Live 04 Nov 2010 version
[Spoken intro:] This is a, uh, it's a really beautiful building. Does anybody know when this was built? What? She says a hundred years ago! But, uh, what's beautiful about these buildings is a couple of things: one, one they built them in the center of town, which was, uh, oh shut the fuck up, will you? (chuckles) Too goddamn noisy! Give me a second! I'm waxing philosophical on architecture, please! But, uh, they're filled with a certain sort of community that doesn't, that, that, uh, that doesn't exist much anymore, so, just a lovely, a lovely building, and the way, the way it sets the audience is really beautiful, just a, I had a lovely time being here tonight, I thank Joe for being here in Pittsburgh. Thank you! All right. Now for you, you noisy motherfucker!
Yeah, 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
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
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, 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
Yeah, what else can we do now
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
We got one last chance to make it real
Trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, heaven's waiting down on the tracks
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
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
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
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, 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 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
But when you get to the porch, they're gone
On the wind; so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers and we're pulling out of here to win
La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Go 'head!
La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
[Spoken outro:] Good night, thanks for coming out!
The above lyrics are for the live 04 Nov 2010 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Pittsburgh, PA, during an appearance with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers. The song was the show closer and was played in an acoustic sing-along arrangement. The parts in bold are sung by the crowd.
Bruce Springsteen appeared as a special guest at a total of six Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers concerts at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Pittsburgh, PA, in 2010, 2011, and 2014. He opened each of these shows with a short solo acoustic set before joining Grushecky & The Houserockers. On the last three of these six shows, Springsteen ended the night with an additional short acoustic set.
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]