Live 13 Feb 1977 version
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, well, 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, and 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, waiting for the bus
Mama'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
Well, I ain't here on business, Rosie, 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
Gonna be Sloppy Sue and Big Bones Billy, they're comin' up for air
Just!
(Play some pool, skip some school, act real cool)
(Stay out all night, feel all right)
Rosie, come out tonight, whoa, Rosie, come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Closets are for hangers, winners, winners, use the door!
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
Ah!
[Spoken:] We've got a long, long list of luminaries tonight. So we're gonna skip 'em! No, beginning at the piano, a man will all the degrees and all the keys, Professor Roy Bittan! Play it, Professor! On the guitar, how can I say it? Producer, composer, artiste, auteur, uh, uh, Poet of the Soul, Master of Rock and Roll, the man who brought you such hits as I Don't Want To Go Home, Sweeter Than Honey, the magnificent Miami Steve Van Zandt! On the bass guitar, coming to you from Long Branch, New Jersey, Mr. Garry W. Tallent! On the drums, The Mighty Max! On the organ, Phantom Dan Federici! Play it, D! In the back, where we keep 'em so they can't get at you, all the way from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, via the men's room in the Newark airport, The Miami Horns! Last but not least, King of the Whole Goddamn World, Master of the Motherfucking Universe, Mr. Hollywood, star of stage and screen, here with us, The Big Man, Mr. Clarence Clemons on the saxophone!
Bring it down!
Bring it up!
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
Papa lowered the boom and 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 and it will all seem funny, la, la, la
But now you're sad, mama's mad
(Your papa says he knows that I don't have any money)
(Your papa says he knows that I don't have any money) Say it, say it, say it, say it!
(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, 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
Oh, a little café, they play guitars all night and day
You hear 'em in the back room strummin'
Hold tight, baby, don't you know I'm coming
Everybody sing
Ohhhh!
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, hey, hey, hey!)
[Spoken outro:] Thank you! All right!
The above lyrics are for the live 13 Feb 1977 performance of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada, 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.
This performance of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) features an instrumental snippet of Isaac Hayes' THEME FROM SHAFT in the midsection. 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.
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).
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed a concert at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada, on 13 Feb 1977, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour. The pass below right shows that this show was rescheduled from 10 Feb 1977.
The 13 Feb 1977 show in Toronto 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.
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]
