Live 26 Feb 1972 version
I been looking, I've been searching, I been like a buzzard perching on a fence
I been ???, I been bopping, I been stomping, I been learning how to dance
Every Friday night I go to the ranch
And I'm looking for love, searching for a sweet romance
And what have I got to do now, girl
Ah just to get to dance a dance with you
Yeah
I been turning, I been learning, I been burning all my midnight lamp
I been escaping, I been aching, I've been saving up to buy me an amp
Every Friday night I got to the hop
My feet they move so fast that they just can't stop
Child, what've I gotta do now, tell me
Ah just to get to dance a dance with you
Alright
Oh baby you know that I need you and I know that you need me
I'll learn to play guitar for you, woman I'll be a star for you
I been looking, I been searching, I'm like a buzzard perching on ???
I been searching, I been aching, I've been saving up to buy me a big old amp
Every Friday night I go to the ranch
And I'm looking for love, searching for sweet romance
Mama what have I got to do, tell me
Ah just to get to dance a dance with you
Well look out Mama, cause I'm taking over
Oh step back kids, let the music roll you over
I can do anything, anything that you wanna do
That's alright with me, girl
Ah won't you come on through and ??? wanna do
Yeah, come on babe, let me see you ???
I been looking, I been searching, I'm like a buzzard ???
Yeah I've been saving, I've been scraping, just to buy me a big old amp
Every Friday night I go to the ganch
And I'm looking for love, searching for a sweet romance
Child, what have I got to do, tell me
Cause all I wanna do is dance
Yeah
Go go mama, go go mama go
Go go children, go go Mary go
Go go mama, go around, go around, go around
Oh because I just wanna see you dance
The above lyrics are for the live 26 Feb 1972 performance of ALL I WANT TO DO IS DANCE at The Back Door in Richmond, VA, with The Bruce Springsteen Band (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.
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]