Live 17 Oct 1975 (early show) version
[Spoken intro:] Alright. Here's a song... I first heard this band — this is the first one, the first L.A. bands I ever heard, heard it when I was about 15 and I fell in love with 'em and I been in love with 'em ever since. So I wanna dedicate this to, uh, Roger McGuinn, wherever he is. 'Cause this is his instrument.
I think I'm goin' back to the things I learned so well in my youth
I think I'm returning to the days when I was young enough to know the truth
Now there are no games to only pass the time
No more electric trains, no more trees to climb
Thinking young and growing older is no sin
So catch me if you can, I'm goin' back again
I can recall the time when I wasn't afraid to reach out to a friend
Well now I think I got a lot more than all my toys to lend
Well now there's more to do than watch my sailboat glide
And every day can be a magic carpet ride
A little bit of courage is all we lack
So catch me if you can, 'cause I'm goin' back, whoa!
La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
Now there's more to do than watch my sailboat glide
'Cause every day can be a magic carpet ride
A little bit of courage is all we lack
So catch me if you can, I'm goin' back
La la la la la la la la la la
Whoa oh, whoa yeah
La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la
GOIN' BACK is a 1966 song by Dusty Springfield in. See the original Dusty Springfield version for more details. Not to be confused with Bruce Springsteen's 1977 studio outtake I'M GOIN' BACK.
Bruce Springsteen performed GOIN' BACK at all six shows during his October 1975 residency at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA (see the "Live History" section below). Songwriter Carole King was present at the first show and Springsteen premiered and dedicated the song to her.
The above lyrics are for the live 17 Oct 1975 (early show) performance of GOIN' BACK at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA, during the Born To Run Tour. Springsteen dedicated the song to Roger McGuinn of The Byrds who covered and released GOIN' BACK in 1967.
During the Born To Run Tour, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed a series of six shows over the period of four days at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA: one show on 16 Oct 1975, two shows on 17 Oct 1975, two shows on 18 Oct 1975, and one show on 19 Oct 1975. This residency at the 500-seat club, which marks the first time that Springsteen headlined a show in California, was booked to break Springsteen in the Los Angeles market. The 17 Oct 1975 early show was broadcast live on Los Angeles' KWST-FM.
The 17 Oct 1975 early show at The Roxy Theatre was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.
Other versions of GOIN' BACK were officially released.
GOIN' BACK is known to have been performed at least 6 times during the Born To Run Tour (73 know dates / 81 known shows, July to December 1975), all during the October 1975 residency in West Hollywood, CA. Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the Born To Run Tour, but that's unlikely. The live 18 Oct 1975 (early show) version of GOIN' BACK was released on The Roxy 1975 official live download in 2018.
GOIN' BACK was sound-checked prior to the 04 Mar 1988 show in Chapel Hill, NC, (as far as it's known) but it was not performed on any of the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour's regular shows.
List of available versions of GOIN' BACK on this website:
GOIN' BACK [Live 17 Oct 1975 (early show) version]
