4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY)

Live 31 Jul 1973 (late show) version

[Spoken intro:] And here we are. On the radio. Damn it, radio's a nervous business. We played at, uh, Max's Kansas City a few weeks ago. The crowd's ready, the crowd's ready -- and, uh... (chuckles) Some cat came up at the joint, said, "Hey, what's Asbury Park really like?" Right? So I played him this song.

Well, Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight
Sparkin' a light in all those lonesome faces staring up on this warm July
Down in town the streets are full of switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, so sharp
And them wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And those boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like bandits on the shore
Ah, catching all them silly New York girls by the score

So Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight and I promise I'll love you forever

Well, the greasers, they tramp the streets or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night
It's like a sidewalk burlesque, those boys in their high heels, oh, Sandy, their skins are so white
Oh, and me, I got tired, oh, so damn tired of working in that dusty old arcade and fixin' their machines
Chasin' them factory girls underneath the boardwalk where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
Oh, that Joey kept me spinnin'
Oh, he would not let me off

So Sandy, this aurora is rising behind us
Oh, this pier lights our carnival life 'cross the water
Oh, runnin' laughing 'neath the boardwalk with Roly Joe's daughter
Hmm mm

Well, now, Sandy, them north side angels, they lost their desire for us
I spoke with 'em last night, they said they won't set themselves on fire for us anymore
Oh, but the weather gets hot, and every season you can still see 'em come and go
Oh, dressed like stars in that cheap little bars and parked with their baby down on the Kokomo
Did you hear the cops, they busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do
It don't matter much anymore, girl, summer's gonna be through

And Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh, love me tonight and I promise I'll love you forever
Sandy, girl
La, la, la
Sandy, girl
Oh, la, la, la, la

Oh

[Spoken outro:] Thank you. Thank you very much.

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 31 Jul 1973 (late show) performance of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) at My Father's Place in Roslyn, NY, during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. The song featured an acoustic arrangement with Bruce Springsteen on guitar and Danny Federici on accordion, and the lyrics are similar to those in the original studio version.

The 31 Jul 1971 Late Show

Bruce Springsteen and his band played three sold-out nights, two shows each night, on 31 Jul, 01 Aug, and 02 Aug 1973 at My Father's Place in Roslyn, NY. These were double-bill shows, with Nashville-based country singer-songwriter Alex Harvey opening and Springsteen and his band headlining.

Promotional ad for the Jul-Aug 1973 three-night residency at My Father's Place, Roslyn, NY
(Taken from Brucebase)

Springsteen's second show on the opening night was broadcast live on WLIR-FM as part of the station's weekly Tuesday evening simulcast from the venue. A very good quality audio was taped off the airways and represents the entire broadcast, although the performance almost certainly included two to four additional songs that never went to air due to time limitations. The show has also circulated from the radio station master tape.

The 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Live At My Father's Place In Roslyn 1973

LP - DOL (DOR2042H) - Russia, 2015

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Live At My Father's Place In Roslyn, July 31, 1973

CD - Broadcasting Radio Records (BRR6035) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Live At My Father's Place In Roslyn, July 31, 1973

Digital album - Lilith Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2016

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place.

Bruce Springsteen -- Live NYC 1973

CD - Rox Vox (RVCD2085) - Europe, 2018

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place.

Bruce Springsteen -- Live NYC 1973

LP - Rox Vox (RVCV2085) - Europe, 2018

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Great American Road Trip

10xCD - Evolution Music (EMG01) - UK, 2020

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place, the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University, the 09 Mar 1974 KLOL-FM radio broadcast, the 05 Feb 1975 broadcast from The Main Point, the 30 Sep 1978 broadcast from Fox Theatre, plus some various TV performances from 1992-1995.

Bruce Springsteen -- Thunder Road - Live

20xCD - KP Music (SPRING01) - Europe, 2020

This release contains the 31 Jul 1973 broadcast from My Father's Place, the 03 Mar 1974 late show broadcast from Georgetown University, the 09 Mar 1974 KLOL-FM radio broadcast, the 05 Feb 1975 broadcast from The Main Point, the 15 Aug 1975 early show broadcast from Bottom Line, the 17 Oct 1975 early show broadcast from The Roxy Theatre, the 09 Aug 1978 broadcast from The Agora, the 30 Sep 1978 broadcast from Fox Theatre, the 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood, the 20 Aug 1994 show with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers at Marz American Style, plus some various TV performances from 1992-1995.

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Some of the above info is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) on this website:

Page last updated: 06 Nov 2011