Live 07 Apr 1976 version
[Spoken intro:] Oh, yeah. Ready, boys? Tonight and forever, here's something from Asbury Park to you with love.
One, two, three, four
Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight
Forcin' a light into all them stoned-out faces left stranded on this fourth of July
Down in town the Circuit's full with switchblade lovers, so fast, and shiny, and sharp
Them wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers along the shore
Chasin' all them silly New York girls
Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life forever
Love me tonight, 'cause I may never see you again
Whoa, Sandy, girl
Yeah, well, now the greasers, they still tramp the streets or get busted for trying to sleep on the beach all night
Them boys in their spiked high heels, ah, Sandy, their skins are so white
And me, I just got tired of hangin' in them dusty arcades, bangin' them pleasure machines
Chasin' the factory girls underneath the boardwalk, where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
You know that tilt-a-whirl way down on the south beach drag
Got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And that Joey kept me spinnin'
I didn't think I'd ever get off
Whoa, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life on the water
Running crazy 'neath the boardwalk with my old boss's daughter
He ain't my boss no more, Sandy!
Hey!
Now, Sandy, I guess the angels have lost their desire for us
Yeah, I spoke to 'em just last night and they said they won't set themselves on fire for us anymore
Every summer when the weather gets hot, they ride that crazy road down from heaven, on their Harleys they come and they go
You see 'em dressed like stars in all the cheap little seashore bars
And parked with their babies out on the Kokomo
Did you hear the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do
This boardwalk life for me is through
You know, you ought to quit this scene too
Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life forever
Love me tonight and I promise... I promise there'll be no promises
Yeah, hey, hey, Sandy, girl
Whoa, oh, oh
How 'bout it?
The above lyrics are for the live 07 Apr 1976 performance of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) at Allen Theatre in Cleveland, OH, during the so-called Chicken Scratch Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement.
This tour (35 know dates, March to May 1976) was nicknamed the "Chicken Scratch Tour" by the road crew because of the high proportion of secondary markets in the South.
During the so-called Chicken Scratch Tour, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed two consecutive shows at Allen Theatre in Cleveland, OH, on 07 and 08 Apr 1976. Soundboard recordings for both concert are in circulation among collectors. The recording from the second night is incomplete, but the one from the second night is complete and is of higher quality.
The 07 Apr 1976 show at Allen Theatre 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.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) on this website:
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [Album version]
