LONG TIME COMIN'

Live 16 Jul 2005 version

[Spoken intro:] Thank you, thank you very much. Good evening again. Alright. It's a special dedication tonight for this one. I got my, my oldest son — Evan's with me. Gonna do this for him. He can tell you if this is uh... true or bullshit. And uh... ??? he's, he's, he's gonna put up with the boredom of Dad's chosen profession for a night. This is for you, Ev. (singing) Pony boy, Pony boy, won't you be my — he'll kill me if I play that there. This is for you.

Out where the creek turns shallow and sandy
And the moon comes skimming away the stars
Wind in mesquite comes rushing over the hilltops
Straight into my arms
Straight into my arms

I'm riding hard carrying a cache of roses
A fresh map that I made
Tonight I'm gonna get birth naked and bury my old soul
And dance on its grave
I'm gonna dance on its grave

It's been a long time coming, my dear
It's been a long time coming, now it's here
And now it's here

Well my daddy he was just a stranger
He lived in a hotel downtown
When I was a kid he was just somebody
Somebody I'd see around
Somebody I'd see around

Well now down below and pulling on my shirt
Yeah I got some kids of my own
If I had one wish in this god forsaken world, kids
It'd be that your mistakes would be your own
Yeah your sins would be your own

It's been a long time coming, my dear
It's been a long time coming, now it's here
And now it's here

Out 'neath the arms of Cassiopeia
Where the sword of Orion sweeps
It's me and you, Rosie, we're crackling like crossed wires
You breathing in your sleep
Yeah you breathing in your sleep

Well there's just a spark of a campfire left burning
Two kids in a sleeping bag beside
Reach 'neath your shirt, lay my hands across your belly
And feel another one kicking inside
I ain't gonna fuck it up this time

It's been a long time coming, my dear
It's been a long time coming, now it's here
It's been a long time coming, my dear
It's been a long time coming, but now it's here
And now it's here

[Spoken outro:] Yeah he will tell you that the uh... correct words to that last verse would be "I ain't gonna fuck it up too bad this time." I, I, I should've put that qualifier in there that... you know, I should've been completely honest with that, "I ain't gonna fuck it up too bad." Right?

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 16 Jul 2005 performance of LONG TIME COMIN' at Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY, during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement. Springsteen sang a snippet of PONY BOY during the song's spoken intro.

Ticket stub for the 16 jul 2005 show at Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY

Available Versions

List of available versions of LONG TIME COMIN' on this website:

Page last updated: 07 Sep 2016