SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT

Live 21 Feb 1995 version



[Spoken:] All right, right into it.

One, two, a-one, two, three, four!

Crazy Janey and her mission man were back in the alley tradin' hands
'Long came Wild Billy with his friend G-Man, duded up for Saturday night
Billy slammed on his coaster brakes
Said, "Anybody wanna go on up to Greasy Lake?
It's a mile down on the dark side of route eighty-eight
Got a bottle of rose, let's try it
We'll pick up Hazy Davy and Killer Joe, take you all out to where the gypsy angels go
Built like light
Ooh, and they dance like spirits in the night" (all night)
All night (all night)
Well, baby don't know what it do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
Stand up and let it shoot right through you

Well, Wild Billy was a crazy cat, he shook some dust out of his coonskin cap
Cried, "Trust some of this, it'll show you where you're at, at least it'll help you really feel it"
By the time we made it up to Greasy Lake, I had my head out the window; Janey's fingers in the cake
I think I really dug her; I was too loose to fake
Said, "Hurt," she said, "Honey, let me heal it"
We danced all night to a soul fairy band
She kissed me just right like only a lonely angel can
Felt just right, just as sweet as a spirit in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
Well, baby don't know what it do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
Stand up and let it shoot right through you
Oh, all right now

(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)

Say yeah, now
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)

The night grew bright, and the stars threw light on Billy and Davy
Dancin' in the moonlight
We were down near the water in a stone mud fight
Killer Joe gone passed out on the lawn

Well, Hazy Davy got really hurt, he fell into the lake in just his socks and a shirt
Me and Crazy Janey, makin' love in the dirt, singin' our birthday songs
Then Janey said, "Baby, it's time to go"
So we closed our eyes and said goodbye
To gypsy angel row, felt just right
Together we moved like spirits in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
Baby don't know what it do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
Stand up and let it shoot right through you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All

Whoa!

[Spoken outro:] Is the film crew ready? Is it ready?
Whoops! (laughs)
Is it — ah, hell with it! (All right!)
Go 'head, Max!


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 21 Feb 1995 performance of SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT at Tramps in New York City, NY, during a reunion gig with the E Street Band. The song was played in its traditional full-band arrangement and featured heavy saxophone.

The 21 Feb 1995 Reunion Gig

On 21 Feb 1995, Bruce Springsteen performed an unannounced show with the E Street Band at Tramps nightclub in New York City, NY, in front of an audience of about 300 invitees. This was a reunion gig with the band intended for the shooting of the MURDER INCORPORATED music video and to promote Springsteen's upcoming Greatest Hits album. This was the first time Springsteen has performed with the E Street Band in more than six years; their last show together was on 15 Oct 1988 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The taping at the nightclub lasted five hours, from around 8:00PM to around 1:00PM, though there was only about an hour and a half of music. For the video, which was directed by Jonathan Demme, Springsteen and the band performed six takes MURDER INCORPORATED, in addition to the two takes they had practiced prior to the taping. They also treated the audience with 12 additional songs. Some footage from the 21 Feb 1995 evening was included on Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's 1996 documentary Blood Brothers.

Sound-check prior to taping:

  1. THIS HARD LAND
  2. PROVE IT ALL NIGHT
  3. CADILLAC RANCH
  4. MURDER INCORPORATED
  5. MURDER INCORPORATED

Taping:

  1. MURDER INCORPORATED
  2. PROVE IT ALL NIGHT
  3. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
  4. MURDER INCORPORATED
  5. BOBBY JEAN
  6. MURDER INCORPORATED
  7. SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT
  8. MURDER INCORPORATED
  9. MURDER INCORPORATED
  10. CADILLAC RANCH
  11. TWO HEARTS
  12. THIS HARD LAND
  13. MURDER INCORPORATED
  14. BADLANDS
  15. RAMROD
  16. THUNDER ROAD
  17. BACKSTREETS
  18. LITTLE LATIN LUPE LU

Credits

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

Available Versions

List of available versions of SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT on this website:

SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Album version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 31 Jan 1973 (early show) version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 02 Mar 1973 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 24 Apr 1973 (early show) version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 01 May 1973 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 06 Jan 1974 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 05 Feb 1975 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 15 Aug 1975 (early show) version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 18 Nov 1975 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 13 May 1976 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 13 Feb 1977 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 07 Jul 1978 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 08 Dec 1978 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 15 Dec 1978 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 31 Dec 1980 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 20 Aug 1984 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 31 Oct 1992 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 06 Nov 1992 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 21 Feb 1995 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 25 Nov 1996 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 26 Nov 1996 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 14 Nov 1999 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 08 Apr 2000 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 08 May 2000 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 16 Oct 2002 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 21 Jul 2003 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 31 Aug 2003 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 19 Dec 2004 (late show) version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 22 Jun 2005 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 12 Dec 2006 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 20 Mar 2008 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 23 Aug 2008 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 16 Oct 2008 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 25 Aug 2009 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 20 Oct 2009 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 22 Nov 2009 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Live 26 Jan 2014 version]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Manfred Mann's Earth Band's cover version]

Page last updated: 21 May 2011