NEW YORK CITY SERENADE

Live 03 Mar 1974 (late show) version

[Spoken intro:] This is, um, New York City Serenade.

Well, Billy, he's down by the railroad tracks
Sitting low in the back seat of his Cadillac
Diamond Jackie, she's so intact
And she falls like a angel beneath him
Jackie's heels are stacked
Whoa, Billy's got cleats on his boots
Together they're gonna boogaloo down Broadway
Come back on home with the loot
It's midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute, it's a mad dog's promenade
Walk tall
Or don't you walk at all
Ooh, ooh, da, da

Fish lady, oh, my fish lady, fish lady, fish lady, she baits them tenement walls
She don't take corner boys, whoa, they got no money, and they're so easy
Callin' out, oh, mama, take my arm and waltz with me down Broadway, yeah
Oh, take my hand, little girl, and move with me down Broadway, yeah
Oh, I'm a young man, and I walk it real proud, hey, babe, I talk it real loud for you
Shake away your city, ah, shake away your rotten, ah, shake away your city life, ah, Jackie, shake away your street life
And hook it up, the boys whisper, "Hook it up"
They whisper, "Hook up to the night train"
Hook up to the silver train
Hook up to the night train
Ah, hook it up
Ah, Jackie, hook it up
Oh, ah, baby, hook it up, ah, hook it up
But I know she won't take the train, (no, she won't take a train)
No, she won't take the train, (no, she won't take the train)
No, she won't, she won't take the train, (no, she won't take a train)
She's afraid those tracks are gonna slow her down
And when she turns around, I'll gone
Baby, so long
Sometimes you gotta walk, ah, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da

Hey, vibes man, hey, jazz man down in the alley, oh, play me your serenade
Any deeper blue, you'll be playin' in your grave
Save your notes: now, don't spend 'em, now
Save your notes: now, don't spend 'em on a sharp boy
Straight for the church note, ring it, hey, vibes man, sting a trash can
Listen, listen to your junkman
Oh, listen to your junkman
Listen to your junkman
Listen to your junkman
He's singin', (singin')
Singin', (singin')
He's all dressed up in satin, walkin' down the alley (singin')
Singin', yeah, (singin')
He's singin', singin', sing, yeah, (sing, yeah), singin', singin', sing, sing, sing, sing
Oh, na, na, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Oh, all right
Da, da, da, da
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, no!
Ah!
Whoa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Hey, come on!
Come on, now
Come on, Jackie
Watch out for your junkman
Come on, Jackie
Come on, Jackie
And watch out for your junkman
Ooh
Na, na, na, na, na
Ha, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na
Watch out, Jackie

Na, na, na
La, la, la
Da, da, da
Da, da, da
Watch out, Jackie
Na, na, na
Well, whoa, na, na

[Spoken outro:] Thank you. Clarence Clemons on the saxophone, Dave Sancious on the piano.

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 03 Mar 1974 late show performance of NEW YORK CITY SERENADE at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. The song featured David Sancious on piano (including the introduction) and Ernest "Boom" Carter on drums and was played in a more acoustic-oriented partial-band arrangement.

The 03 Mar 1974 Late Show

Bruce Springsteen and the band played two shows at Georgetown University on 03 Mar 1974: an early show at 7:30 p.m. and a late show at 10:30 p.m. Bruce Springsteen was the headliner and Orleans were the opening act. The shows were held at the university's 750-seat Gaston Hall. There is no known audio recording from the early show, but Springsteen's late show (minus the last song) was simulcast on the University's popular radio station WGTB-FM. The broadcast now circulates on several bootlegs in excellent soundboard quality.

Promotional ad for the 03 Mar 1974 shows at Georgetown University, Washington, DC

Ticket stub for the 03 Mar 1974 late show at Georgetown University, Washington, DC
(Taken from Brucebase)

The 03 Mar 1973 late show broadcast from Georgetown University 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.

Springsteen -- Saint In The City - The Complete WGTB Radio Boradcast 1974

2xCD - Rox Vox (RV2CD1023) - UK, 2015

This release contains the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University.

Bruce Springsteen -- Live 1974 - Washington DC

2xCD - Live Wire (LW2028) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University.

Bruce Springsteen -- Washington 1974

Digital album - Lilith Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2016

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Great American Road Trip

10xCD - Evolution Music (EMG01) - UK, 2020

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place, the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University, the 09 Mar 1974 KLOL-FM radio broadcast, the 05 Feb 1975 broadcast from The Main Point, the 30 Sep 1978 broadcast from Fox Theatre, plus some various TV performances from 1992-1995.

Bruce Springsteen -- Thunder Road - Live

20xCD - KP Music (SPRING01) - Europe, 2020

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place, the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University, the 09 Mar 1974 KLOL-FM radio broadcast, the 05 Feb 1975 broadcast from The Main Point, the 15 Aug 1975 early show broadcast from Bottom Line, the 17 Oct 1975 early show broadcast from The Roxy Theatre, the 09 Aug 1978 broadcast from The Agora, the 30 Sep 1978 broadcast from Fox Theatre, the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood, the 20 Aug 1994 show with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers at Marz American Style, plus some various TV performances from 1992-1995.

Credits / References

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

Some of the above info about Springsteen's shows at Georgetown University is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of NEW YORK CITY SERENADE on this website:

Page last updated: 03 Jun 2012