Live 25 Mar 1977 version
One, two, three, four!
Cold rain running down the front of my shirt
Flat on my back, wheels in the dirt
Angel makes her face up on Baker Street
Straddling the shifter in my front seat
There's nothing to lose, it's a setup, the deck's stacked
Put your foot to the floor and darling don't look back
Making night tracks through the blazing rain
Blowing pistons, working the fast lane
White line burning, pocket full of cash
Angel writes her name in lipstick on my dash
There's nothing to lose, it's a setup, the deck's stacked
Put your foot to the floor and darling don't look back
We held it in our hearts in the lonely rain
We made it in the heart of a hurricane
We tore it apart and put it together again
Whoa whoa whoa whoa, say!
We'll wash ours sins off down in the sea
Angel won't believe in love for me
We'll move in with the city in the dark
You gotta walk it, talk it in your heart
There's nothing to lose, it's a setup, the deck's stacked
Put your foot to the floor and darling
Tonight we'll blow off the doors darling
Put your foot to the floor and darling don't look back
Don't look back
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Don't look back
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Don't look back
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Don't look back
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Don't look
Don't look back
The above lyrics are for the live 25 Mar 1977 performance of DON'T LOOK BACK at Music Hall in Boston, MA, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour. This was the last of four consecutive shows at the venue that concluded the tour. The lyrics for this version of DON'T LOOK BACK are becoming more and more similar to the studio versions, particularly the outtake version.
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 DON'T LOOK BACK on this website:
DON'T LOOK BACK [Official studio version]
