HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN

Home demo

Ba dee..

Hungry boy comes in off the street
Hungry boy comes in off the street
Ain't got nothing, and nothing to eat
A man says "better sign here son"
Look out!
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun

I was out driving, I was taking it slow
Looked at my tank it looked low
Pulled into a Texaco out on 101
Oh!
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun

It's a sin, it's a crime
Man it happens all of the time
Better keep looking out for number one, but no good
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun
Held up without — [recording cut]

gu─a gun
You get
Held up without a gun
Kiss me baby
Held up without a gun

Info

The above lyrics are for a solo acoustic guitar demo of HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN recorded at Springsteen's home in Holmdel, NJ, sometime between September and December 1979. Springsteen recorded many demos at his home around the time The River was being cut in studio. These home demos were not professionally recorded; it seems that Springsteen used a regular cassette recorder. They were just song fragments, and there is much stopping and starting heard as Springsteen records bits and pieces, manually stops the recorder, and then returns sometime later to add more ideas.

Bootleg Releases

This home demo recording of HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN can be found on The Definitive River Outtakes Collection Volume 1 (E. St. Records) [disc 1, tracks 14 and 16] bootleg. The two parts of the song (before and after the recording cut) are spread over two tracks on the bootleg.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Definitive River Outtakes Collection Volume 1 (E. St. Records)

Credits

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

Available Versions

List of available versions of HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN on this website:

Page last updated: 07 Oct 2015