KITTY'S BACK

Live 13 Jul 1974 version

[Spoken intro:] There a lot of New Jersey people here? Yeah. There's like, there's this club out on Route 33, this -- yeah, it's called Sportsman's Club. Yeah! (chuckles) Guys are -- all right! (chuckles) Businessmen's luncheons, they have, they have like, like the Go-go dancers and that stuff. And a girlfriend of mine dances there sometimes, and, and she, she explained it to me a little bit how it works, how the girls get paid and stuff. And, uh, every time I ride by that place to look for her name on the, on the billboard, you know, 'cause it has like, you know, "Businessmen's luncheon, 12, 12 to 5," uh, "Katie and Marie". Really, they do, everybody hooks up with a certain girl down there. And, um, but they have, like, um, "Mary tonight," you know, "8 -- 8 to 10". And, um, and I went by there one day, and, and, uh, and... Kitty's back!

Catlong sighs holding Kitty's black tooth
She left him to marry some top cat, ain't it the cold truth
There hasn't been a tally since Sally left the alley
Since Kitty left with Big Pretty things have gotten pretty thin
Well, yes they have
It's tight on this fence since them young dudes are muscling in

Jack Knife sighs 'cause baby's in a bundle
She goes running nightly, lightly through the jungle
Them tin cans are exploding out in the ninety-degree heat
Cat somehow lost his Kitty down on Bleecker Street
It's sad, but it sure is true
Cat just shrugs his shoulders, sits back and sighs
He says, "Oh! No! Oh! What can I, can I do?
Babe, tell me now, what can I do?"

Catlong lies back bent on a trash can
Flashing lights cut the night, dude in white says he's the man
You better learn to move fast when you're young or you're not long around
Cat somehow lost his Kitty down in the city pound
All right, yes he did
Get right, get tight, get down
Whoa!
Way down, get downtown
(Here she comes, here she comes)
Cousin, here she comes

Uh huh

Oh!

Here she comes, here she come
Here she come, here she comes
Here she comes, here she come
Here she come, here she come
Here she come (here she come)
Here she come (here she come)
Here she come (here she come)
Here she come (here she come)
Here she come (here she come)
Here she comes (here she come)
Here she comes (here she come)
Here she comes (here she come)
Here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes,
here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes,
here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes
Kitty's back in town (here she comes, now)
Kitty's back in town (oh, oh, all right)
Kitty's back in town (here she comes, now)
Kitty's back (oh, oh, all right)
Kitty's back in town (here she comes, now)
Kitty's back in town (oh, oh, all right)
Kitty's back in town (here she comes, now)
Kitty's back in town (oh, oh, all right)

Cat knows his Kitty's been untrue
Well, that she left him for a city dude
But she's so soft, she's so blue
When he looks into her eyes
Just sits back and sighs
Whoa, whoa, whoa, what, what can I, can I do?
Oh, tell me, what can I, can I do, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
Oh!
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, all right, ooh, all right)
(Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, all right, ooh, all right)
Oh!
(Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, all right, ooh, all right)

Kitty's back in town, that's it!

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 13 Jul 1974 performance of KITTY'S BACK at The Bottom Line in New York City, NY, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. The song was played in an extended full-band arrangement, featuring Ernest "Boom" Carter on drums and David Sancious on piano.

Promotional ad for the July 1974 three-night stand at The Bottom Line, New York City, NY
(Taken from Brucebase)

Ticket stub for the 13 Jul 1974 show at The Bottom Line, New York City, NY
(Taken from Brucebase)

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed three nights at The Bottom Line between 12 and 14 Jul 1974. They played two shows each night, an early one at 8:30PM and a late one at 11:30PM. According to pre-concerts advertisements, these were double-bill shows, with Bruce Springsteen headlining and singer-songwriter Jeffrey Comanor opening. Recollections differ, but Comanor may not have appeared at all six shows of the three-night stand. An audience recording from the second night circulates among collectors and is believed to be from the late show, although this hasn't been verified.

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Some of the above information is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of KITTY'S BACK on this website:

Page last updated: 05 Jan 2016