THUNDER ROAD

Live 16 Oct 2002 version

Screen door slam, Mary's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey it's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone anymore
Don't you run back inside, darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking 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 alright
Oh and that's alright with me

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
Well now I'm no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, 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
Well the night's bustin' open, these two lanes 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

Oh oh come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh oh oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
I know it's late, we can make it if we run
Oh oh oh oh Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

Well I have this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
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
I know you're lonely, these words that I ain't spoken
Well tonight girl, 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 scream 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, we're pulling outta here to win

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 16 Oct 2002 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, during The Rising Tour. The song was a bonus show closer, and as it always was the case during this tour, it was played in a full-band arrangement. The parts in bold are sung by the crowd.

Bruce Springsteen performing THUNDER ROAD on 16 Oct 2002 at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain (from the "Live In Barcelona" DVD)

Video for the complete 16 Oct 2002 concert was released in 2003 on the Live In Barcelona DVD (see the below section).

Live In Barcelona

Two month into The Rising Tour, the first half of the 16 Oct 2002 concert at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain, was broadcast live at the time across Europe on MTV Europe and VH1 UK. A tape of the broadcast was later aired by CBS in the United States on 28 Feb 2003. The entire concert was released on 18 Nov 2003 on the Live In Barcelona DVD. This was the first time that an entire Springsteen concert was documented with an official release in either audio or video. The video is directed by Chris Hilson and produced by Jon Landau, Barbara Carr, and George Travis. Audio is recorded and mixed by Brendan O'Brien and the video is edited by Thom Zimny.

Promotional poster for the 16 Oct 2002 show at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
(Taken from Brucebase)

Ticket stub for the 16 Oct 2002 show at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain

Handwritten setlist for the 16 Oct 2002 show at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain

No equivalent audio-only album release was made, but SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT from this show was officially released as a bonus track on the Lonesome Day European maxi single in 2002, and SHE'S THE ONE and BORN TO RUN were officially released on the US-only promotional CD sampler Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band PBS Exclusive in late 2005. Videos of WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY, MARY'S PLACE, and DANCING IN THE DARK were also included on the "Tour Edition" of The Rising album in 2003.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Live In Barcelona

Available Versions

List of available versions of THUNDER ROAD on this website:

Page last updated: 22 May 2011