Live 23 Jan 1971 version
Sweet, sweet Melinda
You turn my heart to a cinder
The way you do them things that you do
Ohhh, oh Melinda, hm!
If the Pope knew you were such a sinner
He'd be on his way, flight TWA today
I call my baby on the telephone
Come on, my mama's gone, I'm all alone
Good ol' Melinda, sure can make a man smile
Ooh, oh-ee baby, now you're drivin' me wild
Oh sweet, sweet Melinda
Oh you turn my heart to a cinder, oh yeah
Oh the way you do them things that you do
Alright, let me talkin' to you!
I call my woman on the telephone
She said, "Come on, my mama's gone, and I'm alone"
Oh no Melinda never leave a man stuck
All the gang told me the way (all the gang told him)
Sweet, sweet Melinda, alright!
You turn my heart to a cinder
The way you do them things that you do
Alright, alright, alright, alright, ohhh! (Everybody!)
Sweet, sweet Melinda
You know, you know it hurts
(You turn my heart to a cinder)
The way you do them things that you do
SWEET MELINDA is an unreleased song written by Bruce Springsteen. He performed it live with Steel Mill between late 1969 and early 1971.
Decades later, SWEET MELINDA was recorded by Jersey Shore band Steel Mill Retro who released it on All Man The Guns For America, their 2008 album of Bruce Springsteen songs that were first performed by the original Steel Mill.
The above lyrics are for the live 23 Jan 1971 performance of SWEET MELINDA at The Upstage in Asbury Park, NJ. The lyrics between parentheses are sung buy another band member whose voice is very high in the mix. It's most probably co-vocalist Robbin Thompson. An incomplete, but very good quality soundboard recording from the 23 Jan 1971 show circulates among collectors. The audio encompasses only three songs, culled from early in the set and may possibly be the show's opening three numbers. This 23 Jan 1971 show was the last-ever by Steel Mill.
SWEET MELINDA is known to have been performed at least 5 times in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972). Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates.
At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's SWEET MELINDA.
Thanks Audio2575 for the lyrics help. The above info about the live performances is taken from Brucebase.
If you have any additional info, corrections, or comments, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of SWEET MELINDA on this website:
SWEET MELINDA [Live 23 Jan 1971 version]
