4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY)

Live 26 Nov 1996 version



[Spoken intro:] Yeah, let's all do this one. Come on, Steven! Bring 'em out. (chuckles) Red, hey! Come on, Red! Sooz! Well, this has been a hell of a three days, we had so much fun. Uh, uh, we had so much fun, it was really, uh, great to have a chance, it's great that this theatre is here now in town, it's lovely to be able to come back into the town and play. Uh, um, I always say that Asbury was, uh, when I first came here, I was 18, it was a little more open than the towns surrounding it, you know, people sort of left you alone a little bit more and, uh, we were here, all here making our music and we were pretty invisible, which suited us, suited us fine. Uh, you know, it was really uh, a little bit of the taste, a taste of the city actually, there were so many musicians here. Uh, it was a place where you could, you could have time to find yourself and the kind of music you wanted to play, I met so many good people here. Mad Dog Vini Lopez, Big Danny Gallagher, Garry Tallent, Southside, they're all people I met here in Asbury. Uh, you know, I wrote a lot of my early work here on the beach or on Big Danny's living room floor over on Cookman and Main, and, uh, we put, really was the seeds of the band that really, that took us all, took us all around the world, and, and friendships that have really lasted, lasted me a lifetime, it's pretty amazing. Uh, as I said, I saw, I got a chance the other night to just watch my kids running around the theatre bringing the whole thing sort of full circle. Uh, guess all I'm really say-, saying is I'm a pretty lucky guy, and, uh, I'm just glad to be here in town tonight and be able to play for you. And, uh, uh, this song was written, uh, as a goodbye song, I wrote it at a time when my life was changing and I didn't know what was gonna, what was up ahead or what to expect, uh, but it was a little more than a goodbye song, it was a, it was a love note too, so, uh, there's one's for Asbury, wishing that, wishing that the best may be yet to come.

Sandy, fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight
Forcin' a light in all them stoned-out faces left stranded on the fourth of July
Down in town the Circuit's full with switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, and sharp
And 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 along the shore
Chasin' all them silly New York girls

Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life forever
Love me tonight, for I, I may never see you again
Hey, Sandy, girl

Well, now the greasers, they tramp the streets or get busted for trying to sleep on the beach all night
And them boys in their spiked high heels, ah, Sandy, their skins are so white
Well, 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 promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl way down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And that Joey kept me spinnin'
I didn't think I'd ever get off

Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life on the water (forever)
Yeah, running down the beach, yeah, with my old boss's daughter
Hey, Sandy, girl

Now, Sandy, the angels have lost their desire for us
Well, I spoke to 'em last night, 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 their Harleys they come and go
You see 'em dressed like stars in all those cheap little seashore bars
Parked, makin' love with their babies, 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

Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life forever
Well, love me tonight and I promise I'll love you forever
Hey, Sandy, girl
Hey, Sandy, girl
Yeah, Sandy, girl

[Spoken outro:] Thank you, we love you! Come on up, Dan! Thank you, Asbury Park! Dan Federici! Richard Blackwell! Stevie Van Zandt, Big Danny Gallagher, Mad Dog Vincent Lopez! Patti Scialfa, Soozie Tyrell, Soozie! Thank you Asbury Park, we'll see you again! Shoot away! Thanks, we love you.


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 26 Nov 1996 performance of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) at Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. The song was played in an acoustic full-band arrangement with Springsteen on guitar, plus guests Danny Federici on accordion, Soozie Tyrell on violin and backup vocals, Patti Scialfa on backup vocals, Steve Van Zandt on guitar, Richard Blackwell on congas, Danny Gallagher on guitar, and Vini Lopez on backup vocals.

Ticket stub for the 26 Nov 1996 show at Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ
Ticket stub for the 26 Nov 1996 show at Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ
(Taken from Brucebase)

This was the last of a three-night stand at Paramount Theatre.

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.

Available Versions

List of available versions of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) on this website:

4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Album version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Original studio version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Early draft]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 23 Jul 1973 (early show) version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 31 Jul 1973 (late show) version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 31 Oct 1973 (late show) version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 03 Mar 1974 (late show) version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 09 Apr 1974 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 29 Oct 1974 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 05 Feb 1975 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 02 Oct 1975 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 18 Nov 1975 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 31 Dec 1975 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 07 Apr 1976 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 04 Nov 1976 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 09 Aug 1978 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 29 Dec 1980 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 31 Dec 1980 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 30 Jul 1992 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 10 Aug 1992 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 24 Nov 1996 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 26 Nov 1996 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 15 Feb 1997 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 11 Aug 1999 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 12 May 2003 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 18 Jul 2005 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 20 Mar 2008 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 22 Apr 2008 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 04 Jul 2008 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 30 Aug 2008 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 07 Nov 2009 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Live 23 Feb 2014 version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [The Hollies' cover version]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Ben E. King's cover version]

Page last updated: 04 Dec 2011