THUNDER ROAD

Alternative version #1



The screen door slam, Chrissie's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me babe and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again tonight
Don't run back inside, baby you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Woman there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
And that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets
Well I ain't no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, babe, 's beneath this old hood
With one last chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can you do now
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's bustin' open and these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings for some wheels
Climb in back, it's waiting down on the tracks

When I try hard Chrissie to understand
I'm riding out tonight to case the promised land
Baby if you're born with nothing in your hands
Hey it's your only chance
Well it's lying out there like a killer in the sun
Yeah I know it's late but we can make it if we run
Oh I wish you could come
So leave what you've lost, leave what's grown old on Thunder Road

Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
My car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
Hey the door's open but the ride it ain't free

Well there were ghosts in the eyes of the boys that you sent away
They haunt this dirty beach road in the skeleton remains of burnt out Chevrolets
They scream to you at night from the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
From you room you hear their engines roar on
But when you get to the porch they're gone, lost in the wind, so Chrissie climb in
It's a town for losers and I'm pulling outta here to win


Info

The above lyrics are for an unreleased alternate studio version of THUNDER ROAD. It was recorded in Mar-Jun 1975 at The Record Plant in New York City, NY, just like all other circulating studio versions of the song. See the album version for more information.

This a solo acoustic guitar take. It has several lyrics variations to the album version, especially in the third verse ("When I try hard Chrissie to understand..."). The girl's name, "Chrissie", is mentioned three times in the song, but in the first line, it sounds more like "Christine".

Part of this alternate version of THUNDER ROAD (up to the mid-second verse) can be heard around the 21st minute of the 2005 documentary Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run, which was issued on DVD as part of the Born To Run - 30th Anniversary Edition box set.

Bruce Springsteen -- Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen -- Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run

Bootleg Releases

This alternate version of THUNDER ROAD can be found on several bootlegs, including Born In The Studio (Archive Productions) [track 10] and War And Roses (E. St. Records) [track 05].

Bruce Springsteen -- Born In The Studio (Archive Productions)
Bruce Springsteen -- Born In The Studio (Archive Productions)
Bruce Springsteen -- War And Roses (E. St. Records)
Bruce Springsteen -- War And Roses (E. St. Records)

Available Versions

List of available versions of THUNDER ROAD on this website:

THUNDER ROAD [Album version]
THUNDER ROAD [Early draft]
THUNDER ROAD [Alternative version #1]
THUNDER ROAD [Alternative version #2]
THUNDER ROAD [Alternative version #3]
THUNDER ROAD [Alternative version #4]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 05 Feb 1975 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 20 Jul 1975 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 17 Oct 1975 (early show) version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 18 Oct 1975 (early show) version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 18 Nov 1975 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 31 Dec 1975 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 07 Apr 1976 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 25 Mar 1977 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 13 May 1977 (early show) version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 13 Sep 1977 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 19 Sep 1978 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 08 Dec 1978 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 21 Sep 1979 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 22 Sep 1979 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 03 Oct 1980 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 03 Jul 1981 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 08 Jun 1984 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 19 Nov 1984 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 27 Jul 1988 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 02 Sep 1988 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 16 Nov 1990 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 22 Sep 1992 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 28 Sep 1992 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 24 Jun 1993 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 15 Feb 1995 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 21 Feb 1995 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 05 Apr 1995 (Sony Music Studios) version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 09 Jul 1995 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 05 May 1997 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 22 May 1997 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 31 Jan 1998 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 23 Oct 1999 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 27 Jun 2000 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 27 Jun 2000 / 01 Jul 2000 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 01 Jul 2000 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 19 Oct 2001 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 29 Aug 2002 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 04 Oct 2002 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 16 Oct 2002 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 19 Feb 2003 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 29 Apr 2003 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 22 Jun 2003 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 01 Nov 2004 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 04 Apr 2005 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 12 Oct 2005 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 07 Nov 2007 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 09 Nov 2007 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 14 Mar 2008 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 07 May 2008 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 18 Jun 2008 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 23 Aug 2008 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 04 Oct 2008 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 16 Oct 2008 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 30 May 2009 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 17 Nov 2009 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 22 Nov 2009 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 04 Nov 2010 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 15 Jan 2011 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 03 Nov 2011 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 04 Nov 2011 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 14 Jan 2012 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 09 Mar 2012 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 06 Apr 2012 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live 07 Nov 2016 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Live July 2018 version]
THUNDER ROAD [Greg Kihn's cover version]
THUNDER ROAD [Badly Drawn Boy's cover version]
THUNDER ROAD [Cowboy Junkies' cover version]
THUNDER ROAD [Kevin Rowland's cover version]

Page last updated: 20 Sep 2010