Live 25 Oct 1976 version
One soft infested summer me and Terry became friends
Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in
Catching rides to the outskirts, tying faith between our teeth
Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house, getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat, hey!
Running for our lives at night on them backstreets
Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing
Where desperate lovers park we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings
Huddled in our cars waiting for the bells that ring
In the deep heart of the night when you let loose of everything
And go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever
On the backstreets we take it together
Whoa-whoa
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where dancers scraped the tears up off the street dressed down in rags
Running into the darkness, some hurt bad some really dying
At night sometimes it seemed you could hear that whole damn city crying
Blame it on the lies that killed us, on the truth that ran us down
Blame it all on me, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight there was nothing left to say
I hated him, I hated you when you went away
Whoa-whoa
Whoa-whoaaa
Now laying here in the dark, you're like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, that we'd go see
Trying to learn how to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be
And after all this time to find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends, say!
On the backstreets until the end
Till the end
Just me and you baby
Just me and you babe
We could steal away
We could slip
We could slip away
I know we could steal away
I could take
I could take
I could take all my money out of the bank
And we know you could quit your job
I could quit my job too
And we could slip away
I know we can
We could slip away
We could
We could run, run, run, run, run
We could run, run, run, run, run, run
We could run, run, run, run
When we hear the bells
When we hear the bells
We can run
When we hear the bells
We could steal away
???
We could steal away
I bet you know
I bet you know about ???
If it come to ???
We could steal away
Hmmm-whoaaa
Whoaaa-whoaaa-whoa-whoaaa
Whoa-whoaaa-whoaaa
Hmmm-whoaaa darling
Whoaaa-whoa
Hmmm
And then we could go
We could go
We could go
We could go
We could go
We could go
We can go
We can go
We can go
We can go
We can go
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
It's alright
To go hiding on the backstreets tonight
Hiding on the backstreets
Whoaaa alright
Whoaaa alright
On the backstreets
Whoaaa-whoa
Whoa-whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoaaa-whoaaa
Whoa-whoa-whoa
Hiding on the backstreets
The above lyrics are for the live 25 Oct 1976 performance of BACKSTREETS at Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour.
This gig has traditionally been noted in books as Springsteen's first-ever large indoor Arena concert as a headliner. However, in reality it is the 26 Sep 1976 show at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, AZ, that probably deserves that title.
Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original agreement. Springsteen replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of trust, and undue influence. Appel counter-sued on 29 Jul 1976 in New York State Supreme Court, asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This would drag for about a year. Meanwhile, Springsteen continued gigging, and in the process broke his self-imposed rule of not playing the larger arenas. This was basically because he was not able to put a record out, and it was the only way his fans would be able to hear him at all. The tour became known as "The Lawsuit Tour" (62 know dates, August 1976 to March 1977).
List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:
BACKSTREETS [Album version]