Live 02 Jun 1974 version
With a broken down doll little Angel
She dances topless at night down in Toyland
Along the satin couch, high above the bar
She watches the surfers drift in just to waste away, this night away
Oh two IDs at the door
And you're tripped into wonderland, filled with South Shore cruisers
And blondies with false curvy features, and sandals, and their soft hands
Ah you meet a new girl and for a while, boy, you listen to the band
Oh you got no money to get up, but you still got to dance
And baby it feels more honest making love, making love on the sand
She takes off her shoes, runs off in the night
You catch up with her, you take her hand
You lay your jacket down on the sand
And she tries to make it alright
Oh dance on, dance on, Little Angel, dance
Oh now, baby, don't laugh, oh, little girl, don't you cry
Night after night we search, we search for romance
But somehow on a night like tonight, we all die
Well across the street in the Shady Bell
Well the fags come in to drink and to dance
Whoa and the disco roller DJ blasts a solid beat
Strike a pose, everybody knows that you're man
Whoa the floors are just a sex machine
Whoa as wet hands force themselves into tight pants
Well that ain't gonna get her loose
But tonight you feel like taking a chance
And so you strut across the floor
And with your last breath, you say, "Baby, do you wanna dance?"
Oh the boardwalk is so quiet at three in the morning
Oh and the wind blows life into a sleepy Ferris wheel
And somehow tonight, even the streets ain't so boring
Raped and ravaged, stripped and savage
With no secrets left to reveal, especially on the front
Now the bars they close down
And along the beach the lonesome army awaits you
Oh the lost boys, they're waiting, watching her transformation, waiting to date you
And them lost boys oh they dress rough, skin and savage legs
They hide beneath the pier, getting hard, drinking beer, waiting to kiss you
And once you're locked in their arms you wanna die
But baby they won't let you
Oh turn up the house lights, Little Angel gets paid
She goes in the back room to get changed
She's out the door, down the street, she turns the corner, towards her apartment
On the beach she hears the lost boys call her name
Oh, Little Angel, bar angel
Bar angel, Little Angel
And so you gotta dance on, dance on through the night, Little Angel, dance
Whoa baby don't look so frightened, and please honey don't cry
Because night after endless night, up and down this boardwalk we search for romance
But on a night like this with one last kiss we all die
Oh alright
All night long
Go on, oh, you hurt me
Oh all right now
ANGEL BABY is an unreleased song written by Bruce Springsteen. He performed it live in mid-1974 and may have recorded it during the Born To Run sessions. The song is also known among collectors under the titles "A Night Like This" and "Dance On Little Angel".
At the 02 Jun 1974 show in Toledo, OH, Springsteen introduced ANGEL BABY as a "new song" but did not mention the title. The live 02 Jun 1974 recording of ANGEL BABY has been in circulation since at least the mid-eighties; the lyrics were first published around 1984 on the fifth and last volume of the "Songs To Orphans" lyrics file under the title "Dance On Little Angel". That live 02 Jun 1974 recording of the song usually circulated alone without the rest of the set and it was assumed to be from late 1972 or early 1973. Many even assumed that it was an early version of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY).
ANGEL BABY was a candidate track for the Born To Run album, as evidenced in handwritten lists of candidate tracks for Springsteen's third studio album.
In his 1989 book Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music, Charles R. Cross mentions a list of songs titled "New Album #3" that Springsteen wrote when he "first planned the third record." The list seems to emanate from very early in the Born To Run recording sessions, which started in January 1974. Among the nine songs in the list is ANGEL BABY.
ANGEL BABY appears on an untitled list containing 10 tracks and dating from 1974. The list was written on a lined notebook page using blue ballpoint pen (see below scan). Springsteen wrote "Angel Baby (Broken Down Doll)" ─ the part between parentheses appears in the first line of the song.
A song titled "Angels Song" appears on another handwritten list of proposed tracks for the Born To Run album and it could very well be none other than ANGEL BABY. See ANGELS SONG for more details.
Lyrics from ANGEL BABY were later used in the Born To Run sessions outtake LONELY NIGHT IN THE PARK.
The above lyrics are for the live 02 Jun 1974 performances of ANGEL BABY at The Toledo Agora in Toledo, OH, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. This is the only known live performances of ANGEL BABY. The song was the show opener and was played in an acoustic arrangement with Bruce Springsteen on guitar and vocals and backed by Danny Federici on accordion and Clarence Clemons on saxophone. A weak quality audience recording of the performance is in circulation.
ANGEL BABY is known to have been performed at least once during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour (September 1973 to March 1975), on 02 Jun 1974 in Toledo, OH. Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. The song was played in an acoustic arrangement.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's ANGEL BABY.
Thanks Oskari (zeke at SPL) and Pete Russell (Peteadmin at Brucebase) for the help. Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
The audio quality on this recording is very weak and some of the above lyrics are guessed and may be incorrect. If you have any corrections or additional info, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of ANGEL BABY on this website:
ANGEL BABY [Live 02 Jun 1974 version]