BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Live 18 Aug 2001 version



[Bruce Springsteen (spoken intro):] Please come up, we gotta mic... Any other, any other performers? Come on, we need volunteers! Bring 'em up! (chuckles) Hey, a couple, oh, we got, uh... Yeah! Are those on, is one of those, are any of those on? Just bring it on over. I don't, there, uh, uh, the chorus is, the verse is hard, the chorus is easy. (chuckles)
Alright, uh... Let's see, the key of E!
Alright, the verse is hard, remember it, but the chorus should be easy! And, uh, I wrote this, this was one of the first songs I wrote when I was living on Cookman and Main for my first record and it sort of explains why I never had to do any drugs. (chuckles) I was already there in some fashion. And I'm glad I don't have this lady's job right now, because... (chuckles) I love to, I love being handy, and I love to see! Her interpretation of the song. (chuckles) Just join in when the time comes. The chorus goes, "blinded by the light".

Bruce Springsteen:Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot snappin' his fingers clappin' his hands
Some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
Now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
Some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers, "Daddy's within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band"

All:And we were blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, she's gonna make it alright
Bruce Springsteen:Here we go!

Bruce Springsteen:Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
Said, "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in the funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
Bruce Springsteen (spoken):I can't think of all the words!
Bruce Springsteen:Some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone watchin' the young girls dance
Some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

All:And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, she's gonna make it alright

Bruce Springsteen:Hey now
Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
Said, "I'll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you'll play that song with the funky break"
And Go-cart--
Bruce Springsteen (spoken):you guys are scaring me! [laughs]
Where was I?
Bruce Springsteen:See if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
All:Oh, some hazard from Harvard...
Bruce Springsteen (spoken):Alright, alright!
All:Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, she's gonna make it alright

Bruce Springsteen (spoken):Alright, two more verses!

Bruce Springsteen:Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunnked on beer playin' backyard bombardier
And Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent some dude with a calling card, said, "Do what you like, but don't do it here"
Bruce Springsteen (spoken):Alright, you take it away!
Woman on stage:Some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well I unsnapped his skull cap, between his ears I saw a gap and figured he'd be all right

All:He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Springsteen and Woman:Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Whoa, but mama that's where the fun is
All:I was blinded, I was blinded
I was blinded, I was blinded
I was blinded, I was blinded
I was blinded, I was blinded

[Bruce Springsteen (spoken outro):] Let's hear it for them! They were terrible! (laughs) Thank you, thank you, thank you everybody! (laughs) Ah, he got it! Alright, thanks, thanks, oh thanks, thank-thank you! Thank you very much.
[Man on stage:] Wow. Yeah, they were good.
[Bruce Springsteen:]I think she skipped some words in there but... How, how did she do?
[Crowd:] Good!
[Bruce Springsteen:] Really? I, I can't believe it. That's, that's how you get your autographs, man, you've got to be nervy! You've got to be nervy.


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 18 Aug 2001 performance of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT at Asbury Park Waterfront in Asbury Park, NJ, during the 26th annual Clearwater Festival. Springsteen performed an unannounced half-hour acoustic set, giving festival organizers about an hour's notice. That was the first time the festival was held in Asbury Park. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed on acoustic guitar, and Bruce invited onstage an ensemble of the event's musicians to back him up on this one.

Bruce Springsteen performing BLINDED BY THE LIGHT on 18 Aug 2001 at Asbury Park Waterfront in Asbury Park, NJ, during the 26th annual Clearwater Festival (from amateur video footage)
Bruce Springsteen performing BLINDED BY THE LIGHT on 18 Aug 2001 at Asbury Park Waterfront in Asbury Park, NJ, during the 26th annual Clearwater Festival (from amateur video footage)

Officially named "The Great Hudson River Revival", the festival is America's oldest and largest annual festival of its kind, and all proceeds benefit Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a nonprofit environmental organization founded by folk singer Pete Seeger with his wife Toshi Seeger in 1966 that seeks to protect the Hudson River and surrounding wetlands and waterways through advocacy and public education.

Credits

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

Available Versions

List of available versions of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT on this website:

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Album version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 09 Jan 1973 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 02 Mar 1973 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 31 Oct 1973 (late show) version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 06 Jan 1974 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 07 Apr 1976 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 26 Jun 1993 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 22 Apr 1996 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 23 Oct 1999 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 18 Aug 2001 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 20 Feb 2003 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 06 Aug 2003 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 04 Apr 2005 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 25 Jun 2005 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 11 Nov 2006 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 19 Nov 2006 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 31 Jul 2008 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 22 Nov 2009 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Live 15 Apr 2014 version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Manfred Mann's Earth Band's cover version]
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT [Eagles Of Death Metal's cover version]

Page last updated: 03 Oct 2010