Live 29 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 the old abandoned beach house, getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets, baaackstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat, go!
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
To go running on the backstreets, whoaaah
We swore we'd live forever, hey!
The backstreets we take it together
Whoa-oh
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 Terry, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight there was nothing left to say
I hated him and I hated you and I hated you
Whoa whoa
Whoa whoa
Whoaaa whoa
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, we'd go see
Trying to learn how to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be
Well 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
On the backstreets until the end
Till the end
Just me and you baby
Just me and you baby
We could steal away
We could slip away
We could steal away
In the morning
We can go away
In the morning
We could steal away
We could steal away
I take all my money out of the bank
You'd quit your job
???
And we just, just slip away in the morning
When we hear the bells
In the morning
We hear the bells
We could steal away
Take you down to church
And steal away
Whoahhhhhh
We can go
We can go
We can go
We can whoahhh
We can go
We can go
And go
We can go
Whoahhh
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
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
Whoahhh alright
Whoahhh alright
Whoah-oh
Whoah-oh
Whoahhh-ohhh
On the backstreets
The above lyrics are for the live 29 Oct 1976 performance of BACKSTREETS at Palladium in New York City, NY, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour.
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]
