NEW YORK CITY SERENADE

Live 29 Oct 1974 version

Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Whoa, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Whoa, ah, ah, ah, oh, ah, oh
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
One, two, three!

Billy, he's down by the railroad tracks
Sitting low in the back seat of his Cadillac
Diamond Jackie, she's so intact
Then she falls ─ she says, "Do you want to hear something wonderful?" ─ and falls, like an angel beneath him
Jackie's heels are stacked
Billy's got cleats on his boots
They're gonna boogaloo down Broadway
And come back home with the loot
It's midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute, it's a mad dog's promenade
So walk tall
Or don't walk at all

Fish lady, fish lady baits them tenement walls
She don't take the corner boys, no, they got, they got no money and they got no car, and they're so easy
I said, "Hey, baby, I'm easy, take my arm, waltz with me down Broadway, yeah"
Take my hand, little one, move with me down Broadway
I'm a young boy, I talk real loud and, babe, I walk real proud with you
Shake away your city life, shake away your street life, shake away that city life, shake away your
street life, shake away that city life, shake away your street life, shake away your city life, ah,
oh, shake your city life, shake this life, and hook, and hook it up, whoa, baby, hook it up, come
on, mama, hook it up, hey, yeah!
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hook it up! Come on, mama, hook it up!
Ah, come on, baby, hook it up! To the night train, hook it to the night train
But I (know she won't take the train, she won't take this train)
No, she won't take the train, (no, she won't take the train)
No, she won't board that train, (no, she won't take the train)
Afraid them tracks are gonna slow her down
And when she turns around, he'll be gone
Baby, so long
You see, sometimes, you gotta, gotta walk on, walk on, walk on
Walk on, walk on, walk on

Vibes man, jazz man in the alley, play me your serenade
Any deeper blue, you'd be blowing that horn in your grave
Save your notes: don't spend 'em on the blue boys
Save your notes, now: don't go spending 'em on them fancy...
Straight for the church note, ring it, vibes man sting a trash can
Listen, listen to your junkman, ah
Now, listen to your junkman
Ah, listen to your junkman
He's singing, (singing)
Singing, (singing)
He's all dressed up in satin, now, strutting down the alley (singing)
Singing (singing)
Singing, singing, singing, singing, yeah, singing, singing, singing, sing, yeah
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, ah, da, da, da
Ah, whoa, no, no, no
Na, na, na, na, whoa
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ah, na, na, na, na
Whoa!
Ah, na, ah, ah, singin' it, la, la, la, na, na, na, na
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
But, ah, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oh, whoa, come on, hey!
Oh, hook it, hook it up, ah, hook it up, whoa!
Hey!
Yeah, all night long, all night, all night
Oh, streets at night
There ain't a sound
Just the, just the rain falling down
Not out on the street tonight, there isn't
Just the rain falling
Oh, take care
Ah, ah
Come down, and take care
I want to take you, Jackie
Take you, I can take you down, down
I want to take you, Jackie
Take you, Jackie
I want to take you all the way, down, down, down, down, down, down, going down, down, down, down, down we go
Baby, down, down, down and down, down and down and down and down, down, down, down and down we go
Baby, down, down, down and down and down, down and down and down and down and down
And the world spins 'round
And the world spins 'round
And it's night time
And the world spins 'round
Shoo
And the world spins 'round and 'round
And baby, down and down and down we go, down and down and down we go, down and down and down and down we go
Oh, Jackie, and maybe down, fall, 'round and 'round, down and down and down and down we go, oh!
Maybe down and down, whoa!
Maybe down and down and down, hey!
Down and down and down we go
And the world spins down and down and 'round and 'round
Down and down and down, I want to take you, Jackie
I want to take you baby, I want to take you, I want to take you, I want to take you, baby, I want to take you baby, right there, I want to make it, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can, whoa, this, we can, we can, we can, we can take it down and down, and 'round and 'round we go
Yeah, Jackie
Baby, let's slip away
Baby, want to steal away
Baby, we could slip away
Jackie, we could, we could, bet you we could steal away
Baby, we could get away
Baby, we could shake this city life
We could shake this tired life
We could slip away, go, whoa, whoa
You could quit your job
And I'll quit my job, too
We'll hit the 7-11 stores
And, and we could slip away
Oh, I bought your tickets, too, huh
It's, sha, na
We could slip away
Bet you we could steal away
Let's get my car out of the shop
And don't your mom, and don't tell your pop
This kind of car, we're going down and down and down and down, down we go
Down and, sha, na, huh, huh
Jackie, we could slip away
Baby, want to run away?
Oh, baby, want to run away?
Baby, let's run away
Jackie, let's just slip away
Baby, we could get away
Baby, we could slip away
(Baby, we could slip away)
Who's gonna miss us?
(Baby, we could slip away)
(Baby, we could slip away)
Slip away, steal
(Baby, we could steal away)
We could steal away
(Baby, we could steal away)
Just... come on
(Baby, we could slip away)
Let's do it, let's do it
(Baby, we could slip away)
Let's do it, I'll get with you
(Baby, we could steal away)
Na, na, na, na
(Baby, we could steal away)
Na, na
(Baby, we could slip away)
Stop!
(Baby, we could slip away)
Jackie, stop!
(Baby, we could steal away)
Stop!
(Baby, we could steal away)
Stop!
(Baby, we could slip away)
Stop!
(Baby, we could slip away)
Baby, please, stop!
(Baby, we could steal away)
Stop!
Slip away
Oh, now, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Ah, na, na, na, ah, la, na, na, na
Slip away, whoa, away, steal away
Slip, slip away, steal away, steal away, slip away, whoa!
Steal away, steal away, we could slip away
Come on!
Slip away, slip, down, we could, come on, come on, come on, come on
Baby, we could run away
Baby, we could run away
Baby, we could run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to slip away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to run away
Baby, want to... Whoa
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
La, la, la, la, ooh, ooh, ooh
Slip away
Steal away, mama
Slip away
Ooh, steal away
Who's gonna miss us?

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 29 Oct 1974 performance of NEW YORK CITY SERENADE at Music Hall in Boston, MA, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. The song featured Roy Bittan on piano, Max Weinberg on drums, and Suki Lahav on violin, and was played in a majestic extended full-band arrangement with the "slip away" coda and a full-band, violin-led introduction.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band were the headliners, and Dr. John was the opening act.

Promotional ad for the 29 Oct 1974 show at Music Hall, Boston, MA

Ticket stub for the 29 Oct 1974 show at Music Hall, Boston, MA

Credits

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

Available Versions

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

Page last updated: 03 Jun 2012