Unofficial studio version
Two, three, four!
One, two, three, four!
We met out on open streets when we had no place darling to go
I remember how my heart beat when you said "I love you so"
Then little by little we choked out all of the life that our love could hold
Oh no
It was like we had a noose and baby without check
We pulled 'til it grew tighter around our necks
Each one waiting for the other, darling to say when
Well baby you can meet me tonight on the loose end
We didn't count tomorrows, we took what we could and baby we ran
There was no time for sorrow, every place that we went I held your hand
And when the night closed in I was sure your kisses told me all I had to know
But oh no
It's like we had a noose and baby without check
We pulled until it grew tighter around our necks
Each one waiting for the other, darling to say when
Well baby you can meet me tonight on the loose end
Now our love has fallen around us like we said it never could
We saw it happen to all the others but to us it never would
Well how could something so bad, baby, come from something that was so good
I don't know
It's like we had a noose and baby without check
We pulled 'til it grew tighter around our necks
Each one waiting for the other, darling to say when
Well baby you can meet me tonight on the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end
On the loose end [fade out]
The above lyrics are for a studio take of LOOSE ENDS probably recorded on 18 Jul 1979 at The Power Station in New York City, NY. The vocal is different and rougher than the one on the official studio version. The basic backing track is the same but the mix is different. At the beginning of the song on The Definitive River Outtakes Collection Volume 1 bootleg (see below section), Bruce Springsteen can be heard saying, "This is mix number one, original vocal and original sax."
This unofficial studio version of LOOSE ENDS can be found on The Definitive River Outtakes Collection Volume 1 (E. St. Records) [disc 2, track 02] bootleg.
List of available versions of LOOSE ENDS on this website:
LOOSE ENDS [Official studio version]