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Live 22 Feb 1977 version
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, hey!
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 that set you free from everything
To go running on them backstreets, running on them backstreets
We swore we'd live forever
On the backstreets we take it 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 that whole damn city crying
Blame it on the lies that killed us, on the truth that ran us down
Blame it all on me, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight there was nothing left to say
I hated him and I hated you when you went away
Whoaaa!
Now laying here in the dark like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, that we'd go see
Trying to learn how to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be
And after all this time to find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on them backstreets, hiding on them backstreets
We swore forever friends, hey!
On the backstreets until the end
Until the end
Just me an you baby
Just me and you girl
We could steal away
We could steal away
We could steal away
We could steal away
We had it all figured out
I remember we had this
We had this plan we were gonna make it
You was gonna quit your job
I could save up some money
We were gonna slip away
We're gonna steal away
I remember that night 'cause these guys they had
These guys they had some machines down there
And there was this fire down there that night down there by the tracks
And we were sitting in the backseat of, of a burned out old Cadillac
I could sit, stared out the window
And this fire
This fire down, down on the south side of the tracks
And they had these machines down there and just water spraying in the air
And then you promised me
And you promised me that you was never gonna go anyplace without me
'Cause I remember you promised that night
And the rain came tumbling down
And we were sitting right there and you promised
And you promised
And the rain came tumbling down
And I was standing on the corner
And I was standing on the corner
And I was standing on the corner
And I remember that day so well
And I remember that Jackie the cop was across the street
And he asked me what I was waiting for
He asked me just what I was waiting for
I told him that it was nothing
And I was just standing there waiting and wishing that
Wishing that God would send some angels and blow this whole town right into the sea
I was just wishing that God would send some angels and just blow this whole town right into the sea
I was wishing that just God would send some angels and blow this whole
Blow, blow us all right into the sea
I was wishing that just God would send some angels just to blow us
Blow us all right into the sea
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away because
Because you promised
Wish he would just blow it all away
Because you promised
I wish he could just send some angels and blow it all away
Because you promised
Because you promised
Because you promised
Because you promised
Because
Because
You lied!
You lied!
You lied!
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Well it's alright
To go hiding on the backstreets tonight
Whoaaa alright
Whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoaaa
Whoa-whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoaaa-whoa
Whoa-whoa-whoa
You promised
The above lyrics are for the live 22 Feb 1977 performance of BACKSTREETS at Milwaukee Auditorium in Milwaukee, WI, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour.
The line "Wishing that God would send some angels and blow this whole town right into the sea" was later adapted in THE FAST SONG ("I wish God's angels would tear this town down and blow it into the sea").
Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original agreement. Springsteen replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of trust, and undue influence. Appel counter-sued on 29 Jul 1976 in New York State Supreme Court, asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This would drag for about a year. Meanwhile, Springsteen continued gigging, and in the process broke his self-imposed rule of not playing the larger arenas. This was basically because he was not able to put a record out, and it was the only way his fans would be able to hear him at all. The tour became known as "The Lawsuit Tour" (62 know dates, August 1976 to March 1977).
List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:
BACKSTREETS [Album version]