Live 29 Apr 2003 version
| Bruce Springsteen (spoken intro): | This is for Bobby! |
| Jon Bon Jovi: | The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves |
| Yeah, like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays | |
| And 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 | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | 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 so 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 | |
| One, two, three! | |
| Jon Bon Jovi: | You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain |
| Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain | |
| Waste your summers praying in vain for your savior to rise from these streets | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Well, 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 | |
| Well, what else can we do now | |
| Jon Bon Jovi: | Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair |
| Well, the night's busted open, these two lanes will take us anywhere | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Yeah, 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 | |
| Jon Bon Jovi: | Whoa, oh, come 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Jon Bon Jovi: | Well, I got my guitar and I learned how to make it talk |
| The car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | From your front porch to my front seat |
| The door's open but the ride, it ain't free | |
| Yeah, I know you're lonely, there's words that I ain't spoken | |
| But tonight, girl, we'll be free, all the promises will be broken | |
| Jon Bon Jovi: | 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 streets | |
| Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet | |
| And in the lonely cool before dawn | |
| You hear their engines roaring on | |
| But when you get to the porch, they're gone on the wind | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | So Mary climb in |
| It's a town full of losers, we're pulling out of here to win | |
| Jon Bon Jovi: | Hey! |
The above lyrics are for the live 29 Apr 2003 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Count Basie Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, during "The Hope Concert" benefit. The song was played in a full-band version, with Bruce Springsteen backed by the Max Weinberg 7, plus Bobby Bandiera on guitar, and joined by Jon Bon Jovi on guitar and vocals.
The 29 Apr 2003 show at Count Basie Theatre, billed "The Hope Concert", was a benefit for Robert Bandiera Jr., son of Bobby Bandiera, who suffers from a rare neurological disorder and requires full time care. Along with Bobby Bandiera and his band, the concert featured Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Gary U.S. Bonds, The Max Weinberg 7, Southside Johnny, and others.
Bobby Bandiera is a New Jersey guitarist and songwriter whose relationship with Bruce Springsteen dates back to the early eighties, when Bandiera was the front man of Cats On A Smooth Surface. The band was throughout the eighties the house band at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. They backed Springsteen on drop-in appearances mostly at The Stone Pony but also at other clubs around the Jersey Shore. Bandiera was reportedly considered for the guitarist position in the E Street Band for the Born In The U.S.A. Tour in 1984 when Steve Van Zandt left the band, but this position went to Nils Lofgren. Bandiera joined Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes in 1985, and continued to perform with Springsteen at various off-tour shows, including club appearances, benefit concerts, and Holiday shows. Bandiera remains one of Springsteen's most frequent non-E Street Band musical mates.
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]
