Official studio version
Her brains they rattle and her bones they shake
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
Her brains they rattle and her bones they shake
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
Don't dance with her Henry, don't you dance with her Jake (her brains they rattle and her bones they shake)
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
She gives me all the loving that a good man can take (her brains they rattle and her bones they shake)
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
(Sha-na, na-na, na na, oh oh)
(Sha-na, na-na, na na, oh oh)
(Sha-na, na-na, na na, oh oh)
(Sha-na, na-na, na na, oh oh)
Thundercrack, baby's back
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
Bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reeling
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
Straight from the Bronx, hung off the line
Still she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps, she grinds
Even them dance hall hacks from the west side of the track move in close to catch her timing
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
Oh, she ain't no little girl, no, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown and her eyes ain't either
Round and round and round
(Round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
(Round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
My heart's wood, she's a carpenter
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, 'til the dawn
Baby, all night long
(Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-ohhh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-ohhh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-ohhh oh-oh oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-ohhh oh-oh oh-oh)
[Long instrumental break]
Thundercrack, (baby's back)
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
Brings me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reeling
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
Oh, she ain't no little girl, no, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown and her eyes ain't either
Round and round and round
(Round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
(Round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
My heart's wood, she's a carpenter
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner
All night, (all night)
All night, (all night)
All night, (all night)
All night, (all night)
All night, (all night)
(All night), (all night)
All night, (all night)
(All night), (all night)
All night, (all night, all night, all night)
All night, (all night, all night, all night, all night, all night, all night, all night, all night)
[Instrumental]
THUNDERCRACK is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and first released on the Tracks box set in 1998. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's official studio version of THUNDERCRACK as released in 1998.
THUNDERCRACK was written in mid-1972 according to Brucebase. The song was listed on some early set lists as "Her Brains They Rattle." It was copyrighted in 1983 by Bruce Springsteen under the title "Thunderclap" (registration no. PAu000513149) and in 1995 by JEC Music USA under the title "Angel from the innerlake" (registration no. PAu002008877). Springsteen later copyrighted the song in 1998 under its official title "Thundercrack" (registration no. PA0000908546).
The basic recording of THUNDERCRACK emanates from the first phase of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle recording sessions, prior to the arrival of David Sancious to the sessions on 22 Jun 1973, and was added to during the second phase of the sessions. According to the Tracks liner notes, the song was recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. Sancious is also credited for providing piano or organ on the song. According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, however, the song was cut on 22 Jun 1973, 07 Aug 1973, and 09 Aug 1973 at 914 Sound Studios.
"The song 'Thundercrack' was something that we wrote as the showstopper. It ended three or four different times ─ you didn't know where it was going to go. It was just a big, epic show-ender that was meant to leave the audience gasping a little bit for their breath," Springsteen told Mark Hagen in an interview for Mojo magazine published in January 1999. "It was meant to make you nuts, and that's why I wanted to get that song on this record." He decided to include in on the Tracks box set, but he wasn't satisfied with the version recorded in 1973. "It was one of the few songs that actually was finished when I went and found it. I listened to it, and it seemed like it was so long and the guitar didn't sound right; I just said, 'This is going to be too much work.' It was meant to be played live in front of an audience and when we plunked our way through it in the studio, at first it just didn't feel right. But it was probably about 80 per cent done ─ we had to shape it a little bit, but I wanted to get that on because if you were a really early, early fan, that was the song that was a big hallmark at shows at the time. But I found a version which was actually pretty good, called up Vini Lopez and I said, 'Vini, I have some singing for you to do.' And Vini ─ he's a caddy master at a golf course ─ he just comes by and I said, 'Remember this song?' He came in and sang all his parts completely unprompted, like he remembered it exactly from 25 years ago. We put the same harmonies we used at that time and finished it up a little bit." Comparisons between the live versions and the Tracks cut suggest that the entire lead vocal may also be new given the distinct differences in phrasing and even key.
In an interview published in the Winter 1998 (#61) issue of Backstreets magazine, Vini Lopez said, "Bruce called me up and said, 'Hey, I have some music from the early days. One of the songs needs vocals, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming in after all this time and doing it.' I said, 'No, I'd be glad to.' So I went to his studio by his house and did the vocals. It took 40 minutes. We had a good time, just like the old days." He added, "We did 'Thundercrack.' He wanted the original guys to sing on it, so me and Federici went in. [...] I hadn't heard that tracks in 25 years. It sounded good to me. We all had fun. I knew all my parts like there wasn't any time in between, like we were just there again, like a time warp."
THUNDERCRACK was a candidate track for Born To Run, as evidenced in two handwritten lists of candidate tracks for Springsteen's third studio album.
In his 1989 book Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music, Charles R. Cross mentions a list of songs titled "New Album #3" that Springsteen wrote when he "first planned the third record." The list seems to emanate from very early in the Born To Run recording sessions, which started in January 1974. Among the nine songs in the list is THUNDERCRACK.
THUNDERCRACK appears on an untitled list containing 10 tracks and dating from 1974. The list was written on a lined notebook page using blue ballpoint pen (see below scan).
In the liner notes of his Tracks box set, Bruce Springsteen introduces the box set as follows:
During long intervals between my record releases, as I was spending more and more time in the studio, when I met a fan out on the street I was often asked, "What are you guys doing in there?" I regularly pondered that question myself.
What we were doing in there was making a lot of music, a lot more music than I could use at any one time. As a result, my albums became a series of choices — what to include, what to leave out? I based my decisions on my creative point of view at the moment — the subject I was trying to focus on, something musical or emotional I was trying to express. In certain instances, as on Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska, and The Ghost of Tom Joad, these choices crystallized the album I was making. On some of my other records the reasons I had for choosing one song over another, in hindsight, feel a good deal less significant. One of the results of working like this was that a lot of music, including some of my favorite things, remained unreleased.
This collection contains everything from the first notes I sang in the Columbia recording studio, my early and later work with the E Street Band, through to my music in the 90s. It's the alternate route to some of the destinations I travelled to on my records, an invitation into the studio on the many nights we spent making music in search of the records we presented to you. I'm glad to finally be able to share this music; here are some of the ones that got away.
- Bruce Springsteen, September 1998
Bruce Springsteen's albums were thematically linked even if they were not strictly concept albums; so some tracks that didn't fit the theme of the album ended up orphaned, not necessarily because they didn't meet his high standards, but because, he says, they didn't fit in with the tone or themes he mined for each set. Many of these unreleased studio outtakes got under the hands of bootleggers. Discussing that issue in 1984, Springsteen told Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder, "We record a lot of material, but we just don't release it all. [...] I always tell myself that some day I'm gonna put an album out with all this stuff on it that didn't fit in. I think there's some good material there that should come out. Maybe at some point, I'll do that."
During a break in The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour, Springsteen thought that "if it's gonna be a year or longer in between records, I have all this music that I know is very good that I never released and I should release some of it whether it was just a CD or something. In that period of time, I should put something out because people would like to have it and I'd like to see it get out." He told Toby Scott (his audio archivist and recording engineer), "send me all the archives, send everything that we recorded". Scott then went to work gathering the potential material from Springsteen's massive audio library (located, along with Sony's sound archives, in the high-tech Iron Mountain facility near Buffalo, NY). "For a week or so," he told Billboard in a Nov 1998 interview, "I just listened to everything that I'd done that we hadn't put out. I made some very brief notes in a notebook, and then I just put it away. It was something that I could do at some point when I get to that place in a new project where I'm not sure how long it's going to take and it would be nice to sort of fill the gap so the fans wouldn't be so long without hearing any music from me".
Springsteen told Mark Hagen in an interview for Mojo magazine published in January 1999, "So it began just with that idea and we listened to about 250 songs, maybe more, I made quick notes in a notebook and put it away. A year went by, more maybe, and I came off the Tom Joad tour and I began to write acoustically again and I wrote about half a record. Then I got stuck and said, 'Well, I'm going to put this aside for a while.' Then I wrote half of an electric record, and hit the same place. So I thought, instead of waiting for another year to put something out I'll put some of this music together. So once again I went back to the archives." According to interview comments made by engineer Toby Scott (Springsteen's audio archivist and recording engineer), it was in February 1998 during solo sessions being conducted at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Colts Neck, NJ, that Springsteen told Scott that the time was right to proceed with the long-anticipated box set of archived, unreleased studio takes. Thrill Hill Recording served as the main operational center for all Tracks project activities. Note that the "Thrill Hill Recording" name is used for whatever home studio Springsteen is recording at, whether it's in Rumson, NJ, Colts, NJ, or Beverly Hills, CA.
Springsteen told Billboard that the songs were culled from between 200 and 300 tunes. According to Toby Scott, the number was down to about 128 songs by late June 1998. It was then narrowed down yet again in July to about 100 songs that were prepped for the Tracks release. Although the project was originally projected to be a 6-disc set, there was a commercial decision made later in the summer to reduce the size of the release to a 4-disc (66-track) set. The package was delivered to Sony in mid-September in order to facilitate the mid-November 1998 release schedule.
Unreleased songs from the Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ sessions were not included on the box set due to ongoing and still-unresolved court proceedings involving most of these unreleased 1972 recordings. The court battle wasn't resolved until in 2001 (April 2001 in the UK and June 2001 in the U.S.), and those recordings are now free for release at any time. The opening four tracks of the box set — which were culled from Springsteen's 03 May 1972 Columbia Records audition — were not part of the court proceedings.
On 16 Jul 1998, Springsteen attended a convention for Sony Music Entertainment Inc. in Miami, FL, where he officially announced that a box set was the works and he played a tape of three songs: WHERE THE BANDS ARE, LOOSE ENDS, and I WANNA BE WITH YOU.
The Tracks box set was released on Columbia Records on 10 Nov 1998. It was issued on both compact disc and audio cassette formats. It's a 4-disc (or 4-cassette) set consisting of a total of 66 tracks (almost 4.5 hours long), 10 of which were heretofore unavailable single B-sides, 6 were demos and alternate versions of already-released material, and 50 (48 studio and 2 live) were never-before-released songs recorded during the sessions for Springsteen's many albums. Some tracks were treated with a recent touch-up here or there to give the older recordings a fresh polish.
Disc 1:
| 1. | MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 2. | IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 3. | GROWIN' UP | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 4. | DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 5. | BISHOP DANCED | Recorded live on 31 Jan 1973 at Max's Kansas City, New York City, NY |
| 6. | SANTA ANA | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 7. | SEASIDE BAR SONG | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 8. | ZERO AND BLIND TERRY | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 9. | LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE | Recorded on 28 Jun 1975 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 10. | THUNDERCRACK | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 11. | RENDEZVOUS | Recorded live on 31 Dec 1980 at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY |
| 12. | GIVE THE GIRL A KISS | Recorded on 10 Nov 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 13. | ICEMAN | Recorded on 27 Oct 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 14. | BRING ON THE NIGHT | Recorded on 13 Jun 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 15. | SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE | Recorded on 06 Jan 1974 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 16. | HEARTS OF STONE | Recorded on 14 Oct 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 17. | DON'T LOOK BACK | Recorded on 02 Jul 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
Disc 2:
| 1. | RESTLESS NIGHTS | Recorded on 11 Apr 1980 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 2. | A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH) | Recorded on 05 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 3. | ROULETTE | Recorded on 03 Apr 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 4. | DOLLHOUSE | Recorded on 21 Aug 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 5. | WHERE THE BANDS ARE | Recorded on 09 Oct 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 6. | LOOSE ENDS | Recorded on 18 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 7. | LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD | Recorded on 07 Dec 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 8. | WAGES OF SIN | Recorded on 10 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 9. | TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME | Recorded on 10 Apr 1980 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 10. | BE TRUE | Recorded on 21 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 11. | RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN | Recorded on 16 Jul 1979 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 12. | I WANNA BE WITH YOU | Recorded on 31 May 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 13. | MARY LOU | Recorded on 30 May 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 14. | STOLEN CAR | Recorded on 26 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 15. | BORN IN THE U.S.A. | Recorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ |
| 16. | JOHNNY BYE-BYE | Recorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA |
| 17. | SHUT OUT THE LIGHT | Recorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA |
Disc 3:
| 1. | CYNTHIA | Recorded on 20 Apr 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 2. | MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN | Recorded on 05 May 1982 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 3. | THIS HARD LAND | Recorded on 11 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 4. | FRANKIE | Recorded on 14 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 5. | TV MOVIE | Recorded on 13 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 6. | STAND ON IT | Recorded on 16 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 7. | LION'S DEN | Recorded on 25 Jan 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 8. | CAR WASH | Recorded on 31 May 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 9. | ROCKAWAY THE DAYS | Recorded on 03 Feb 1984 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 10. | BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGES ('83) | Recorded on 04 Sep 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 11. | MAN AT THE TOP | Recorded on 12 Jan 1984 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 12. | PINK CADILLAC | Recorded on 31 May 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 13. | TWO FOR THE ROAD | Recorded in February 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ |
| 14. | JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART | Recorded on 16 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 15. | WHEN YOU NEED ME | Recorded on 10 Jan 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 16. | THE WISH | Recorded on 22 Feb 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 17. | THE HONEYMOONERS | Recorded on 22 Feb 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 18. | LUCKY MAN | Recorded on 04 Apr 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
Disc 4:
| 1. | LEAVIN' TRAIN | Recorded on 27 Feb 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 2. | SEVEN ANGELS | Recorded on 29 Jun 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 3. | GAVE IT A NAME | Recorded on 24 Aug 1998 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ |
| 4. | SAD EYES | Recorded on 25 Jan 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 5. | MY LOVER MAN | Recorded on 04 Dec 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 6. | OVER THE RISE | Recorded on 07 Dec 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 7. | WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT | Recorded on 06 Dec 1990 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA |
| 8. | LOOSE CHANGE | Recorded on 31 Jan 1991 at Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA |
| 9. | TROUBLE IN PARADISE | Recorded on 01 Dec 1989 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 10. | HAPPY | Recorded on 18 Jan 1992 at A & M Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 11. | PART MAN, PART MONKEY | Recorded in January 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 12. | GOIN' CALI | Recorded on 29 Jan 1991 at A & M Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 13. | BACK IN YOUR ARMS | Recorded on 12 Jan 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 14. | BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGE | Recorded on 22 May 1995 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA |
Other versions of THUNDERCRACK were also officially released:
THUNDERCRACK was among the songs that were on master tapes that were kept by Jim Cretecos and ended up in the nineties with Dare International and JEC Music USA. However, THUNDERCRACK is one of the few of these songs that were not included on any of the CD releases associated with these companies (The Early Years, Unearthed, or Before The Fame). See PRODIGAL SON for more details. Most probably it is the live 31 Jan 1973 (early show) version of the song that was acquired by Dare International and JEC Music USA.
THUNDERCRACK is known to have been performed at least 13 times during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour (October 1972 to September 1973). Many of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. On this tour, the song was played in its full-band arrangement. The live 31 Jan 1973 (early show) version of THUNDERCRACK was issued on a 12-inch acetate for publishing purposes in 1974. The live 01 May 1973 version of THUNDERCRACK was released on the Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run home video in 2005.
THUNDERCRACK is known to have been performed at least 13 times during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour (September 1973 to March 1975). Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour, in particular during the first few months. On this tour, the song was played in its full-band arrangement.
THUNDERCRACK was performed 7 times during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour (72 dates, April to November 2005) ─ these were 7 of the tour's last 8 dates. On this tour, the song was played solo on piano. The live 19 Nov 2005 version in Hollywood, FL, featured a guest appearance by Clarence Clemons and Steven Van Zandt. The live 22 Nov 2005 version of THUNDERCRACK was released on the Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, NJ 2005 official live download in 2019.
In preparation for the Magic Tour, THUNDERCRACK was performed during all of the tour's three public warm-up rehearsal shows that took place in September 2007 in Asbury Park and East Rutherford. The song is also known to have been practiced during at least one of the private rehearsals that took place in September 2007 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's first leg.
THUNDERCRACK was performed 12 times during the Magic Tour (100 dates, October 2007 to August 2008), 11 of which were in the tour's first month. On this tour, the song was played in its full-band arrangement.
THUNDERCRACK was performed 3 times during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009). On this tour, the song was played in its full-band arrangement. The latter two performances were the show openers and featured Curt Ramm on trumpet. The live 07 Nov 2009 version of THUNDERCRACK was released on the MSG 11.07.09 official live download in 2020.
THUNDERCRACK was performed 7 times during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013). On this tour, the song was played in its full-band arrangement. The live 24 Jul 2013 version of THUNDERCRACK was released on the Leeds July 24, 2013 official live download in 2018.
THUNDERCRACK was performed once during The River Tour 2016 (75 dates, January to September 2016), on 07 Sep 2016 in Philadelphia, PA. On this tour, the song was played in its full-band arrangement. Audio recordings for all The River Tour 2016 shows are officially available for purchase.
THUNDERCRACK was performed off-tour on 27 Jul 1973 at Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, CA, during a private three-day sales convention for CBS Records.
THUNDERCRACK was performed during all five 2003 Asbury Park holiday shows and all three 2003 Asbury Park holiday shows. These concerts were billed as "Bruce Springsteen with The Max Weinberg 7 and Friends", with The Max Weinberg 7 serving as the house band, and Springsteen bringing guests on and off the stage throughout the shows. On these shows the song was played in its full-band arrangement.
At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's THUNDERCRACK.
Thanks Born To Walk at Greasy Lake for the lyrics help. Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances is taken from Brucebase.
If you have any additions, comments, or corrections to this page, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of THUNDERCRACK on this website:
THUNDERCRACK [Official studio version]
