GROWIN' UP

Live 31 May 1973 (WGOE-FM) version

Well I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair till it looked just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch
Well, I strode all alone into a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up

Well the flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she couldn't sail but she sure could sing
I pushed B-52 and bombed 'em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing
Well, I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, and never once gave thought to landing
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "come down" I threw up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up

Oh...
W'all right now

Well I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere, and you know it's really hard to hold your breath
Swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
But my feet they finally took root in the earth, but I got me a nice little place somewhere in the stars
Well I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the mother breast of the crowd, when they said "pull down" I pulled up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Oh, ah, alright
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Ow

Yeah. Oh!
(Thank you!)

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 31 May 1973 radio performance of GROWIN' UP as broadcast on Richmond's WGOE-FM. The song was played in a full-band acoustic arrangement.

The 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM Radio Performance

Bruce Springsteen's 31 May 1973 radio performance was broadcast live on Richmond's WGOE-FM. The show took place at Alpha Sound Studios in Richmond, VA, and the radio station broadcasted it via remote hook-up. While all his other radio shows were merely recorded inside the DJ broadcast room, this was the only time that Springsteen ever played for a radio broadcast from an actual recording studio. Besides the WGOE DJ, the small audience heard inside the studio with the band includes Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, and David Sancious who had yet to join the band but was employed at the studio at the time.

After the show, Mike Appel took possession of the master tape, so none of the performance was ever re-broadcast by the station. The complete radio show was taped by a listener and has since circulated among fans, but the sound quality is weak. A low generation copy of the entire original master tape first surfaced in very limited hands in the early nineties. The complete master tape in perfect sound quality finally emerged into the wider collector community in early 2007.

The 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast 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.

Bruce Springsteen -- WGOE Radio, Alpha Studios, Richmond VA, 31st May 1973

CD - Echoes (ECHOCD2018) - UK, 2015

This release contains the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- WGOE Radio, Alpha Studios, Richmond VA, 31st May 1973

LP - Echoes (ECHOLP2018) - UK, 2015

This release contains the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- Live Sessions: Houston Boston Richmond

Digital album - Wyte Myce (no catalog number) - UK, 2015

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast, part of the 09 Mar 1974 KLOL-FM radio broadcast, and the 09 Apr 1974 WBCN-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- Acoustic Radio 1973

CD - Good Ship Funke (GSF006) - UK, 2015

This release contains the 09 Jan 1973 WBCN-FM radio broadcast and the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- The 1973 Acoustic Radio Sessions

2xLP - Let Them Eat Vinyl (LETV374LP) - UK, 2015

This release contains the 09 Jan 1973 WBCN-FM radio broadcast and the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- WGOE Radio, Alpha Studios, Richmond, VA. 31st May 1973

LP - Bad Joker (BOSS 5-2011) - EU, 2016

This release contains the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- Acoustic Radio Broadcast Collection

2xCD - The Broadcast Archive (BSCD6047) - UK, 2017

This release contains the 09 Jan 1973 WBCN-FM radio broadcast, the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast, the 09 Mar 1974 KLOL-FM radio broadcast, and the 09 Apr 1974 WBCN-FM radio broadcast. This is a repackaging of Good Ship Funke's Acoustic Radio 1973 and Acoustic Radio 1974.

Bruce Springsteen -- Satin Doll

LP - Roxborough Music (ROXMB001) - UK, 2017

This release contains the 09 Jan 1973 WBCN-FM radio broadcast and the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Acoustic Sessions

Digital album - Radioland (no catalog number) - Europe, 2017

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast and the 09 Apr 1974 WBCN-FM radio broadcast.

Bruce Springsteen -- American Radio Broadcast - Alpha Studios Richmond VA USA

Digital album - Studioville (no catalog number) - Europe, 2018

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 31 May 1973 WGOE-FM radio broadcast.

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake). Most of the above info about this radio performance is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of GROWIN' UP on this website:

Page last updated: 08 Jan 2012