I PLAYED THE FOOL

Live 31 Jan 1998 version



Steve Van Zandt (spoken):Can we have a hand for the Miami Horns please?
La Bamba... Love Man... Joey... Mikey... King Fish... Keep on going!
Southside Johnny:Aha, ha ha ha, baby
Steve (spoken):Keep on going! Turn the horns up! Turn the horns up! Play the horns up! Play the horns up!

Steve:Like a child who's soul's a flame that needs to burn
I'm just the kind of guy that never learns
Southside:Ain't that the truth
Both:I guess you had to go
Why was I the last to know

Both:I played the fool, girl
I did just what you expected
I played the fool, girl
Steve:And you're making it so hard to leave this time
Johnny!

Southside:I see so much when I look in your eyes
Steve:Yes I do, baby
Southside:I just can't help myself - I'm hypnotized
Both:It's my turn to walk away
Baby I'll be back someday (Say!)

Both:I played the fool, girl
I did just what you expected
I played the fool, girl
You're making it so hard to leave this time

Steve (spoken):Wait a minute... I need some King Fish! Come on, King Fish!

Both:It's my turn to walk away
Baby I'll be back someday
I played the fool, girl
I did just what you expected
I played the fool, girl
Steve:You're making it so hard to leave this time

Both:I played the fool, girl
I did just what you expected
I played the fool
I played the fool, girl
I played the fool
I played the fool, baby
I played the fool
I played the fool, baby
I played the fool
I played the fool

Southside (spoken):Little Steven! Little Steven!

Info

I PLAYED THE FOOL is a 1978 song by Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes. See the original Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes version for more details.

Live 31 Jan 1998 version

The above lyrics are for live 31 Jan 1998 performance of I PLAYED THE FOOL at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert. Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi traded lead vocals on this song. Bruce Springsteen did not sing, but he probably was onstage playing guitar during this and all the other songs on which he did not sing.

The 31 Jan 1998 Show

The "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert was organized by the Long Branch Police Department, The Asbury Park Press, and FPI Concerts, along with Jon Bon Jovi. The concert was to honor slain Long Branch police officer Sgt. Patrick King and raise money for the Sgt. Patrick King Memorial Fund to provide for his family. King, 45-year-old father of two young boys, was fatally shot on 20 Nov 1997 by a fugitive who had vowed to kill himself and a police officer rather than be captured and returned to jail.

Twenty musicians with ties to the Jersey shore music scene answered Jon Bon Jovi's call, including Bruce Springsteen and several members of the then-disbanded E Street Band (Clarence Clemons, Danni Frederici, Patti Scialfa, Steven Van Zandt, and Max Weinberg), Southside Johnny, Bobby Bandiera, and Richie Sambora among others. Actor Danny DeVito was the event's MC. Tickets, which were priced at $125, went on sale on 17 Jan 1998 noon and sold out in just eight minutes. The concert that was organized in short order raised more than $112,000 for King's widow and his two sons.

Promotional poster for the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ
Promotional poster for the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ
Ticket stub for the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ
Ticket stub for the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ

"It was a chance to forget about [the murder] a little bit," Long Branch police Sgt. Bruce Johantgen, one of about 50 city police officers who attended the show, told The Asbury Park Press. "The outpouring of love from the performers to the audience was unbelievable". Johantgen said he found it ironic that Bon Jovi and other performers thanked the audience for coming to the sold-out show. "From the police perspective, I kept thinking, 'We should be thanking you for giving your time'," Johantgen said.

This was a near-reunion of the fabled E Street Band and Springsteen's first full-length electric gig following the acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. Springsteen spent much (or possibly all) of the night onstage, singing or playing guitar only. Soundboard recording for the complete concert is available among collectors.

  1. THIS TIME IT'S FOR REAL (with Southside Johnny, Jon Bon Jovi, and Steven Van Zandt)
  2. TWO HEARTS (Bruce Springsteen with Steven Van Zandt)
  3. BAD MEDICINE (Jon Bon Jovi and Southside Johnny)
  4. UNTIL THE GOOD IS GONE (Steven Van Zandt)
  5. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (Bruce Springsteen with Jon Bon Jovi)
  6. BROKE DOWN PIECE OF MAN (Southside Johnny and Bon Jovi)
  7. HARD TIMES COME EASY (Richie Sambora)
  8. LOVE'S GLORY (Patti Scialfa)
  9. THERE GOES MY BABY (Southside Johnny)
  10. THIS TIME BABY'S GONE FOR GOOD (Bruce Springsteen with Southside Johnny and Steven Van Zandt)
  11. YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME (Bruce Springsteen with Jon Bon Jovi)
  12. THE PROMISED LAND (Bruce Springsteen)
  13. ALL I NEEDED WAS YOU (Southside Johnny and Van Zandt)
  14. SOMEDAY I'LL BE SATURDAY NIGHT (Jon Bon Jovi and Southside Johnny)
  15. BOBBY JEAN (Bruce Springsteen)
  16. BLOOD ON BLOOD (Jon Bon Jovi)
  17. THE FEVER (Bruce Springsteen with Southside Johnny and Clarence Clemons)
  18. I'VE BEEN WORKING TOO HARD - LITTLE QUEENIE (Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi)
  19. I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME (Bruce Springsteen with Southside Johnny, Jon Bon Jovi, and Steven Van Zandt)
  20. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME (Bruce Springsteen with Southside Johnny and Van Zandt)
  21. WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE (Bruce Springsteen with Jon Bon Jovi)
  22. BACKSTREETS (Bruce Springsteen)
  23. FOREVER (Steven Van Zandt)
  24. LIVIN' ON A PRAYER (Jon Bon Jovi)
  25. BADLANDS (Bruce Springsteen)
  26. I PLAYED THE FOOL (Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi)
  27. KEEP THE FAITH (Jon Bon Jovi)
  28. BORN TO RUN (Bruce Springsteen)
  29. ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD (Bruce Springsteen with all performers)
  30. TREAT HER RIGHT (Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi with all performers)
  31. THUNDER ROAD (Bruce Springsteen with Southside Johnny, Jon Bon Jovi, Steven Van Zandt, and all performers)

The 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.

Bruce Springsteen & Bon Jovi -- Live On Air
Bruce Springsteen & Bon Jovi -- Live On Air

2xCD - Laser Media (1143272) - UK, 2016

This release contains part of the 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie Theatre.

Live History

I PLAYED THE FOOL was performed off-tour on 16 Jul 1994 at The Stone Pony Tent in Asbury Park, NJ, with Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, during The Stone Pony's twentieth anniversary celebration.

I PLAYED THE FOOL was performed off-tour on 31 Jan 1998 at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert.

  1. 16 Jul 1994 at The Stone Pony Tent, Asbury Park, NJ
  2. 31 Jan 1998 at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ

Credits

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

Available Versions

List of available versions of I PLAYED THE FOOL on this website:

I PLAYED THE FOOL [Live 31 Jan 1998 version]
I PLAYED THE FOOL [Original Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes version]

Page last updated: 02 Sep 2012