Live Feb 1972 version
I been looking, I been searching, I been like a buzzard perching on a branch
I been stumping, I been hopping, I been bopping, I been running out of gas
Tonight I'm gonna go to the ranch
And I'm looking for love, trying for sweet romance
But I know what you're gonna do
Cause all I wanna do is dance, dance now
Well I been learning, I been burning, I been running all ???
I been escaping, I been aching, I've been saving up to buy me an amp
Well Friday night I go to your house
And my feet ??? just can't stop
Well I wanna do is ???
Cause all I wanna do is dance with you
Well baby you know that I need you and I know that you need me
Baby I'll play my guitar for you, and baby I'm gonna be a star for you
I been ???
I been trying ???
Well Friday night I go the ranch
And I'm looking for love, searching for sweet romance
???
Cause all I wanna do is dance
Well look out ??? music's taking over
Step back and let the music roll you over
??? I'll do what you do, you can make it if you try
Cause you know I love you, I'll ???
??? you know I would not now
I been looking, I been searching, I'm like a buzzard perching???
I been saving, I've been scraping, ??? to buy me an amp
Friday night I go to your house
And my feet ??? just won't stop
Now what I must do ???
Cause all I wanna do is dance, dance
Well look out mama, look who's now taking over
And step back, let the music roll you over
???
???
ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE is an unreleased song written by Bruce Springsteen. He performed it live with The Bruce Springsteen Band in 1972.
The above lyrics are for a live performance of ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE at The Back Door in Richmond, VA, with The Bruce Springsteen Band. The exact date is unknown, but it's from the February 1972 residency at The Back Door (see section below).
The Bruce Springsteen Band played nine shows at The Back Door in Richmond, VA, during three of the four weekends of February 1972 (04, 05, 06, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27 Feb 1972). They played one show each night and they were the sole act on the bill. Soundboard and audience recordings from these shows circulate among collectors.
Soundboard recordings for 8 tracks, taken directly from Tinker West's original reel tapes, are in circulation. The exact dates for the 8 tracks are not known but it is more likely that all of them come from the same show, probably from the final weekend of the residency. Audience recordings for 13 more tracks are also in circulation. The exact dates are not know but it is more likely that most of them come from the final weekend's performances. A soundboard recording consisting of 14 more tracks is currently in very limited circulation. The recording comes from the 25 Feb 1972 show and is likely the complete show. An audience recording consisting of 5 more tracks is also in circulation and, according to Brucebase, can be identified with some confidence to date from the 26 Feb 1972 show.
A reel-to-reel tape containing the soundboard recording of the 25 Feb 1972 show was auctioned in June 2014 on Sotheby's (see photo below). According to the auction house, the tape comes directly from the collection of John Hammond, "perhaps requested in an attempt to ascertain if the performer that he was so taken by as a solo acoustic act could similarly engage a live audience fronting an electric band." The tape features a printed label with hand-written setlist, but some of the songs are misidentified.
ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE is known to have been performed at least three times in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972). All of these confirmed performances are from the February 1972 residency at The Back Door in Richmond, VA. Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates in 1972 and possibly in 1971 too.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE.
Much of the above information about the 1972 residency at The Back Door is taken from Brucebase.
If you have any additional information about this song or any corrections to the above lyrics, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE on this website:
ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE [Live Feb 1972 version]