Band rehearsal #1
Jackson Cage, all right!
Two, three!
Little girl in wasted motion
Crossed swords on the killing floor, babe
Settle back is to settle without knowing
The hard edge that you're settling for, yeah
You have shied away all night
Yeah, you have been judged and handed light, you were handed light
She watches you live away
While she just goes out dancing
You can remember how
She dreams of falling in love
And she want, but she don't know
So, what do you say?
You can take her away
To the Jackson Cage
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[Spoken:] That's a lot, champ. Good.
And she waits to tell me
That I think you can, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Whoa, oh
Three, four!
Da, da, da, da, da, da, doo, doo, da
Da, da, da, ah, ah, ooh, ooh, ooh
Hey, girl, oh, yeah!
Oh, oh, oh
And you...
[Spoken:] Ah, let's try that...
Ah, hey
The above lyrics are for a band rehearsal workout of JACKSON CAGE recorded on 05 Feb 1980 at Springsteen's Telegraph Hill Road property in Holmdel, NJ, nicknamed "Telegraph Hill Studios". This wasn't a true studio; it was a converted barn that Springsteen and the band used to practice songs around the time The River was being cut in studio. Working out arrangements cuts down pricey hours at The Power Station where the album was recorded.
A significant amount of The River sessions audio that has surfaced unofficially comes from these Telegraph Hill sessions. Unfortunately the audio quality leaves much to be desired. It sounds as if a single boom recording mike was used and Springsteen's vocals are buried under the instruments on virtually all these recordings.
This band rehearsal of JACKSON CAGE can be found on The Lost Masters Vol. 15 (Labour Of Love) bootleg. It's one of two different band rehearsal takes of the song found on this bootleg.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Some of the above info is taken from Brucebase.
Some of the above lyrics are guessed and might be incorrect. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of JACKSON CAGE on this website:
JACKSON CAGE [Album version]