Live 31 Jan 1998 version
[Jon Bon Jovi:] We gotta hold on...
[Jon Bon Jovi:] To what we've got
[Jon Bon Jovi:] It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
[Jon Bon Jovi:] We've got each other and that's a lot for love
[Jon Bon Jovi:] We'll give it a shot
[Bon Jovi and Sambora:] And, oh, we're half way there
[Crowd:] Oh, oh, livin' on a prayer
[Richie Sambora:] Take my hand
[Bon Jovi and Sambora:] We'll make it I swear
[Crowd:] Oh, oh
[Richie Sambora:] Livin' on a prayer
[Jon Bon Jovi (spoken):] You got it!
[Jon Bon Jovi:]
Tommy used to work on the docks
Union went on strike
He's down on his luck, it's tough, oh, it's tough
Oh, but Gina works the diner all day
She been working for her man, she brings home her pay
For love - oh, for love
She says we've got to hold on to what we've got
'Cause it doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot
Oh, we're half way there
Oh, oh, livin' on a prayer
Well, take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Oh, oh, livin' on a prayer
Tommy threw his six string in hock
His heart's holdin' in
What he's tried against the years to talk
Just like we did, so close
Well, Gina dreams of running away
When she cries every night
Tommy whispers, it's okay, someday
We've got to hold on to what we've got
Doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other, that's a lot
For love - so what?! (we'll give it a shot)
Whoah, we're half way there
Whoah, oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it - I swear
Whoah, oh, livin' on a prayer
Livin' on a prayer
We've got to hold on ready or not
You live for the fight when it's all that you've got
Oh, we're half way there
Whoah, oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand we'll make it - I swear
Whoah, oh, livin' on a prayer
Whoah, we're half way there
Whoah, oh, livin' on a prayer
You take my hand, we'll make it - I swear
Whoah, oh, livin' on a prayer
Whoah, oh
Whoah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Whoah, oh, oh
Whoah, oh, oh
Sing, whoah, oh
Whoah, oh, oh
Whoah, oh
That's all!
[Jon Bon Jovi (spoken):] Thank you all very much! Thank you for coming! Good night!
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER is a 1986 song by Bon Jovi. See the original Bon Jovi version for more details.
The above lyrics are for live 31 Jan 1998 performance of LIVIN' ON A PRAYER at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert. Jon Bon Jovi was on lead vocals on this song. Bruce Springsteen did not sing, but he probably was onstage playing guitar during this and all the other songs on which he did not sing.
The "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert was organized by the Long Branch Police Department, The Asbury Park Press, and FPI Concerts, along with Jon Bon Jovi. The concert was to honor slain Long Branch police officer Sgt. Patrick King and raise money for the Sgt. Patrick King Memorial Fund to provide for his family. King, 45-year-old father of two young boys, was fatally shot on 20 Nov 1997 by a fugitive who had vowed to kill himself and a police officer rather than be captured and returned to jail.
Twenty musicians with ties to the Jersey shore music scene answered Jon Bon Jovi's call, including Bruce Springsteen and several members of the then-disbanded E Street Band (Clarence Clemons, Danni Frederici, Patti Scialfa, Steven Van Zandt, and Max Weinberg), Southside Johnny, Bobby Bandiera, and Richie Sambora among others. Actor Danny DeVito was the event's MC. Tickets, which were priced at $125, went on sale on 17 Jan 1998 noon and sold out in just eight minutes. The concert that was organized in short order raised more than $112,000 for King's widow and his two sons.
"It was a chance to forget about [the murder] a little bit," Long Branch police Sgt. Bruce Johantgen, one of about 50 city police officers who attended the show, told The Asbury Park Press. "The outpouring of love from the performers to the audience was unbelievable". Johantgen said he found it ironic that Bon Jovi and other performers thanked the audience for coming to the sold-out show. "From the police perspective, I kept thinking, 'We should be thanking you for giving your time'," Johantgen said.
This was a near-reunion of the fabled E Street Band and Springsteen's first full-length electric gig following the acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. Springsteen spent much (or possibly all) of the night onstage, singing or playing guitar only. Soundboard recording for the complete concert is available among collectors.
The 31 Jan 1998 show at Count Basie 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.
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER was performed off-tour on 31 Jan 1998 at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of LIVIN' ON A PRAYER on this website:
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER [Live 31 Jan 1998 version]
