Original Patti Scialfa version
Oh mama there's this Spanish dancer
Whose steps I follow when he comes near
The red dress of temptation
Over a long black slip of fear
Will I fall beneath the shadow of some broken cross
My arms emptied and all my treasures lost
Still like that Spanish dancer
I throw my roses down for him
Across these beds of darkness
He opens his arms and gathers them in
Oh mama the bridges were burning
Over a river black and cold
But I walked when love commanded me
Up to the edges of his soul
But I'm still frightened of that dark divide
Will I gain entrance or be denied
Still like that Spanish dancer
I throw my roses down for him
Across these beds of darkness
He opens his arms and gathers them in
Oh mama when you were a young girl
Did you ever love a man so much
As if he were some fantastic jewel
That you should never be worthy of
But all those illusions strip and fall
He is just a man after all
Just like that Spanish dancer
I throw my roses down for him
Across these beds of darkness
He opens his arms and gathers them in
Just like that Spanish dancer
I throw my roses down for him
Across these beds of darkness
He opens his arms and gathers them in
Just like that Spanish dancer I
Just like that Spanish dancer I
Just like that Spanish dancer I
Just like that Spanish dancer I
Just like that Spanish dancer I
Just like that Spanish dancer I
SPANISH DANCER is a song written by Patti Scialfa and released on her 1993 album Rumble Doll. The above lyrics are for the original Patti Scialfa version of SPANISH DANCER as released in 1993.
Rumble Doll is a studio album by Patti Scialfa released on 13 Jul 1993 on Columbia Records. Produced by Mike Campbell, this was Scialfa's debut album. It features Bruce Springsteen on two tracks: BIG BLACK HEAVEN and TALK TO ME LIKE THE RAIN. He is also credited for additional production on both tracks.
Though Rumble Doll had largely been completed in 1991 and 1992, BIG BLACK HEAVEN and TALK TO ME LIKE THE RAIN were among the last finished, recorded around March 1993 at Thrill Hill Recording, Springsteen's home studio in Beverly Hills, CA.
Bruce Springsteen backed Patti Scialfa on SPANISH DANCER live during the Asbury Park holiday shows in 2001. See the live 06 Dec 2001 version.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of SPANISH DANCER on this website:
SPANISH DANCER [Live 06 Dec 2001 version]