean back and stare up at the stars
Oh I wish I never had to let this moment go

  Code of Silence
There's a code of silence,
that we don't dare speak
There's a wall between us
So high and so deep
We keep pretending that there's nothing wrong
And there's a code of silence that can't go wrong

Cause the truth's so elusive
So elusive you see
That it ain't enough baby,
To bridge the distance between you and me
Well, there's a list of grievance a hundred miles long
There's a code of silence and it can't go on

Well you walk with your eyes open,
but your lips they remain sealed
All the promises we made are broken
fearing the truth and feeling the fear
Now, I need to know now darlin', need to know what's going on

So come on, come on, come on, come on
come on, come on, come on

Well you walk with your eyes open, but your lips they remained sealed
All the promises we made are broken
With the truth fearing revealed
Now, I need to know now darlin', need to know what's going on

Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on

There's a code of silence, that we don't dare speak
There's a wall between us, so high and so deep
We keep pretending that there's nothing wrong
There's a code of silence, and it can't go on

And it can't go on, and it can't go on
And it can't go on, and it can't go on

  Dead Man Walking
There's a pale horse comin'
And I'm gonna ride it
I'll rise in the morning
With my fate beside it
I'm a dead man walkin'
I'm a dead man walkin'

In Saint James Parish
I was born and Christened
How I've got my story
Well Mister, there ain't no need
for you to listen
It's just a dead man talkin'
Once I had a job, I had a girl
But between our dreams
and action lie this world

Well, in the deep forest
Their blood and tears rushed over me
All I could feel was the drugs
and the shotgun
And my fear up inside me
Like a dead man talkin'

Beneath the summer sky
my eyes went black
Sister, I won't ask for forgiveness,
my sins are all I have

Tonight the clouds above my prison

Move slowly 'cross the sky
There is a new day comin'
And my dreams are full tonight.

  Countin' on a Miracle
It's a fairytale so tragic
There's no prince to break the spell
I don't believe in magic
But for you I will, for you I will
If I'm a fool, I'll be a fool
Darlin' for you 
I'm count' on a miracle
Baby I'm countin' on a miracle
Darlin' I'm countin' on a miracle
To come through

There ain't no storybook story
There's no never-ending song
Our happily ever after Darlin'
Forever come and gone
I'm movin' on
If I'm gonna believe
I'll put my faith
Darlin' in you

I'm count' on a miracle
Baby I'm countin' on a miracle
Darlin' I'm countin' on a miracle
To come through

Sleeping beauty awakes from her dream
With her lover's kiss on her lips
Your kiss was taken from me
Now all I have is this

Your kiss, your kiss, your touch, your touch
Your heart, your heart, your strength, your strength
Your hope, your hope, your faith, your faith
Your face, your face, your love, your love
Your dreams, your dreams, your life, your life

I'm runnin' through the forrest
With the wolf at my heels
My king is lost at midnight
When the tower bells peal
We've got no fairytale ending
In God's hands out fate is complete
Your heaven's here in my heart
Our love's this dust beneath my feet
Just this dust beneath my feet
If I'm gonna live
I'll lift my life
Darlin' to you

I'm count' on a miracle
Baby I'm countin' on a miracle
Darlin' I'm countin' on a miracle
To come through