THE E STREET SHUFFLE

Live 31 Oct 1973 (late show) version



[Spoken intro:] Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! We got a special, this Halloween trick-or-treat, we got a special treat for you tonight. We got Albee Tellone, one of our roadies, gonna play the baritone for us. Albee Tellone on the baritone saxophone. We, we played some gigs, we played out west with some, with, with horn, some horns bands, we played with Blood, Sweat and Tears, we did this gig with them, and we played with Chicago, and we figured we gotta keep up, right? This, this is a very competitive business, man, you can't fall behind for a minute, you keep right up. So, so we're gonna debut tonight the E Street horn section (laughs) with special guest Albee Tellone on saxophone. All right. You gotta, you gotta give him a minute to warm up, folks, they don't -- you gotta give him a second to warm up, they'll be all right.

They're all warmed up now. All right.

This a new dance, it's a dance called the E Street Shuffle!


Well, sparks light on E Street where the boy prophets walk it handsome and hot
All the little girls' souls grow weak when the man-child gives them a double shot
All right, now, schoolboy pops pull out all the stops on a Friday night
And them teenage tramps in skin-tight pants do the E Street dance and it's all right
Well, them kids, they're out dancin' or hooked up in a scuffle
Dressed in snake-skin suits packed with Detroit muscle
Doin' the E Street Shuffle
All right

Well, those E Street brats in twilight duel flashlight phantoms in full star stream, all right
Down fire trails on silver nights with blonde girls, sweet sixteen
Newsboy says the heat's been bad since Power Thirteen gave a trooper all he had in a late summer scuffle
Kids are on the corner doin' nothing but doin' that E Street Shuffle
Now, Power's girl Little Angel dance the shuffle like she's got no brains
She's deaf in combat down on Lover's Lane
Drives all those local boys insane
Oh, yes she does
Little Angel says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa
(Everybody form a line)
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa
(Everybody form a line)"

She's got that goin'!
Sparks light on E Street where the boy-prophets walk it handsome and hot
Oh, the little girls' souls grow weak when the man-child gives them a double shot
Little Angel works at Easy Joe's, it's a joint where all the riot squad goes when they're looking for a hustle
And them boys are still on the corner doin' that crazy E Street Shuffle
And them summer nights turn into summer dreams
Angel picks up Power and he slides on his jeans
We move on down to the scene
All the kids are dancin'
We're havin' a party (party)
Ah, everybody's singin'
Whoa!

[Spoken outro:] Albee Tellone on the baritone saxophone! Oh! Oh, yeah! All you, you were great! Honestly! Ooh!


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 31 Oct 1973 (late show) performance of THE E STREET SHUFFLE at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. The song was played in a full-band album-style arrangement featuring Albee Tellone on baritone saxophone, and concluded with a small snippet of Sam Cooke's HAVING A PARTY.

Bruce Springsteen performed three nights, two shows each night, at The Main Point between 29 and 31 Oct 1973. He was the headliner and local acoustic trio Wire And Wood were the opening act. This version of THE E STREET SHUFFLE is from a circulating 13-song audience tape that is believed to be the late 31 Oct 1973 show.

Promotional ad for the 30 and 31 Oct 1973 shows at The Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA
Promotional ad for the 30 and 31 Oct 1973 shows at The Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA
(Taken from Brucebase)

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake). Most of the above info about Springsteen's 3-night residency at The Main Point is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of THE E STREET SHUFFLE on this website:

THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Album version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Early draft]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 31 Oct 1973 (late show) version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 03 Mar 1974 (late show) version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 09 May 1974 (early show) version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 29 Oct 1974 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 05 Feb 1975 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 02 Oct 1975 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 18 Nov 1975 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 17 Jun 2000 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 01 Jul 2000 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 18 Dec 2000 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 08 Dec 2001 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 29 Apr 2003 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 19 Nov 2007 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 23 May 2009 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 07 Nov 2009 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 20 Nov 2009 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 02 Mar 2012 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 09 Mar 2012 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 07 Jul 2012 version]
THE E STREET SHUFFLE [Live 05 Feb 2014 version]

Page last updated: 10 Sep 2011