DEAD MAN WALKIN'

Live 25 Mar 1996 version

[Winona Ryder (spoken intro):] Well, it's certainly a tremendous honor for me to be here, to introduce our next performer, because he's a real hero of mine and a real inspiration. And he's here to sing the title song from the brilliant brilliant brilliant movie "Dead Man Walking". Mister Bruce Springsteen. (cheers)

There's a pale horse comin'
And I'm gonna ride it
I'll rise in the morning
My fate decided
I'm a dead man walkin'
I'm a dead man walkin'

In Saint James Parish
I was born and Christened
I've got my story
Mister, 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 actions lies 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'

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

Now the clouds above my prison
They move slowly 'cross the sky
There's a new day comin'
And my dreams are full tonight

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 25 Mar 1996 performance of DEAD MAN WALKIN' at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA, during the 68th Academy Awards ceremony. Springsteen was introduced by actress Winona Ryder.

Bruce Springsteen's DEAD MAN WALKIN' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. In the midst of his The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour in Europe, Springsteen returned to the United States to attend the awards ceremony and perform DEAD MAN WALKIN'. This was Springsteen's second ever Academy Awards nomination. But as he predicted, he didn't win a follow-up Oscar to the 1994 hit STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA, losing to COLORS OF THE WIND, a song from Disney's animated blockbuster Pocahontas. Springsteen told The Advocate during a pre-ceremony interview, "Oh, I don't know; when those Disney pictures are out there, you don't stand a chance." He added, "'Dead Man Walkin'' is another song that's pretty offbeat, so I'm not really expecting one." In the United States, the awards ceremony was broadcasted live on ABC.

Available Versions

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Page last updated: 25 May 2015