TALKING TO THE KING^©

Live Oct 1995 version

Woke up from a dream took a walk downstairs
That's when I saw him standing there
I swore I heard you down here singing
And next thing you know I was talking to the King

I was talking to the King in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land

There are so many questions that I'd like to ask
He said go ahead and started to laugh
I lost a few pounds and quit dyeing my hair
I'm keeping clean there ain't no pills up there
But one thing I miss is a place to sing in
I grabbed my guitar and started jamming with the King

I was jamming with the King in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land, come on!
Talking to the King
Talking to the King

You better be careful or you'll lose everything
It ain't no fun to be a king
You make me mad when you start to complain
You should be glad nobody knows your name
You got two lovely kids and a wife at home
And I died alone on my throne
Sometimes I think I sold my soul
To become the King of rock and roll!

I was talking to the king in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land

I was talking to the king in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land
You got two lovely kids and a wife at home
And I died alone on my throne
Sometimes I think I sold my soul
To become the King of rock and roll!

King, in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land, oh!
Talking to the King
Talking to the King in the promised land
Talking to the King
Talking to the King in the promised land, alright
Talking to the King
Talking to the King
Talking to the King
Talking to the King

Pump it, boys!

Page last updated: 18 Nov 2009

Intro

TALKING TO THE KING is a song by Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers. Check out their original version for more details. Bruce Springsteen performed the song live on many occasions, all of them with Joe Grushecky or with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers.

Live History

In October 1995, Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers kicked off the release of their American Babylon album with a six-stop tour dubbed the "October Assault." Introduced as "honorary Houserocker of the week" on the first night, Springsteen joined the band for the majority of the set on all six dates, playing guitar and sharing vocals with Grushecky. At each show, Springsteen came out for American Babylon's WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR and remained on stage for the rest of the set. TALKING TO THE KING was performed every night during the Springsteen portion of the set.

1. 17 Oct 1995 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ
2. 18 Oct 1995 at Tramps Night Club, New York City, NY
3. 19 Oct 1995 at The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
4. 20 Oct 1995 at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA
5. 21 Oct 1995 at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA
6. 24 Oct 1995 at Park West, Chicago, IL

Springsteen performed TALKING TO THE KING on several more occasions:

• 02 Mar 1998 at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers.
   
• 09 Jul 1999 at Cheers, Long Branch, NJ, with Joe Grushecky who was playing acoustic; his band was absent.
   
• 03 Nov 2000 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during the first annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 03 Nov 2001 at the Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ, with Grushecky & No Spring Chickens, during the second annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 01 Nov 2003 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during the fourth annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 18 Jul 2004 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during a Joe Grushecky / Soozie Tyrell show.
   
• 06 Nov 2004 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during the fifth annual Light Of Day benefit.
   
• 02 Dec 2004 at Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, during Flood Aid '04, a benefit concert for Pennsylvanians who suffered damage from Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
   
• 02 Dec 2006 at Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, with Joe Grushecky, during the seventh annual Light Of Day benefit.

[Click here to display/hide list of all performances]

Official Release

Joe Grushecky released two UK-only CD singles in 1996: Labour Of Love (cat# PLR007-3) and Labour Of Love (Live) (cat# PLR007-5). The pair contain in total 5 live recordings from the 20 and 21 Oct 1995 October Assault Tour shows and one studio cut from American Babylon. A live recording of TALKING TO THE KING (from one of the two Pittsburgh gigs, 20 or 21 Oct 1995) was included on the first single, Labour Of Love. Along with other recordings from the same two Pittsburgh shows, it was also released in 1999 on the Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers live album Down The Road Apiece Live. The above lyrics are for that official live version of TALKING TO THE KING; Springsteen plays guitar and sings harmony vocals on this one.

Available Versions

List of available versions of TALKING TO THE KING on this website:

• Live Oct 1995 version
• Original Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers version

Credits / Reference

Info on the October Assault Tour taken from Backstreets Magazine issue #50/51. Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help and Frederic Clair for the UK singles scans.

Request

If you know the exact date for this live recording of TALKING TO THE KING, or if you have any corrections or additional info, please contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.