Live 09 Sep 1972 version
Well mama, mama, sweet mama
And I ask you what can I do
Talking mama, mama, sweet mama
Shake a light and let it shine on through
'Cause I been down to Water Station
And I cried when I saw them there
Yes I been down to Water Station
And I asked my Janey about the past
Because I remember back then them sweet winters
When Janey and me used to have our fun
Yes I remember I'd give her all the love any lover man could give her
She caught a child back on the run
But then I saw the blood, the snow came falling down
I got children, I got children, I got my ??? bad child
My bag was thrown and, and I found my way around
And that's the night that old Janey died
And I said, "Mama tell me what", she said
"My good son, when you're feeling angry,
My good son, when you're feeling blue,
You just walk to your friend mama,
and she gonna tell you what to do"
Just, you just sing out, you go"
[Scatting]
Oh la la, la la la la
Oh the children sing, they just go la la, la la la la la la
Oh la la la la la la
Oh sing out
[Guitar jam]
And I walked down by her station
And I got caught up, got caught up in her smile
Should've known she'd really ???...nation
But I didn't care, I just stayed and loved it a little while
Then she held her arms and she crossed sweet tight around me
She said, "Uh ohh ??? another man"
She said, "Darling don't you know I hear the sound sweet,
It's something I can't tell my hand on
'Cause I hear the sound now I hear the sound around me"
And you called for another hand
"Yes, I hear the sound, I heard the sound around me"
And she called on me for another hand
She said, "When you're feeling anger, you just sing"
La la, la la la la la la, la
La la, la la la la la la la la
Oh La la, la la la la la la, la...
[Scatting]
[Guitar jam]
[Power failure]
And it was down by the water station that they found me
Clutching ??? my hand
With the rain and snow all around me
There's something that I could not stand
And mama said, "Son, when you're feeling angry
Son, when you're feeling blue
Just bring around your old doctor
The doctor gonna tell you what to do"
And the doctor, he 's saying "sha na na...
[Scatting]
He said, "Get on out of here!"
[Guitar jam]
WATER STATION is the tentative title for a song that Bruce Springsteen is known to have performed live at least once in 1972. The song can be considered a Springsteen composition.
The above lyrics are for the live 09 Sep 1972 performance of WATER STATION at Huddy Park in Highlands, NJ, during a guest appearance with local band Odin. Bruce Springsteen sings vocals and exchanges guitar solos with Odin's Tom Cohen. The song is more of an improvised jam piece; Springsteen seems to be making up the lyrics on the spot.
The 09 Sep 1972 concert at Huddy Park was a free-admission end-of-summer outdoor event, billed as the "First Annual Highlands Art/Music Fair". It was originally scheduled for Labor Day weekend, on 02 Sep 1972, but was postponed due to heavy rainfall. The bill included Montana Flintlock, Charlotte, Odin, Taylors Mills Road, Lee Reiser, and Crazy Lester And The Blue Water Rangers. Odin was managed by Carl "Tinker" West, whose company Blah Productions programmed the music part of the fair, and New Jersey-based folk rock band Montana Flintlock was also signed by Springsteen's then-manager Mike Appel.
Bruce Springsteen, who at the time was working on his debut album, made an unscheduled guest appearance near the end of the show after an invitation from Odin's Tom Cohen, singing and performing several songs with the band. Am excellent soundboard tape of the entire Odin performance, including Springsteen's segment, recorded by Carl "Tinker" West survives in private hands but is not in circulation.
WATER STATION is known to have been performed at least once in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972), on 09 Sep 1972 in Highlands, NJ. Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates in 1972.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's WATER STATION.
Thanks Audio2575 for the help in transcribing the lyrics. Some of the above information about the 09 Sep 1972 concert is taken from Brucebase.
If you have any additional information about this song or the 09 Sep 1972 concert, or if you have any additions, corrections, or comments to this page, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of WATER STATION on this website:
WATER STATION [Live 09 Sep 1972 version]