Live 05 Jun 1992 version
[Spoken intro:] Thank you. I'm bringin' Little Steven up here... came out to visit me... gonna help us out with this. Yeah, he still looks good.
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!) one, two, one two three four!
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
Well I bought a bourgeois house in the Hollywood hills
With a truckload of hundred thousand dollar bills
Man came by to hook up my cable TV
We settled in for the night my baby and me
We switched 'round and 'round 'til half-past dawn
But there was fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Hey!
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Come on!
Well now home entertainment was my baby's wish
So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
Tied it to the top of my Japanese car
Came home and pointed it out into the stars
A message came back from the great beyond
There was fifty-seven channels and nothin' on, hey!
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on) Say!
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on) Hey!
(Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
We might'a made some friends with some billionaires
We might'a got all nice and friendly if we'd made it upstairs
All I got was a note said "Bye-bye John
Our love's fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Hey!
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
(No justice, no peace!)
Well I bought a .44 magnum, it was solid steel cast
And in the blessed name of Elvis I just let it blast
'Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet
And they busted me for disturbin' the almighty peace
Judge said "What you got in your defense son?"
"Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Well I can see by your eyes man you're just about gone
Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
You're fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(No justice, no peace!) fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(No justice, no peace!) fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) fifty-(seven channels and nothin' on) woahhh
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on) woahhh
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
(No justice, no peace!) (fifty-seven channels and nothin' on)
The above lyrics are for the live 05 Jun 1992 performance of 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) at Hollywood Center Studios #4 in Hollywood, CA, during a warm-up public rehearsal show for the upcoming World Tour 1992-1993. Part of the show, including 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON), was broadcast on FM radio in the United States. The song featured a guest appearance by Steven Van Zandt.
After weeks of interviews and rehearsing his new band, Bruce Springsteen invited about 300 guests to a "mysterious location" in Los Angeles for a special preview of his upcoming World Tour 1992-1993. Billed as "The Dress Rehearsal", the warm-up rehearsal concert took place on 05 Jun 1992 at Hollywood Center Studios #4 in Hollywood, CA. A 90-minute portion of the show was broadcast on FM radio in the United States. After starting with a version of BETTER DAYS, Springsteen and the band performed a total of 15 songs for the broadcast (kicking off with BORN IN THE U.S.A. and concluding with HUNGRY HEART) and an additional five songs after going off the air.
Contest winners were flown to Los Angeles from across the U.S. and Europe. Radio stations sponsored trivia contests to qualify for the grand prize, as did MTV Europe. While rumors had circulated early in the spring about some sort of warm-up show, the broadcast was only confirmed about a month ahead of time. Its location remained a well-kept secret. Even the contest winners were kept in the dark as to the precise whereabouts of the performance.
The complete 05 Jun 1992 broadcast from Hollywood 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.
Some of the above information about the 05 Jun 1992 concert is take from Backstreets magazine issue #40 (Indian Summer 1992).
List of available versions of 57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) on this website:
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) [Album version]
