Lyrics

TOUGHER THAN THE REST

Live July 2018 version


All right, all right, she is the queen of my heart! She is my flaming beauty! (Someone in the audience: "Patricia!") My Jersey girl! She is a great songwriter. She's one of the loveliest voices I've ever heard. She is smart, tough, but fragile. Don't forget that part. If we love those in whose company's reflected the best of us, that's the light that she shines on me. 1984 one night, I'm hanging out at the Stone Pony and this beautiful redhead shows up and sits in with the Sunday night house band. And that is the night I fell in love with Patti's voice. She got on stage, this blaze of red. She performed a great version of The Exciters' hit song "Tell Him." So the first line of the first song I ever heard Patti sing was...

I know something about love

She does. Ladies and gentlemen, Patti Scialfa.

Well it's Saturday night, you're all dressed up in blue
I been watching you a while, maybe you been watching me too
So somebody ran out, left somebody's heart in a mess
Well if you're looking for love, honey I'm tougher than the rest

Some girls they want a handsome Dan or some good looking Joe
On their arm, some girls like a sweet talking Romeo
Well 'round here baby, I learned you get what you can get
So if you're rough enough for love, honey I'm tougher than the rest

Well the road is dark, it's a thin thin line
But I want you to know I'll walk it for you any time
Maybe your other men couldn't pass the test
If you're rough and ready for love, honey I'm tougher than the rest

Yeah the road is dark, it's a thin thin line
But I want you to know I'll walk it for you any time
Maybe your other men couldn't pass the test
Yeah if you're rough and ready for love, honey I'm tougher than the rest

Well it ain't no secret I've been around a time or two
Well I don't know baby, maybe you've been around too
Well there's another dance, honey, all you gotta do is say yes
And if you're rough and ready for love, honey I'm tougher than the rest
If you're rough enough for love, baby I'm tougher than the rest

Info

The above lyrics are for the live July 2018 performance of TOUGHER THAN THE REST at Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City, NY, during Springsteen On Broadway. The song was played on piano with special guest Patti Scialfa on backing vocals (the parts above in bold).

This performance of TOUGHER THAN THE REST was recorded on 17 or 18 July 2018 during the taping of the Springsteen On Broadway Netflix special. It was released on the Springsteen On Broadway album in 2018.



Springsteen On Broadway

Springsteen On Broadway was a Bruce Springsteen concert residency held at Walter Kerr Theatre (in 2017-2018) and St. James Theatre (in 2021) in New York City, NY. The show consisted of Springsteen performing five shows a week, Tuesday through Saturday, at the Broadway theatres. The sold-out series of performances began with seven previews starting on 03 Oct 2017 and officially opened on 12 Oct 2017. It was extended three times after its initial eight-week run, running through 15 Dec 2018 and bringing the total number of performances at Walter Kerr Theatre to 238. On 10 Jun 2018, Springsteen received a special Tony Award for his Broadway show. In 2021, an additional limited run was announced, this time held at St. James Theatre instead of Walter Kerr Theatre. This new series of performances opened on 26 Jun 2021 and ran through 04 Sep 2021, bringing the total number of performances at both theatres to 268.

The show featured Springsteen, solo, playing guitar, piano, and harmonica, performing his music, restating incidents from his 2016 autobiography Born To Run, and performing other spoken reminiscences written for the show. His wife, Patti Scialfa, has also appeared at most shows, singing backing vocals on a total of three different songs.

Springsteen On Broadway, a Netflix special directed by Grammy- and Emmy-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny, was filmed during two special invitation-only shows on 17 and 18 Jul 2018. The film launched globally on Netflix on 16 Dec 2018 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, just hours after the final Broadway performance at Walter Kerr Theatre closed. Two days prior, on 14 Dec 2018, Columbia Records released Springsteen On Broadway, an audio album encompassing the full film soundtrack. The audio was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig. The album is available physically as a 2-disc CD set or a 4-disc LP set, as well as digitally.


Bruce Springsteen -- Springsteen On Broadway
Bruce Springsteen -- Springsteen On Broadway

Springsteen On Broadway track list (vinyl edition)

Side 1:

  1. GROWIN' UP (introduction)
  2. GROWIN' UP (song)
  3. MY HOMETOWN (introduction)
  4. MY HOMETOWN (song)

Side 2:

  1. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (introduction)
  2. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (song)
  3. THE WISH (introduction)
  4. THE WISH (song)

Side 3:

  1. THUNDER ROAD (introduction)
  2. THUNDER ROAD (song)
  3. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction)
  4. THE PROMISED LAND (song)

Side 4:

  1. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (introduction)
  2. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (song)
  3. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (introduction)
  4. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (song)

Side 5:

  1. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (introduction)
  2. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (song)
  3. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (introduction)
  4. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (song)
  5. LONG TIME COMIN' (introduction)
  6. LONG TIME COMIN' (song)

Side 6:

  1. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (introduction)
  2. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (song)
  3. THE RISING (song)

Side 7:

  1. DANCING IN THE DARK (introduction)
  2. DANCING IN THE DARK (song)
  3. LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS (song)

Side 8:

  1. BORN TO RUN (introduction)
  2. BORN TO RUN (song)

Springsteen On Broadway track list (CD edition)

Disc 1:

  1. GROWIN' UP (introduction)
  2. GROWIN' UP (song)
  3. MY HOMETOWN (introduction part 1)
  4. MY HOMETOWN (introduction part 2)
  5. MY HOMETOWN (song)
  6. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (introduction)
  7. MY FATHER'S HOUSE (song)
  8. THE WISH (introduction)
  9. THE WISH (song)
  10. THUNDER ROAD (introduction)
  11. THUNDER ROAD (song)
  12. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction part 1)
  13. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction part 2)
  14. THE PROMISED LAND (introduction part 3)
  15. THE PROMISED LAND (song)

Disc 2:

  1. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (introduction part 1)
  2. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (introduction part 2)
  3. BORN IN THE U.S.A. (song)
  4. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (introduction)
  5. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT (song)
  6. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (introduction)
  7. TOUGHER THAN THE REST (song)
  8. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (introduction)
  9. BRILLIANT DISGUISE (song)
  10. LONG TIME COMIN' (introduction)
  11. LONG TIME COMIN' (song)
  12. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (introduction)
  13. THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD (song)
  14. THE RISING (song)
  15. DANCING IN THE DARK (introduction)
  16. DANCING IN THE DARK (song)
  17. LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS (song)
  18. BORN TO RUN (introduction part 1)
  19. BORN TO RUN (introduction part 2)
  20. BORN TO RUN (song)

Available Versions

List of available versions of TOUGHER THAN THE REST on this website:

TOUGHER THAN THE REST [Album version]
TOUGHER THAN THE REST [Live 27 Apr 1988 version]
TOUGHER THAN THE REST [Live 28 Apr 1988 version]
TOUGHER THAN THE REST [Live July 2018 version]
Page last updated: 30 Dec 2019