Gary U.S. Bonds' album version
[Crowd noises]
He was a bouncer in a joint called Tony's Body Shop
She was a night cashier down at the Stop 'n' Shop
He was kinda good lookin'
And she was kinda fun
They met 'neath that big oak tree
Out where the river runs
Little Angelyne, Little Angelyne
As the sun goes down and the moonlight shines
Back of a Greyhound bus sit two lovers entwined
Just Big Bill and Little Angelyne
She was just in from Texas, didn't know her way around
So he took her to a roadhouse on the edge of town
In the beer hall light she looked so fine
And so he popped the question that was on his mind
It was a simple affair, only a friend or two
Preacher asked if they did, they said they do
She bought two tickets with her daddy's American Express
And hopped a Greyhound bus in her wedding dress
Little Angelyne, Little Angelyne
As the sun goes down and the moonlight shines
Back of a Greyhound bus sit two lovers entwined
Just Big Bill and Little Angelyne
In a six dollar motel with the honey bun
With seven glorious days in the Nevada sun
He played the tables, she pumped the slots full of dimes
They came back broke but they had a good time
Now many fell apart in the years come and gone
But Big Bill and Little Angel they'd last on and on
They held together when the times grew thin
A little boy that looked like her, and a girl that looked like him
So mister don't you pay it no mind
If the sun goes down and the moonlight shines
Back of a Greyhound bus sit two lovers entwined
It's Big Bill and Little Angelyne
Little Angelyne, Little Angelyne
As the sun goes down and the moonlight shines
Back of a Greyhound bus sat two lovers entwined
Big, Big Bill and Little Angelyne
Little Angelyne, Little Angelyne
As the sun goes down and the moonlight shines
In the back of a Greyhound bus sit two lovers entwined
It was Big Bill and Little Angelyne
Little Angelyne, Little Angelyne
As the sun goes down and the moonlight shines
Back of a Greyhound bus sit two lovers entwined
It's just, Big, Big, Big Bill and Little, oh, oh
Little Angelyne, Little Angelyne
As the sun goes down and the moonlight shines
Back of a Greyhound bus sit two lovers entwined
It's just Big Bill and Little Angelyne
Little Angelyne, Little Angelyne
As the sun goes down
ANGELYNE is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and donated to Gary U.S. Bonds.
Gary U.S. Bonds recorded ANGELYNE for his 1982 album On The Line. It's one of eight songs on the album that were produced by Bruce Springsteen with Steven Van Zandt. It was recorded in January or February 1982 at The Power Station in New York City, NY, during Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band sessions for Gary U.S. Bonds from which the recording sessions Born In The U.S.A. flowed.
The above lyrics are for Gary U.S. Bonds' album version of ANGELYNE as released in 1982.
According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band first recorded ANGELYNE on 01 Feb 1980 at The Power Station in New York City, NY. According to Brucebase, a Bruce Springsteen vocal rendition of ANGELYNE was likely recorded at The Power Station in New York City, NY, during the January-February 1982 recording sessions with Gary U.S. Bonds ─ it's the same core recording with the E Street Band that's found on the Bonds album, but with the Springsteen lead vocal overdub.
ANGELYNE is among 25 songs compiled for a 1993 project that never came to fruition. See the "1993 Concept Album" section below for more details.
In his 2012 book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days Of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Clinton Heylin revealed that in 1993 a 25-song compilation was produced for an archival project, which presumably became the Tracks box set released in 1998. According to Brucebase, the archival concept "album" was produced in-house, presumably following the conclusion of World Tour 1992-1993, perhaps to demonstrate the quality of Springsteen's unreleased archive.
Many of these 25 songs have been subsequently released, either on the Tracks box set or as part of other projects, and some others are known outtakes that are yet to circulate among fans. However, two are only known from this 25-song list: ARNIE and THAT'S OKAY.
Gary U.S. Bonds released two studio albums and several hit singles in 1961 and 1962, three of which were top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Success was short-lived and Bonds relegated to playing the oldies circuit. In the early eighties, his career resurrected with two collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and the E Street Band: Dedication in 1981 and On The Line in 1982.
On The Line is Gary U.S. Bonds' fourth studio album, released in June 1982 on EMI America Records. The musicians backing Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band. The album includes seven songs written by Bruce Springsteen (HOLD ON (TO WHAT YOU GOT), OUT OF WORK, CLUB SOUL CITY, LOVE'S ON THE LINE, RENDEZVOUS, ANGELYNE, and ALL I NEED), one written by Steve Van Zandt, one written by Wayne Carson, and two written by Bonds and Gary L. Anderson. Although Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt are credited as co-producers of all of the album's 11 tracks, Springsteen was actually involved in only eight of them: the seven that he wrote plus The Box Tops' hit SOUL DEEP. Springsteen is not credited as playing or singing on the album but he did directly participate, along with the E Street Band, on most of these eight tracks.
The 1991 reissue of On The Line on the Razor Edge label includes album liner notes by Gary U.S. Bonds himself. He wrote that they "also recorded three additional cuts for the album which were never mixed including 'Action In The Street', a Springsteen song which I still do in my live shows." The three tracks are ACTION IN THE STREETS, LION'S DEN, and SAVIN' UP.
On The Line produced one single, OUT OF WORK which nearly reached the Top 20, but the album flopped and Bonds was dropped by his label.
On The Line was re-released in 1992 on the Razor Edge label (catalog number RE-1988-2).
In addition to its release on On The Line, ANGELYNE was also included on a few other official releases.
ANGELYNE was performed off-tour on 02 Jul 1989 at The Cafe Bar in Long Branch, NJ, during a guest appearance with Gary U.S. Bonds.
At least 2 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's ANGELYNE.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
Some of the above info about the studio recordings is taken from Brucebase.
Please contact me if you have scans or info about any official release containing ANGELYNE that's not mentioned on this page.
Bruce Springsteen is not credited as playing or singing on On The Line album but this may not be completely true. It has been reported that he contributed backing vocals and guitar on some tracks. Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: . Thanks in advance.
List of available versions of ANGELYNE on this website:
ANGELYNE [Gary U.S. Bonds' album version]
