Live 19 Dec 1978 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, ha!
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 us loose from everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever
On the backstreets we'd take it together
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where dancers scraped the tears up off the streets 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
You can 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 when you went away
Whoah, whoah, ah
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
And after all this time to find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park, 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
Till the end
Baby, I remember you
Girl, I remember you
Standing on the corner
Of Richmond Avenue
With your hand in his
Hey baby
[whistles]
Sweetheart
Darling
Little girl
In the blue shirt
Why don't you go with that guy and then right after this song, I'll let you come
back, I promise, all right? All right? Cross my heart. Yeah. All right?
Let's not have a convention about it [chuckles]
This is my business
Anything that happens in this room tonight -- this is my party
And you're invited
And all I ask is that is if you have a little respect in my house
And they cry
Yeah, I remember you
Looking so fine
And baby, didn't you think
You knew it all?
And baby didn't you think
That when he stood by your side
Baby looked so satisfied
And when I looked into your eyes
Baby I
I could almost forget
I could almost forget
Running outside of town
Running outside of town
Out to that stripped down Cadillac
And I could almost forget
And baby'd take me riding in back
And I could almost forget
What it was like on the inside
And I could almost forget
All those boys that I hated on the outside
And I could almost forget
What it was like on the outside
And I could almost forget
And I could almost forget
And I could almost forget
That you promised
I could almost forget that you promised
And that, like everything else from those days
And from back then
I could almost forget that you lied
Baby you lied
Baby you lied
Baby you lied
Baby you lied
Baby you lied
You were so young and you could tell such pretty lies
You were so young and you could tell such pretty lies
You were so young and you could tell such pretty lies
You were so young and you could tell such pretty lies
You were so young and you could tell such pretty lies
You were so young and you could tell such pretty lies
But now you're back
So now you've come back
And I want to know why
And I want to know why
Babe, I want to know why
Yeah, I want to know why
And I want to know why
'Cause I've been out too
And I found out some things
About me
And about you
And what makes you think
And I found out we've got to stop
Little girl we've got to stop
Little girl we've got to stop
Little girl we've got to stop
Stop
Stop
Stop
Stop
Stop
Stop
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'll go hiding on the backstreets tonight
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
Whoah, whoah, whoah
Whoah, whoah, whoah, oh, oh, oh
The above lyrics are for the live 19 Dec 1978 performance of BACKSTREETS at Paramount Theatre in Portland, OR, during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour.
This was a make-up show that was originally slated for 18 Dec 1978 (see ticket below), but was rescheduled to the next day for unknown reasons.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:
BACKSTREETS [Album version]