Live 14 Jan 2012 version
[Spoken intro:] This is for you, Bobby. Yes, everybody sing along.
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 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 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
Hey, 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
To 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, 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
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, 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
Here we go!
It's a town full of losers, we're pulling out of here to win
Let's go!
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
Hey!
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
The above lyrics are for the live 14 Jan 2012 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, during the twelfth annual Light Of Day benefit. The song was played in an acoustic sing-along version, backed by members of the Houserockers, Max Weinberg on drums, and Boccigalupe on keys, and with Joe Grushecky, Bob Benjamin, Willie Nile, John Eddie, Garland Jeffreys, Joe D'Urso, Lisa Bouchelle, Rob Dye, Anthony D'Amato, Bruce Tunkel, Linda Chorney, members of their respective bands, and many more singing along.
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]