BACKSTREETS

Live 07 Jul 1978 version

One soft infested summer, me and Terry became friends
Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in
Catching rides to the outskirts, tying faith between our teeth
Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house, getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat, hey!
Running for our lives at night on them backstreets

Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing
Where desperate lovers park we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings
Huddled in our cars waiting for the bells that ring
In the deep heart of the night set us loose from everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever
On the backstreets we'd take it together

Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where dancers scraped the tears up off the streets dressed down in rags
Running into the darkness, some hurt bad some really dying
At night sometimes it seemed you could hear that whole damn city crying
Blame it on the lies that killed us, on the truth that ran us down
You can blame it all on me Terry, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight there was nothing left to say
'Cept I hated him and I hated you when you went away
Whoah, whoah
Go!
Steve!

[guitar solo]

Now laying here in the dark, you're like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, that we'd go see
Trying to learn how to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be
Then after all this time to find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends
On the backstreets until the end

To the end
I remember you
Baby I remember you
Standing on the corner
Of Richmond Avenue
And I remember I'd
I remember back then I'd
I'd drive all night
I swore I'd drive all night
Just to buy you some shoes
And to taste
And to taste your tender charms
To have you hold me in your arms
To have you hold me in your arms
And for just one look
For just one look
From your sad eyes
You had such pretty sad eyes
You had such pretty sad eyes
I remember they cried all night
They cried all night
We let 'em cry 'til they're all cried out
They cried all night
Baby they cried all night
And I hated you
But only me and you knew
But baby only me and you knew
The way they could lie
The way they could lie
They could tell such pretty lies
They could tell such pretty lies
And now you're back
And now you're back
Well little girl, I'm back too
And I've been out, and I've seen some things
Yeah I've been out, and I've seen some things
I've been out, and I've seen some things
And baby I've learned a thing or two
About me and you
And all I wanna know is why
All I wanna know's why
All I wanna know's why
Why
Baby I wanna know why
Baby just
I want you, I want you
To look into my face
Just look into my face
Just look into my face
Look into my face
Look into my face
Look into my face
And tell me why
Why, I want to know why
You lied
You lied
You lied
And we'll go

Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
It's alright
We'll go hiding on the backstreets tonight
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
On the backstreets, on the backstreets

Oh-ohhh-oh, ohhh-oh, oooh, oooh, oooh-oooh

Page last updated: 21 Oct 2010

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 07 Jul 1978 performance of BACKSTREETS at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA, during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour.

This concert was originally broadcast live on the now-defunct local KMET-FM radio station, and later became one of the main source concerts for the Live/1975-85 box set which includes eight recordings from this show, including BACKSTREETS that had the Sad Eyes interlude completely removed.

The original BACKSTREETS recording's duration is 12:30 while the edited one on the official release is 7:30. Above, lyrics in italic are edited out on the official release, while lyrics in bold are added to the mix and are not part of the original recording.

The Live/1975-85 Box Set

With the Born In The USA album and tour, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band reached the highest level of rock stardom. Columbia Records was expecting a follow up studio album and tour that would, like it's predecessor, achieve a huge commercial success. Instead, Springsteen released Live/1975-85, an over-three-hours-and-a-half-long live compilation album consisting of 40 tracks recorded at various concerts between 1975 and 1985.

[Click thumbnail to enlarge/reduce artwork]

The set was produced by Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, and Bruce Springsteen, and hit the stores on 10 Nov 1986. It was released as a box set with either five vinyl records, three cassettes, or three CDs. Live/1975-85 is the first album to be credited to "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band" instead of "Bruce Springsteen" only.

The highly-anticipated live album generated advance orders of more than 1.5 million copies, making it the largest dollar-volume pre-order in the history of the record business at the time. Record stores around the country found fans waiting in line on Monday morning before opening and one New York store reportedly sold the album right off the back of the delivery truck. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart and also became the first five-record set to reach the top 10 and the first to sell over a million copies. Live/1975-85 is the second-best-selling live album in U.S. history based on RIAA certification. It has been certified by the RIAA for 13 times platinum, trailing only Garth Brooks' Double Live.

Live/1975-85 disc 1 track listing (CD format):

  1. THUNDER ROAD [18 Oct 1975 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  2. ADAM RAISE A CAIN [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  3. SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  4. 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [31 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
  5. PARADISE BY THE C [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  6. FIRE [16 Dec 1978 at Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA]
  7. GROWIN' UP [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  8. IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  9. BACKSTREETS [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  10. ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  11. RAISE YOUR HAND [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
  12. HUNGRY HEART [28 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
  13. TWO HEARTS [08 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]

Live/1975-85 disc 2 track listing (CD format):

  1. CADILLAC RANCH [06 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  2. YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) [29 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
  3. INDEPENDENCE DAY [06 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  4. BADLANDS [05 Nov 1980 at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ]
  5. BECAUSE THE NIGHT [28 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
  6. CANDY'S ROOM [08 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  7. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN [29 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
  8. RACING IN THE STREET [06 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  9. THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [28 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
  10. NEBRASKA [06 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  11. JOHNNY 99 [18 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
  12. REASON TO BELIEVE [19 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  13. BORN IN THE USA [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
  14. SEEDS [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]

Live/1975-85 disc 3 track listing (CD format):

  1. THE RIVER [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
  2. WAR [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
  3. DARLINGTON COUNTY [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
  4. WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY [19 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
  5. THE PROMISED LAND [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
  6. COVER ME [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
  7. I'M ON FIRE [19 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
  8. BOBBY JEAN [21 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
  9. MY HOMETOWN [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
  10. BORN TO RUN [19 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
  11. NO SURRENDER [06 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  12. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT [20 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
  13. JERSEY GIRL [09 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]

Other Official Releases

Besides it release on the Live/1975-85 box set, this live 07 Jul 1978 version of BACKSTREETS appears on two official CD samplers.

In 1988, the live 07 Jul 1978 version of BACKSTREETS was included on The Future Of Rock'n'Roll / 70's To 80's, a Japan-only promotional 2-CD set sampler compiling 28 tracks from Springsteen's first nine albums plus two 1988 live B-sides. This release has catalogue number CBS/SONY XADP 90009-10 and is considered the rarest Springsteen CD sampler.

[Click here to display/hide detailed track listing]

In 2005, the live 07 Jul 1978 version of BACKSTREETS was included on Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band PBS Exclusive, a US-only promotional CD sampler exclusively available to donors supporting the "Public Broadcasting Service" (PBS) programming with a $60 "pledge", and contains 7 live tracks compiled off the Live/1975-85 box set, the Live In New York City album, and the Live In Barcelona DVD. This release has catalogue number COL 82876 75932 2.

[Click here to display/hide detailed track listing]

Available Versions

List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help and Mike who transcribed the Sad Eyes interlude in 2001.

Info and scans for the official samplers are taken from the Lost In The Flood website.
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