- Home
-
Lyrics
-
- Collection
-
Bootlegs
-
Intro / Wanted list
-
- Links
- Forum
-
-
-
Live 19 Oct 1974 version
The ragamuffin gunner is returnin' home like a hungry runaway
He walks through town all alone
"He must be from the fort," he hears the high school girls say
This countryside's burnin' with wolfmen fairies dressed in drag for homicide
They hit and run, plead sanctuary, 'neath the holy stone they hide
And they're breakin' beams and crosses, oh, with a spastic's reelin' perfection
And nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant, pleadin' the immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
And Sticker says, "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand, man, that's quicksand that ain't mud
Have you thrown your senses to the wars or did you lose them in the flood?"
That pure American brother, dull-eyed and empty-faced
He races Sundays in Jersey in the Chevy super eight
He rides her low on the hip, on the side he's got Bound For Glory in red, white and blue flash paint
He leans on the hood telling racin' stories, the kids call him Jimmy The Saint
That blaze and noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point
He rides headfirst into a hurricane, disappears into a point
Till there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell
Nothin' left that you could sell
Just junk all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell
And someone says, "Hey kid, you think that's oil? Man, that ain't oil, that's blood"
Well, I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm
Or was he just lost in the flood?
Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air
Some storefront incarnation of Maria, she's puttin' on me her stare
And Bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware
Everything stops, you hear five quick shots, the cops come up for air
And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown, they're shootin' up the street
That cat from the Bronx starts lettin' loose, but gets blown right off his feet
Some kid comes blastin' round the corner, but a cop puts him right away
He lays on the street holding his leg screaming something in Spanish
Still breathing when I walked away
And someone said, "Hey man, did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud" uh!
Wonder what that dude was sayin', was he just lost in the flood?
I said, "Hey man, did you see that? Boy, them poor cats, they're sure fucked up"
I wonder what they was gettin' into, were they all just lost in the flood?
Flood, flood, flood
Were they lost in the flood?
Whoa
Lord help me, God help
Down in the flood
Down in the flood
Hey
The above lyrics are for the live 19 Oct 1974 performance of LOST IN THE FLOOD at Union College in Schenectady, NY, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. The song was performed in a full-band version, featuring a new dramatic, extended piano intro led by Roy Bittan on piano but including the full band, which bears a strong resemblance to the one which would accompany IT'S MY LIFE on later tours.
This show was a sellout held in the intimate Memorial Chapel Concert Hall at Union College as part of the school's Homecoming Weekend. It was a double bill with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band headlining and an obscure fou-piece light rock local band called Goebel & Lang opened with a 60-minute performance. Audience recording of fair-good quality is circulating among collectors and likely represents the entire performance.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Some of the above info is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of LOST IN THE FLOOD on this website:
LOST IN THE FLOOD [Album version]