Live 24 Mar 1977 version
Hold me in your arms
And we will steal away
Branded in your heart
??? slip away
Come to ???
And it'll be all right
Let the rain wash
Let it wash the tears from your eyes
Don't cry
Don't cry
Don't cry
???
Say!
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 them backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat, say!
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 that set you loose from everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever
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 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 and I hated you when you went away
Whoa-whoa
Whoa-whoa-whoa
Say!
She's 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, 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
On the backstreets until the end
Till the end
Just me and you girl
Just me and you girl
I remember this guy
He abandoned his car on this field about a mile and a half outside of town
At night, me and you and Billy, we used to hitchhike out there
And the outside was really stripped down, it was about 400 feet off the tracks
My baby
My baby take me riding in the back
Baby take me riding in back
Way down by the railroad tracks
And she's got cleats on her boots
My baby's heels are stacked
Hey in the backseat
Oh in the backseat
In the backseat
In the backseat
Of that old Cadillac
I remember, was that night, was that night, it was raining
These kids set fire to this abandoned farmhouse about 500 feet off the tracks
They had these machines down there and they had these engines down there
There was this fire road out there where kids used to race till the cops came and chased them away
And I remember sitting in the backseat of the car, we could see that house burning, watch the
flames across the sky
And then
And then she kissed me
And the rain came roaring down
And she kissed me
And the rain came tumbling down
And she kissed me
And she kissed me
And she kissed me
Whoa, and then she promised
Then she promised
Then she promised
And then she lied
And then she lied
Those pretty li-li-li-li-li-lies
Her pretty li-li-li-li-li-lies
Her pretty li-li-li-li-li-lies
I remember standing on the tracks, running back into town, just me and Billy
I remember Billy down on the beach with a shotgun shooting at the rats, just shooting at the
shadows, pointing half-crazy
I remember standing on the rocks just wishing
Just wishing that God would send some angels to blow this whole damn town right into the sea
Just once that God would send some angels and blow this whole fucking town right into the sea
I just wishing God would send some angels to blow it all away
I just wishing God would send some angels and blow this whole damn town right into the sea
Blow this whole goddamn town right into the sea
Just blow it all away, please
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away
Just blow it all away!
Blow it all away!
Blow it all away!
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, say!
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
It's alright
To go hiding on the backstreets
On the backstreets
Whoa-whoa whoa-whoa-whoa whoa-whoa
On the backstreets
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Say!
Whoa-whoa-whoa
Whoa-whoaaa-whoa
No, no, no, no, no
On the backstreets
The above lyrics are for the live 24 Mar 1977 performance of BACKSTREETS at Music Hall in Boston, MA, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour. This was the third of four consecutive shows at the venue that concluded the tour.
The line "Just wishing that God would send some angels to blow this whole damn town right into the sea" was later adapted in THE FAST SONG ("I wish God's angels would tear this town down and blow it into the sea").
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).
The above lyrics are not complete or 100% correct. If you can assist, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:
BACKSTREETS [Album version]
