Unofficial studio version 1
[Spoken:] One, two, three, four
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
We swore forever friends
On the backstreets until the end
Running in the dark, well, I found her where she fell
Just another wasted sister of the heartbreak hotel
Slow dancing in the dark, it sounds through the cane
Hopeless as a highway, in the freezing rain
Rolling along the backstreets, flowing on the backstreets
Terry was cold, young and brave
Taking on them backstreets, saved
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Whoah
In the...
Save yourself a new guitar string to get you around by
Blame it on the lies that killed us, on the truth that ran us down
Blame it on me, baby, or blame it on that town
Blame it on him and his fancy ways
I hated you when you went away
Laying here in the dark you're like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Living all the movies, 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
Hey it's gonna be alright, hey!
Hiding on the backstreets tonight
Whoah, oh, oh, oh
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
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hey!
Whoah, oh, on the
Oh, oh
Ha
The above lyrics are for a studio take of BACKSTREETS recorded sometime between May and July 1975 at The Record Plant in New York City, NY. See the album version for more details about the studio sessions.
This is an unfinished version (see the third verse) featuring alternate lyrics that considerably vary from those of the album version. It can be found on several bootlegs, including War And Roses (E. St. Records).
In late 2005, Sirius XM's E Street Radio channel suddenly started playing a different mix (featuring different guitar) of this same take of BACKSTREETS. This quickly resulted in an mp3 recording making the rounds.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
The above lyrics may not be 100% correct. If you have any corrections, please contact me at or by using the below form.
List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:
BACKSTREETS [Album version]