ALL JUST TO GET TO YOU^©

Studio version

[Joe]
I have stumbled on the plains
Staggered in the wind
Stood at a crossroad or two
Cried to a river
Swept to the sea
All just to get to you

[Joe]
I have jumped a yellow cab
Hopped a rusty freight
Sang till my lips turned blue
Flown a silver bird
On tops of the clouds
All just to get to you

[Joe and Bruce]
I ran too hard
I played too rough
I gave my love
Not near enough
I bled too red
I cried too blue
I beat my fist
Against the moon
All just to get to you

[Joe]
I have run from St. Paul
To Wichita Falls
Called you from sunny Baton Rouge
I hocked everything
From my watch to my ring
[Joe and Bruce]
All just to get to you

[Joe and Bruce]
I ran too hard
I played too rough
I gave my love
Not near enough
I bled too red
I cried too blue
I beat my fist
Against the moon
All just to get to you

[Joe]
From the California Shore
Where the mighty ocean roars
To the lands of the Hopi and the Sioux
[Joe and Bruce]
I walked the desert sands
Crossed the Rio Grande
All just to get to you

[Joe and Bruce]
I have stumbled on the plains
Staggered in the wind
Stood at a crossroad or two
Cried to a river
Swept to the sea
All just to get to you

[Joe and Bruce]
I ran too hard
I played too rough
I gave my love
Not near enough
I bled too red
I cried too blue
I beat my fist
Against the moon
All just to get to you

[Joe and Bruce]
All just to get to you

[Joe and Bruce]
All just to get to you

[Joe and Bruce]
All just to get to you

Music and lyrics by Joe Ely, from his 1995 album Letter To Laredo. Bruce Springsteen added back-up vocals on the studio recording of this track.

Played live a total of 6 times, always with Joe Ely:

Bruce Springsteen guested with Joe Ely on ALL JUST TO GET TO YOU on 14 Sep 1995 at The Viper Room, Los Angeles, CA, and on 17 Mar 1996 at The Mean Fiddler, Dublin, Ireland.

Performed once during the Reunion tour, with Joe Ely, on 17 Apr 2000 at Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX [read article below].

Played with Joe Ely during both nights of the benefit concerts for the Alliance Of Neighbors, on 18 and 19 Oct 2001 at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ. The Alliance Of Neighbors is an organization set up to assist Monmouth County families affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks

Played once during The Rising tour, with Joe Ely, on 02 Mar 03 at Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX, and that was the last known performance of the song.

The above lyrics refer to the studio version from Joe Ely's album Letter To Laredo. Check also the live 19 Oct 2001 version.

From the Austin American-Statesman, about the 17 Apr 2000 show at Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX

When Joe Ely joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band onstage at the Erwin Center Monday night for a version of Ely's "All Just to get to You," it was a magical moment. But the rare guest slot wouldn't have happened without the help of Waterloo Records clerk (and musician) Mike Rosenthal, who found Ely's Letter to Laredo in the sale bin Monday after... [Terry] Magovern couldn't find it in the Joe Ely section.

Magovern needed the record, which features Springsteen's guest vocals, to teach the song to the band.

He told me "If you don't have it, Bruce won't do it," recalled Rosenthal. A relieved Magovern asked Rosenthal to recommend some other Austin acts for the Boss. At the top of the list was the latest CD from Mike Rosenthal, but Magovern also bought titles by Damon Bramblett, Joe West and the Sinners, and Gurf Morlix. Plus, he laid a pair of tickets and backstage passes on Rosenthal..."