Live 30 May 2009 version
[Spoken intro:] All right, I'm gonna do a request, I'm gonna have a request. The band has no idea what we might play next. (chuckles) Gonna bring out my friend Brandon, he's gonna sing this one with me. Killers! Here we go.
| 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 | |
| Brandon Flowers: | 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 | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain |
| Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain | |
| Brandon Flowers: | 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, girl, is beneath this dirty hood | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | With a chance to make it good somehow |
| What else can we do now | |
| Springsteen and Flowers: | 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: | We got one last chance to make it real |
| To trade in these wings on some wheels | |
| Brandon Flowers: | Climb in back, heaven's waiting down on the track |
| Springsteen and Flowers: | Whoa, oh, come take my hand |
| We're riding out tonight to case the promised land | |
| Whoa, oh, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road | |
| Brandon Flowers: | 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, oh, Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk |
| Brandon Flowers: | And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk |
| Bruce Springsteen: | From your front porch to my front seat |
| Springsteen and Flowers: | The door's open but the ride, it ain't free |
| Bruce Springsteen: | 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 | |
| Brandon Flowers: | 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 |
| Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet | |
| Brandon Flowers: | 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; so Mary climb in | |
| It's a town full of losers, we're pulling out of here to win |
[Spoken outro:] Thank you, Brandon!
The above lyrics are for the live 30 May 2009 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Megaland in Landgraaf, The Netherlands, during the Working On A Dream Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement and featured a guest appearance by Brandon Flowers of The Killers who shared lead vocals with Bruce Springsteen. The Killers had performed the same day on the same stage prior to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. Jay Weinberg substituted for his father on drums during this show.
In 2009, Pinkpop Festival took place over the period of three days, from Saturday, May 30th, to Monday, June 1st. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were the festival's headliners. They performed on the first day on the Mainstage.
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]