Live 18 Nov 1975 version
There's a little café
On the other side of the border
She was sitting there giving me food
Make my mouth water
It's cute, it's cute [chuckles]
Spread out now, Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mama's reins
You know playin' blind man's bluff is a little baby's game
You pick up Little Dynamite, oh, I'm gonna pick up Little Gun
Together we're gonna go out tonight and make that highway run
You don't have to call me lieutenant, Rosie, I don't want to be your son
The only lover I'm ever gonna need's your soft sweet little girl's tongue
You're the one!
Dynamite's in the belfry, baby, playin' with the bats
Little Gun's downtown in front of Woolworth's, tryin' out his attitude on all the cats
Papa's on the corner, waitin' for the bus
Mama, she's home in the window, waitin' up there for us
She'll be there in that chair when they wrestle her upstairs, you know we ain't gonna come
I ain't here on business, I'm only here for fun
You're the one!
Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire
Jack the Rabbit, Weak Knees Willie, you know they're gonna be there
Sloppy Sue and Big Bones Billy'll be comin' up for air
We're gonna play some pool, skip some school, act real cool
Stay out all night, it's gonna feel all right
So, Rosie, come out tonight, baby, come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Closets are for hangers, winners use the door
Use it, Rosie!
Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire
[Spoken:] Give me more!
On the piano, Professor Roy Bittan!
On the bass guitar, Garry W. Tallent!
On the guitar, Miami Steve!
On the drums, The Mighty Max!
On the organ, Dan Federici!
And on the saxophone, Clarence Clemons!
Garry!
Bring it up!
Well, I know your mama, she don't like me 'cause I play in a rock and roll band
I know your papa don't dig me, he never did understand
Your papa lowered the boom, locked you in your room
I'm coming to lend a hand
Riding to liberate you, confiscate you, I want to be your man
Someday we'll look back on this, it will all seem funny, da, da, da
Now you're sad, mama's mad
Your papa says he knows (that I don't have any money)
Well, your papa says he knows (that I don't have any money)
So your papa says he knows (that I don't have any money)
This is his last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance
The record company, Rosie, gave me a big advance
My tires were slashed, almost crashed, the Lord had mercy
My machine, she's a dud, out stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Hold on tight, stay up all night, Rosie, I'm comin' on strong
By the time we meet the morning light, I will hold you in my arms
I know a pretty little place in Southern California down San Diego way
A little café, they play guitars all night and day
You can see 'em in the back room strummin'
Hold tight, baby, don't you know I'm comin'
Everybody say
(Ohhhhh!)
Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
Just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!)
[Spoken outro:] Thank you. Oh.
The above lyrics are for the live 18 Nov 1975 performance of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) at Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, during the Born To Run Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement, featuring band introductions, with an instrumental snippet of Isaac Hayes' THEME FROM SHAFT in the midsection, and also featuring a snippet of Jay And The Americans' COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER as an intro. The complete 18 Nov 1975 show was released on Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 album and home video in 2005.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band toured Europe for the first in 1975, during the Born To Run Tour. They performed a series of four concerts in England (18 and 24 Nov 1975), Sweden (21 Nov 1975), and The Netherlands (23 Nov 1975). It would be another six years before they return to Europe.
Springsteen and the band were under a lot of pressure when they first stepped foot in Europe. The 18 Nov 1975 show at Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, was overwhelmingly hyped. "For me, the set went by like a freight train," Springsteen wrote. "Later, all I remembered is an awkward record company party, that 'what just happened?' feeling, and thinking we hadn't played that well. I was wrong."
The complete concert was captured on 16mm film and recorded on 24-track. It is also known that this show was initially going to be broadcast on radio (either live or delayed) but Mike Appel, Springsteen's manager at the time, backed out at the last minute as he felt that Springsteen's mood at the time would not lead to a particularly good show.
The film remained largely untouched for nearly 30 years. "Lost in my private Idaho, I'd paid no attention to it. I never looked at it... for thirty years," Springsteen wrote. "At the end of the Rising tour, I became interested in checking out film of the early part of my work." Read complete liner notes below.
Emmy Award Winner Thom Zimny received the 16 mm negatives along with the 24-track recording. His production team painstakingly cleaned the original negatives and digitally restored the footage, ultimately presenting this indispensable concert in vibrant color and detail. Producer Bob Clearmountain remastered and remixed the DVD in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. Zimny has worked with Springsteen on several projects, including editing the Live In New York City, Live In Barcelona, and VH1 Storytellers films. Clearmountain is the legendary mixer who has often collaborated with Springsteen over the last 25 years, most famously on the Born In The U.S.A. album.
The complete 18 Nov 1975 show was released in November 2005 on the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 home video, which was issued on DVD as part of the Born To Run - 30th Anniversary Edition box set. Audio for the concert was released on a 2-CD set under the same title in February 2006. It was reissued on vinyl (a 4-disc set) for the first time for Record Store Day on 22 Apr 2017.
Disc 1:
Disc 2:
Side 1:
Side 2:
Side 3:
Side 4:
Disc 5:
Side 6:
Side 7:
Side 8:
Liner notes from the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 DVD and CD:
In 1975, we stepped of the plane into the land of our mythic heroes. A London, that was yet to see it's first McDonalds's, that was still wrasslin' with making good cheeseburger and that seemed very foreign and exotic to a bunch of provincial Jersey Shore beach bums and musicians.
From the "very" anxious heavens of our first trans-Atlantic flight we descended into... well... hell, as I would soon come to know it.
There was a lot of publicity.
Without going into excessive and ancient detail, yeah, there were promo posters, yeah; there was the "London is finally ready for..." marquee; the raves, the pans, the fans, the existential angst... the... the... HYPE!
The whole city, or at least the part that was interested in pop music, seemed primed for... a party? a funeral? a coronation? All of the above? With the shadow of the crown and the noose upon my neck, I stood in the middle of it, this week's Next... Big... Thing. All I remember thinking was, Whoa! This is a little more than I bargained for. Not quite savvy enough to realize that this was exactly what I had bargained for, I arrived at the theater and created pre-show chaos, stomping through the aisles, pulling promo flyers of the seats in a "The Man can't steal my music" frenzy. The record company, of course, was just doing its job, and I was just learning mine... real fast.
Later that evening an E Street Band, with a good deal of the carnival still left in it and armed with a set list I still dare any young band to match, strode onto the stage of the Hammersmith Odeon. The tempos were fast. A Jersey stew of almost punk soul, fueled by the visionary songwriters, 60's records, garage bands, and Rhythm and Blues we loved. For me, the set went by like a freight train. Later, all I remembered is an awkward record company party, that "what just happened?" feeling, and thinking we hadn't played that well. I was wrong. With the keys to the kingdom dangling in front of us and the knife at our neck, we'd gone for broke. Whatever happened, it became one of our "legendary" performances, marked only in memory, bits of bootleg tape, and "I was there when" stories. It was the show that put us on the map in England and began a long and beautiful relationship with our fans overseas.
The evening had been recorded and filmed. Lost in my private Idaho, I'd paid no attention to it. I never looked at it... for thirty years. At the time I was anxious to move away from the commotion and on down the road, as the band and I were "busy bein' born."
At the end of the Rising tour, I became interested in checking out film of the early part of my work. It had remained a blank spot with virtually nothing released. I started with bits and pieces of this show figuring we could cut together a song or two. To our surprise the entire concert emerged from the vault along with the 24-track recording. Restore by Thom Zimny and mixed by Bob Clearmountain, removed from the bluster and noise of the moment, all that's left if the music. So Ladies and Gentelmen... "London is finally ready for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band." Live! At the Hammersmith Odeon.
- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, 9/22/05
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) on this website:
ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [Album version]
