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Live 25 Mar 1977 version
Hmm...
Let the rain fall down
And wash your tears away
Open your eyes
And let 'em all rise
Because it's branded in your heart
And it'll always be a part of you
So baby, don't, little girl don't cry
Little girl don't cry, it's
All over now
Tonight
Tonight
Fall into my arms
And we will go away
Whoah, whoah, whoah, oh
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
A love so hard and filled with defeat, say!
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 loose from everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever
On the backstreets we'd take it together
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where dancers scraped the tears up off the streets 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
You!
Said!
You'd stop it!
Now 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
Then 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
Till the end
Me and you, baby
It's me and you, girl
And I remember running back
And I remember this guy abandoned this car
In this field about a mile and a half outside of town
And at night, just me and her, and Billy used to hitchhike out there.
And I remember the kids, they stripped down the outside of it
'Til there was almost nothing left
But the interior, the insides were still alright
And we'd ride way down by the railroad tracks
We'd go riding in the backseat
Baby'd take me riding in the backseat
In the backseat
In the backseat
In the backseat
Of that old Cadillac
The kid's got cleats on his boots
Whoa-oh, her heels are stacked
Yeah, in the backseat
Oh, take me down
Hey, Terry
Take me down
And the world, and it spins
Round and round and round
And down and down and down
And round and round and round we go
And down and down and down
And I remember these kids that night
They set fire to this abandoned farmhouse
That was about half a mile up the tracks
And they had these machines down there
And they had these engines down there
And we could see the flames shooting out across the sky
'Til it caught in the field
We sat up on the hood and watched it rushing towards us
Watching the flames rushing toward us
Watched it rushing toward us across the field
'Til we ran back on the tracks
And started heading back into town
And then
And then
And then she kissed me
And then she kissed me
And then she kissed me
And then she kissed me
Waa-ooh mmmmm hmmm, hey
And then she promised
And then she promised
And then she promised
And then she lied
And then she lied
And then she lied
And then she lied
She lied
She lied
She lied
Pretty li-li-li-li-li-li-lies
Pretty li-li-li-li-li-li-lies
And I was just wishing
I remember praying that God would send some angels
And blow this whole damn town right into the sea
I remember wishing that God would send some angels
And blow this whole fucking town right into the sea
Just wishing that God would send some angels
And blow this whole damn town right into the sea
Just blow this whole
Just blow it in to sea
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away
Blow it all away!
Blow it all away!
Make it go away!
Blow it all away!
Just blow it all away!
Just blow it all away!
Just blow it all away!
Just blow it all away!
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, say it!
Hiding on the backstreets, say it! Hiding on the backstreets, say it!
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets, say it!
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
It's alright
We'll go hiding on the backstreets
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
On the backstreets, away, go away
Oooh
Oh, whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah, no, no
The above lyrics are for the live 25 Mar 1977 performance of BACKSTREETS at Music Hall in Boston, MA, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour. This was the last of four consecutive shows at the venue that concluded the tour.
The line "I remember praying that God would send some angels and blow this whole damn 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).
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:
BACKSTREETS [Album version]
