Live 09 Jul 1995 version
Well, 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
Well, don't you run back inside
Darling, you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but, hey, you're all right
Oh, and that's all right with me
You can hide 'neath your covers and cover 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
Well, I'm no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey, what else can we do now
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
The night's busted open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, heaven's waiting down on the tracks
Well, oh, oh, come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, Thunder Road, whoa, Thunder Road, Thunder Road
It's lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey, I know it's late, but we can make it if we run
Whoa, oh, oh, Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road
Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
Well, my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride, it ain't free
And I know you're lonely, there's words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free, all the promises will be broken
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
They dream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
In the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
When you get to the porch, they're gone
On the wind; so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers, but we're pulling out of here to win
The above lyrics are for the live 09 Jul 1995 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Cafe Eckstein, Berlin, Germany, with Wolfgang Niedecken and his Leopardefell Band. The song was played in a solo electric arrangement.
Wolfgang Niedecken is a famous German rock singer who was sent to New York in 1995 to interview Bruce Springsteen. The two became friends, and as Springsteen decided to record a new version of HUNGRY HEART in Berlin that same year, he picked Wolfgang and his band to back him up. From that point on, Wolfgang joined Springsteen onstage almost every time the latter toured Germany.
Springsteen, backed by Wolfgang Niedecken and Leopardefellband, recorded a music video for HUNGRY HEART on 09 Jul 1995 at Cafe Eckstein in Berlin, Germany. The four-hour shoot was a mini-concert consisting of seven takes of HUNGRY HEART, two more Springsteen originals, and the rest of the gig were covers.
Video of a take of HUNGRY HEART from the 09 Jul 1995 gig was released promotionally that year and the audio was released as a single in Europe. The video was also included on Springsteen's The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000 in 2001.
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]