VIGILANTE MAN

Live Feb 1988 version



One! Two! Three!

Rainy night down in the engine house
Sleepin' just, just as still as a mouse
And a man come along and chase us out in the rain
Well was that a vigilante man?

Stormy days, we pass the time away
Just a-sleeping in some good warm place
Yeah, then a cop come along, and we give him a little race
Yeah, was that a vigilante man?

Well tell me why does a vigilante man
Well tell me why does a vigilante man
Carry that sawed off shotgun in his hands
Whoa, to shoot his brothers and sisters down, that dirty vigilante man
Alright!

Well now I ramble around, yeah, from town to town
Yeah, I ramble around from town to town
Yeah and they herd us around like a wild herd of cattle, lord
Hey, was that your vigilante man?

Yeah, tell me why does that vigilante man
Tell me why does that vigilante man
Carry that club in his hands
Would he beat an innocent man down, that no good vigilante man?

Whoa, whoa oh
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Woo ooh whoa whoa whoa, hmmmmm
Mmm, mmm mmm, mmmmm


Info

The above lyrics are for the live performance of VIGILANTE MAN recorded during the private rehearsals that took place in late January and early February 1988 at Expo Theater in Fort Monmouth, NJ, in preparation for the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour. The song was played in a slow full-band arrangement, featuring Bruce Springsteen on electric guitar and vocals, Nils Lofgren on acoustic guitar, Roy Bittan on piano, Garry Tallent on bass guitar, Max Weinberg on drum, and Patti Scialfa on background vocals. The exact recording date is unknown but it most probably took place around mid-February 1988.

This performance of VIGILANTE MAN was later released on the A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly home video and was also included on the Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- compilation album. It was posted on Bruce Springsteen's VEVO YouTube channel in March 2015.


The Documentary

A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly is a various artists benefit documentary and home video in support of Folkways Records and the Woody Guthrie Archives. Narrated by Robbie Robertson, it features interviews with and performances by leading folk, rock, and country recording artists including Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Little Richard, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, U2, and others. The documentary premiered on Showtime on 17 Sep 1988 and was released as a home video by Columbia Records later that year. It was originally issued on VHS and Laserdisc and in October 2000 it was reissued on DVD.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band recorded two Woody Guthrie songs for the documentary and homes video, I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE and VIGILANTE MAN. These were recorded live during the private rehearsals that took place in late January and early February 1988 in preparation for the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour. Toby Scott was the audio engineer. Springsteen also appears on an ensemble studio performance of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND.

Various artists -- A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly
Various artists -- A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly

VHS - Sony Music Video (490062) - USA, 1988
Various artists -- A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly
Various artists -- A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly

LD - Sony Music Video (CMV 6632CB) - USA, 1988

The U.S. laserdisc issue was actually manufactured in Japan for USA and Canada.
Various artists -- A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly
Various artists -- A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly

DVD - Columbia Music Video / Legacy (CVD 49006) - USA, 2000

Along with the documentary and home video Columbia Records also released a various artists tribute album that featured studio versions of I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE and VIGILANTE MAN. All artist royalties from both the album and video supported Folkways Records and the Woody Guthrie Archives which were acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987.

As part of its "Interchords" series, Columbia Records also released a limited US-only promotional album containing the soundtrack of the A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly documentary. It includes the same live Feb 1988 versions of I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE and VIGILANTE MAN, studio version of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, and interview excerpts.

Various artists -- Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly
Various artists -- Folkways: A Vision Shared - A Tribute To Woody Guthrie And Leadbelly

LP - Columbia (CAS 1261) - USA, 1988

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-

Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits- is a Bruce Springsteen compilation album released by Sony Music Japan in 2023. The compilation, which was exclusively released in Japan, consists of previously released 35 audio tracks and 62 video tracks. The collection is part of a 26-title reissue campaign to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's debut album. The series, issued in three waves (25 Oct 2023, 22 Nov 2023, and 20 Dec 2023), includes 25 albums originally released between 1973 and 2014 plus a new compilation album that includes all of Springsteen's singles released in Japan from 1975 to 1999. All audio CD's were manufactured using Sony Japan's Blu-spec CD2 format.

Bruce Springsteen -- Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-
Bruce Springsteen -- Japanese Singles Collection -Greatest Hits-

Disc 1: (audio CD)

  1. BORN TO RUN
  2. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT
  3. PROVE IT ALL NIGHT
  4. BADLANDS
  5. HUNGRY HEART
  6. I WANNA MARRY YOU
  7. SANTA CLAUSE IS COMIN' TO TOWN [Live 12 Dec 1975 version]
  8. ATLANTIC CITY
  9. DANCING IN THE DARK
  10. COVER ME
  11. BORN IN THE U.S.A.
  12. I'M ON FIRE
  13. GLORY DAYS
  14. I'M GOIN' DOWN
  15. MY HOMETOWN
  16. WAR [Live 30 Sep 1985 version]
  17. FIRE [Live 16 Dec 1978 version]

Disc 2: (audio CD)

  1. BRILLIANT DISGUISE
  2. TUNNEL OF LOVE
  3. ONE STEP UP
  4. TOUGHER THAN THE REST
  5. SPARE PARTS
  6. HUMAN TOUCH
  7. BETTER DAYS
  8. 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON)
  9. ROLL OF THE DICE
  10. STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA
  11. SECRET GARDEN
  12. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD
  13. DEAD MAN WALKIN'
  14. BLOOD BROTHERS [Alternate studio version]
  15. I WANNA BE WITH YOU
  16. CHIMES OF FREEDOM [Live 03 Jul 1988 version]
  17. AMERICAN BEAUTY
  18. I'LL STAND BY YOU

Disc 3: (DVD)

  1. ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [Live 08 Jul 1978 version]
  2. BORN TO RUN [Live 19 Aug 1985 version]
  3. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT [Live 05 Nov 1980 version]
  4. THUNDER ROAD [Live 05 Nov 1980 version]
  5. PROVE IT ALL NIGHT [Live 08 Jul 1978 version]
  6. BADLANDS [Live 05 Nov 1980 version]
  7. HUNGRY HEART [Live 09 Jul 1995 version]
  8. I WANNY MARRY YOU [Live 05 Nov 1980 version]
  9. THE RIVER [Live 21 Sep 1979 version]
  10. ATLANTIC CITY
  11. HIGHWAY PATROLMAN
  12. DANCING IN THE DARK
  13. COVER ME [Live 30 Jun 2013 version]
  14. BORN IN THE U.S.A.
  15. I'M ON FIRE
  16. GLORY DAYS
  17. I'M GOIN' DOWN [Live 30 Jun 2013 version]
  18. MY HOMETOWN [Live 30 Sep 1985 version]
  19. WAR [Live 30 Sep 1985 version]
  20. FIRE [Live 13 Oct 1986 version]
  21. BRILLIANT DISGUISE
  22. TUNNEL OF LOVE
  23. ONE STEP UP
  24. TOUGHER THAN THE REST [Live 27 Apr 1988 version]
  25. SPARE PARTS [Live 10 Jul 1988 version]
  26. VIGILANTE MAN [Live Feb 1988 version]
  27. HUMAN TOUCH
  28. BETTER DAYS
  29. 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON)
  30. ROLL OF THE DICE [Live 22 Sep 1992 version]
  31. LEAP OF FAITH [Live 06 Aug 1992 version]
  32. IF I SHOULD FALL BEHIND [25 Sep 1999 sound-check version]

Disc 4: (DVD)

  1. STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA [1993 music video version]
  2. MURDER INCORPORATED
  3. SECRET GARDEN
  4. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD [Live 27 Nov 1995 (NBC Studios) version]
  5. DEAD MAN WALKIN'
  6. LONESOME DAY
  7. WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY [Live 16 Oct 2002 version]
  8. DEVILS & DUST
  9. RADIO NOWHERE
  10. LONG WALK HOME
  11. WORKING ON A DREAM
  12. THE LAST CARNIVAL
  13. A NIGHT WITH THE JERSEY DEVIL
  14. SAVE MY LOVE
  15. WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN
  16. ROCKY GROUND
  17. HIGH HOPES
  18. JUST LIKE FIRE WOULD
  19. HELLO SUNSHINE
  20. TUCSON TRAIN
  21. WESTERN STARS
  22. I'LL STAND BY YOU
  23. LETTER TO YOU
  24. GHOSTS
  25. THE POWER OF PRAYER
  26. I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS
  27. DO I LOVE YOU (INDEED I DO)
  28. NIGHTSHIFT
  29. DON'T PLAY THAT SONG
  30. TURN BACK THE HANDS OF TIME

Credits

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

Requests

Some sources claim that the documentary premiered on PBS in October 1988. If you do have any additional information about this matter please contact me via the below form or by email: .

Available Versions

List of available versions of VIGILANTE MAN on this website:

VIGILANTE MAN [Studio version]
VIGILANTE MAN [Live Feb 1988 version]
VIGILANTE MAN [Original Woody Guthrie version]

Page last updated: 16 Oct 2015