Live 20 Nov 1980 version
[Spoken intro:] All right, this is, uh, this is one from, uh, this is for all the folks that were at the Uptown last time, and uh, the time before and the time before. And the time before that.
Well I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade, hey!
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain, I walked on a crooked crutch
I strode all alone into a fallout zone, and came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
The flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
Well I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she couldn't sail but she sure could sing
Well I pushed B-52, bombed 'em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, never once gave thought to landing
Hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "come down"... Shut up!
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Hey, Big Man, let's go!
[Spoken:] There we were. We were on this dark road, back in New Jersey. It was me, Clarence, and Steve, and Garry. You got it. We were driving in this, I think '65 Ford Galaxy. Proper paint on the outside. We were down this dark road, and all of a sudden, we get a flat. Right? We get a flat. So, it's so dark out that nobody wants to go out and change the tire. You didn't want to go either? So we're trying to decide who's gonna go out to change the tire. So we said, well, we'll do it the American way: we'll gamble to see who's gonna go out. So we start shooting. Too many guys to choose that way, can't do that, only got two guys. So we're sitting there, and huddled in the front seat because we're so scared. We hear all these spooky sounds coming out of the woods. Steve, you go out! [Steve: I don't want to!] So just as we're sitting there arguing and fighting about who's gonna change the tire, before I can remind them who the Boss is, all of a sudden, just like in that movie, Close Encounters Of A Third Kind, there's this big white light comes smashing down on top of our car. Well, I put my head out the window, and I look up, and I see this big cherry-red round flying saucer with Cadillac fins on the back, Hooker headers, and on the side it says, "Little Melvin and the Invaders -- We play weddings, parties, and bar Mitzvahs." So some guy with the three heads sticks his head out and says, "Hey, down there! Hey listen, you guys. I gotta get back to Mars, which way is it to the New Jersey Turnpike?" Said, so there. Now, we're not as dumb as we look, you know, we're thinking for a second. We said, "Listen. If you want us to, if you want us to tell you how to get to the New Jersey Turnpike, you gotta get us each, we each get one wish." Was telling him, wasn't gonna let him put it over our heads. So, we thought real hard. This is very important; the chance of a lifetime. Clarence? Clarence wished for his own combination pizza parlor and Laundromat on a corner in downtown Asbury Park. That's a pretty good life. That's pretty good, pretty good. But I said, "No, that's not enough. That's not enough." Steve, it's Steve's turn! Steve wished that he hadn't gone to Hawthorne Beach Track Day. Too late now! Can't, you already made it, don't do no good. [Steve: Darn it!] Garry wished he wasn't with us in the car. [Steve: But now!] I mean these were, I said, "These, these wishes..." So I thought real hard. For I thought I'm gonna, thought about wishing for a spare. Then I said, "Nah, too small-time." And then, I didn't even have to say it out loud, I was just standing there thinking it, and all of a sudden, I looked way over down the dark side of the road, way down in the dark, and what I was wishing for started to appear. And then, when we touched...
I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere, you know it's really hard to hold your breath
I swear I've lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid
My feet they finally took root in the earth, but I got me a nice little place in the stars
I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "come down" I threw up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Yeah, yeah, growin' up
The above lyrics are for the live 20 Nov 1980 performance of GROWIN' UP at Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, IL, during The River Tour. The song was played in a full-band, album-style arrangement, and featured a story in the break.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of GROWIN' UP on this website:
GROWIN' UP [Album version]