Live 04 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 let loose from everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
we swore we'd live forever, and ever
On the backstreets we take it together
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 you can 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-whoaaa-whoa
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
It was me and you, baby
It was me and you baby
It was me and you baby
I remember
I remember the night when you promised
As I remember
As I remember it, I remember the night
I remember you promised
When you promised
You swore
That we, that it was me and you
You swore that it was me and you
You promised that it was me and you
I knew we would
You promised that it was me and you
Hmmm-hm-hm
Whoaaaaaa
Whoaaaaaa
And you swore
I remember it was
I remember the night
And we said that when
We said that when the kings rang the bell
We said when it was midnight, and when they rang
We said that when the kings
When the kings rang the bells
We both promised
When the kings rang the bells
We swore
We swore
You swore
You swore
You said we'd go!
You said that, you said we'd go!
Whoaaaaaa
Hmmm
You said we'd go
And the bells were ringing
And the kings rang the bells
You said we'd go
You promised
You promised
And you lied
And you lied
You lied!
You lied!
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
Running on the backstreets, running 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, on the backstreets
Whoa-whoa alright
We swore to go
Whoa-whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaa-whoa
Whoaaaaaa-whoaaa-whoaaa
Whoa-whoa-whoa
We swore to go, we swore
The above lyrics are for the live 04 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]
