Live 24 Apr 1973 (early show) version
[Spoken intro:] Uh, we got a song for you now that uh... is about... is about my girlfriend who I can't say anything about 'cause she's here tonight. She... she's here with her sister. I'm gonna do this for her sister. (chuckles) Alright. Ok. [Someone in the band: Well]. Well. [Someone in the band: Well]. Oh, well. Now back to Her.
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 any poor man can take (her brains they rattle and her bones they shake)
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
[Spoken:] Yeah she is laying down by the ??? of the lake
[Spoken:] ???. Take it one more round, Danny.
Sha-na, na-na, na na, oh oh
Thundercrack, baby's back
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
And bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reeling
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there ain't nobody 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
She slips, she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps, she grinds
Even them dance hall hacks from the west side of the tracks move in close to catch her timing
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there ain't nobody cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown and her eyes ain't either
Around and around and around and around she whirls
(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 partner
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
Until the
Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh alright
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
[long instrumental break]
Thundercrack, (baby's back)
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
And bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reeling
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there ain't nobody cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
She has parents, she has religion, she has sisters
(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)
Alright
[Spoken:] Over there on the far left of the stage, the prince of Passaic County, the maestro himself, when the man plays the keys the little girls fall right to their knees. Little Danny! Alright. Over there on the not-so-far left, with his Masters in bassology, doctorate in overall funkiness. Funky Chicken on the bass! In the back right here we've got the Mad Dog, we've got the mad man, watch out, girls, he reads dirty books. Vincent Lopez on the drums! And over here on my left, we've got a man, this man might laugh, this man might joke, this man might chew rope and smoke snowflakes but he don't mess around. The Duke of Paducah, Mr. Clarence Clemons, king of stage!
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, all night, all night)
[Spoken outro:] Thank you!
The above lyrics are for the live 24 Apr 1973 early show performance of THUNDERCRACK at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA, during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour.
In April 1973, Bruce Springsteen performed a two-night stand at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA (24 and 25 Apr 1973). He played two shows each night, an early one at 08:00 PM and a late one at 10:00 PM. These were double-bill shows, with Springsteen headlining and folk duo Aztec Two-Step opening. The complete early show from the first night was broadcast live on Philadelphia's WMMR-FM. That was Bruce Springsteen's first real time concert venue simulcast. Since then, the audio has widely circulated in excellent quality among collectors.
The 24 Apr 1973 WBCN-FM radio broadcast 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.
List of available versions of THUNDERCRACK on this website:
THUNDERCRACK [Official studio version]
