April 1972 demo version
The lady keeps the doctor in a place inside her pocket
In a circle made of silver like a wheel
The doctor gives her strange love and the lady she don't knock it
She's glad to get a piece of anything
Because the lady needs the medicine he brings
And the doctor needs the lady to see
Well, the doctor keeps the lady in a page in a book
On the history of communicable disease
The lady's she went to school, she lets the doctor play it cool
He writes the script, she follows his lead
Because the doctor writes a love story so fine
And the lady's learned to read between his lines sometimes
Well, the doctor he takes housecalls where he visits the animals in their stalls
Shoots 'em full of juice and then goes home
The lady hits the supermart where she rides the aisle in a shopping cart
'Till she feels she's played enough of the part to get by, ohhh
Because the lady feels it's enough to just be good
But the doctor has this need to be understood
Well, the doctor feels he's so abused and the lady feels she's so unused
She demands the doctor tend her daily parts
But the doctor just can't do it, whoa, 'cause the lady blew it
She's too old now to make another start
And the lady feels the doctor's made of stone
But the doctor's heart it just ain't found a home
The above lyrics are for a demo of LADY AND THE DOCTOR recorded probably in April 1972 at Mike Appel's office or home in New York City, NY. It features Springsteen solo on vocals and acoustic guitar. See the studio version for more details about the song.
In April 1972, Bruce Springsteen traveled to New York on occasions to visit Mike Appel at the publishing company Pocketful Of Tunes where Appel was then employed. During that period some spontaneous, "off-the-cuff" Springsteen performances were recorded in a songwriting room (not the studio) at Pocketful Of Tunes. To date only a couple of these demos have surfaced. There may have been other songs similarly taped that have yet to circulate among collectors.
This April 1972 demo version of LADY AND THE DOCTOR can be found on The Unsurpassed Springsteen Volume 4 (Yellow Dog Records) bootleg.
Some of the above info about the demo recording is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of LADY AND THE DOCTOR on this website:
LADY AND THE DOCTOR [Studio version]