Live 04 Nov 1976 version
[Spoken intro:] The envelope, please. In one minute we'll know just who the winner is. Rosie come out tonight!
Spread out now, Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mama's reins
You know playing blind man's bluff is a little baby's game
Hey! You pick up Little Dynamite, 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, don't wanna 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, playing with the bats
Little Gun's downtown in front of Woolworth's, trying out his attitude on all the cats
Papa's on the corner, waiting for the bus
And Mama's home in the window, waiting up there for us
She'll be there in that chair when they wrestle her upstairs, you know we ain't gonna come
Man, 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 wanna be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire
Whoa!
Jack the Rabbit, Weak Knees Willie, y'know they're gonna be there
Gonna be Sloppy Sue, Big Bones Billy, coming up for air
They'll play some pool, say, skip some school, act real cool
Stay out all night, feel all right
Rosie, come out tonight, come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Closets are for hangers, winners, I'm gonna say, winners, winners, winners use the door!
Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just wanna be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire
[Spoken:] We're gonna bring them up. You all know 'em, you all love 'em. And if you don't, we'll bring them up anyway. Oh, here they come them happy-go-lucky fellas. Them ??? devil-may-care bons vivants, them men of the world, them complete idiots, them good friends of Miami Steve who I just met before the show and who I have no association with. The Miami Horns! (horns solos) On the piano, the man with all the degrees and all the keys, he plays the high C's, at night he catches some Z's after he takes P's in his BBD's, Professor Roy Bittan! (piano solo) Next, producer, manager, composer, artiste, guitar player, how can I say it? Just magnificence himself. Everything you never wanted to be and more. Miami Steve! Let's hear it for him (Springsteen claps hands) Not too much, not too much. On the bass guitar, Mr Garry W. Tallent. (bass solo) On the drums, for the South Orange contingent, The Mighty Max! (drum solo) On the organ, now you see him now you don't, Phantom Dan Federici. (organ solo) Last but not least, king of the world, master of the universe, star of stage and screen, and everything else. The Big Man Mr Clarence Clemons! (sax solo).
Bring it up!
Well I know your mama don't like me because I play in a rock and roll band
I know your papa don't dig me, never did understand
Papa lowered the boom, locked you in your room
I'm coming to lend a hand
Riding to liberate you, confiscate you, I wanna be your man
Someday we'll look back on this, it will all seem funny, la la la
Now you're sad, mama's mad
(Papa says he knows that I don't have any money)
Say! (Papa says he knows that I don't have any money)
Well your (Papa says he knows that I don't have any money)
This is his last chance, tell him, Rosie, I ain't no freak
'Cause I got my picture on the cover of Time and Newsweek
My tires were slashed, I 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 coming 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
There's a little café, they play guitars all night and day
You can hear 'em in the back room strumming
Hold tight, baby, don't you know I'm coming
Whoa everybody sing
Say!
Ohhh!
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
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!)
[Spoken outro:] Wherever you are hold tight, sight tight, come out tonight. The Big Man, the E Streeters, and the Miami Horns! Say, say!
The above lyrics are for the live 04 Nov 1976 performance of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) at Palladium in New York City, NY, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement, featuring band introductions, and The Miami Horns Quartet line-up #2, which consisted of Ed De Palma on sax, John Binkley on trumpet, Steve Paraczky on trumpet, and Dennis Orlock on trombone. This Philadelphia-based foursome had no association with Southside Johnny.
Springsteen replaced the "This is his last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance / The record company, Rosie, gave me a big advance" lines with "This is his last chance, tell him, Rosie, I ain't no freak / 'Cause I got my picture on the cover of Time and Newsweek!" — this is a reference to his appearance on the covers of both Time and Newsweek magazines in the same week, on 27 Oct 1975.
During the band introductions in the midsection, Springsteen refers to the Miami Horns as "happy-go-lucky fellas, them devil-may-care bons vivants, them men of the world, them complete idiots..." Between September 1976 and March 1977, Springsteen utilized a horn section comprising of Ed De Palma on sax, John Binkley on trumpet, Steve Paraczky on trumpet, and Dennis Orlock on trombone. In an interview with Steve Paraczky published in issue #88 (Spring 2010) of Backstreets magazine, Asbury Jukes historian, Mike Saunders, noted that Springsteen never announced the Miami Horn onstage by their names, but he gave them a lengthy introduction during the 04 Nov 1976 show in New York City. Paraczky explained: "We wore three-piece suits all the time, except on one occasion. You can hear Bruce's reaction on the Palladium concert [recording]. Dennis Orlock had the idea to wear mariachi shirts and hats for 'Rosalita.' I don't think Bruce cared for that too much. I wore a huge sombrero, which is now hanging in my bar area. Bruce called us "those incredible idiots' or something to that effect. To be immortalized as an idiot for eternity... thanks, Dennis!"
Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original agreement. Springsteen replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of trust, and undue influence. Appel counter-sued on 29 Jul 1976 in New York State Supreme Court, asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This would drag for about a year. Meanwhile, Springsteen continued gigging, and in the process broke his self-imposed rule of not playing the larger arenas. This was basically because he was not able to put a record out, and it was the only way his fans would be able to hear him at all. The tour became known as "The Lawsuit Tour" (62 know dates, August 1976 to March 1977).
List of available versions of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) on this website:
ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [Album version]
