Live 02 Nov 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, set you of everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on
We swore we'd live forever
On the backstreets we take it together
Yeah-hey
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, blame it 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 and I hated you when you went away
Whoa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoa
Now laying here in the dark 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
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends, say!
On the backstreets until the end
I promised
I promised
I promised
I promised
I promised
To steal away
I promised
To steal away
To steal
I promised
To steal
I promised
To steal away
Promised I could take all my money out of the bank
And no one's gonna know
You were gonna quit your job
I was gonna quit my job too
I promised
I couldn't wait
When we hear the bells
When the kings
When the kings of midnight ring
When the kings
When the kings of midnight ring
Ring the bells
You promised
When the kings of midnight ring the bells
You promised
You promised
You promised
When the kings of midnight ring the bells
We can go
We can go
We can go away
We were gonna go!
You were gonna go!
You were gonna go!
You were gonna go
But when it just got bad
We promised
We promised
Whoa-whoa
Whoa, whoaaaaaa
You were gonna go
You promised
You promised
You promised
You promised
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
We go hiding on the backstreets tonight
On the backstreets
Whoaaa alright
Whoaaa alright
On the backstreets
Whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaaaaa-whoaaa-whoaaa
Whoa-whoa-whoa
The above lyrics are for the live 02 Nov 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]
