Live 03 Oct 1980 version
[Bruce Springsteen (spoken intro):] We're gonna do something, something special now... I was backstage in the middle of the show and a friend of mine came back and, uh, I asked him if he wanted to come out and do something and, and he said what he wanted to do, we did it earlier in the show, but, it's gonna be, uh, it's gonna be a thrill for me 'cause I've admired his music for a long time, he's gonna come out and sing "Thunder Road" with me, Bob Seger!
| Bruce Springsteen: | The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways |
| Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays | |
| Roy Orbison singing for the lonely | |
| Hey, that's me and I want you only | |
| Don't turn me home again | |
| I just can't face myself alone again | |
| Don't you run back inside | |
| You know just what I'm here for | |
| So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore | |
| Crowd: | Show a little faith, there's magic in the night |
| You ain't a beauty, but, hey, you're all right | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Let's do it! |
| Whoa, and that's all right with me | |
| Bob Seger: | You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain |
| Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain | |
| Waste your summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Now, I ain't no hero, that's understood |
| All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood | |
| Springsteen and Seger: | With a chance to make it good somehow |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Hey, what else can we do now |
| Bob Seger: | Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair |
| Springsteen and Seger: | The night's busted open, these two lanes will take us anywhere |
| Bruce Springsteen: | We got one last chance to make it real |
| Bob Seger: | To trade in these wings on some wheels |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Climb in back, heaven's waiting down on the tracks |
| Springsteen and Seger: | Whoa, come and take my hand |
| We're riding out tonight to case the promised land | |
| Whoa, oh, oh, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Lying out there like a killer in the sun |
| Hey, I know it's late, but we can make it if we run | |
| Springsteen and Seger: | Oh, oh, oh, oh, Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make her talk |
| Bob Seger: | And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk |
| From your front porch to my front seat | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | The door's open but the ride, it ain't free |
| Bob Seger: | Well, I know you're lonely, there's words that I ain't spoken |
| Tonight, girl, we'll be free, all the promises will be broken | |
| Springsteen and Seger: | There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away |
| They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | They scream your name at night in the street |
| Bob Seger: | Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet |
| In the lonely cool before dawn | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | You hear their engines roaring on |
| Bob Seger: | When you get to the porch they're gone |
| On the wind; so Mary climb in | |
| Springsteen and Seger: | It's a town full of losers, we're pulling out of here to win |
| Bob Seger: | Oh! |
[Bruce Springsteen (spoken outro):] Thank you! Good night!
The above lyrics are for the live 03 Oct 1980 (second) performance of THUNDER ROAD at University Of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, during The River Tour. The song was played twice that night, in a full-band arrangement, the second being the show closer on which Bob Seger joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band onstage.
This was the tour's opening night and the show was held in the university's Crisler Arena.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of THUNDER ROAD on this website:
THUNDER ROAD [Album version]