Live 17 Jul 1970 version
[Spoken intro:] Alright. This is called "Why'd You Do That On Me." Alright. This one goes out to uncle Tex and aunt Marion.
[Spoken (Vini Lopez):] Very good friend of ours, very good friends. (chuckles)
Go Danny!
I still got your picture hanging up upon my wall
I can still remember the day you gave it to me
You were ??? long and tall, whoa
Woahh oh yeah
And you said you'd get down and pack
Honey why'd you do that
Well look out now New Jersey, look out New York City here I come
You better watch out, you know I wanna get to you
??? living the run, hey!
Let me love you
Let me ??? night and day, at least we're gonna be ok
[Instrumental]
Oh yeah
Well I still got your picture, honey, hanging up upon my wall
I can still remember the day you gave it to me
You were, oh you were long and tall, you looked so pretty
I love you
You said you get'd kinda
Honey why'd you do that
[Instrumental]
Heyyy
[Spoken outro:] I know. (chuckles)
[Spoken (Vini Lopez):] Thank you very much.
WHY'D YOU DO THAT is a song written by Bruce Springsteen. He performed it live with Steel Mill in 1970.
Steel Mill may have recorded WHY'D YOU DO THAT at Challenger Eastern Surfboards in Asbury Park, NJ. The surfboard factory was also Springsteen's home from late 1969 thru late 1970, and a makeshift studio environment of sufficient standard to produce reasonable quality recordings. Although the song might have been recorded as part of ongoing rehearsals at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, none of these 1969 and 1970 recordings is currently in circulation. Due to financial restrictions the reel-to-reel tapes were often reused. Consequently there is a distinct possibility that much of what was recorded at Challenger no longer survives, even in Springsteen's personal archive.
The above lyrics are for the live 17 Jul 1970 performance of WHY'D YOU DO THAT at Sunshine In in Asbury Park, NJ.
SECTION NOT YET COMPLETED
Steel Mill performed on 17 and 18 Jul 1970 at Sunshine In in Asbury Park, NJ. These were double-bill shows, with Steel Mill headlining and Lotus opening. A good quality 58-minute soundboard recording of one of the two nights is in circulation among collectors. The tape does not represent the complete show; it seems to include the first three and last two songs of the night. Brucebase has attributed this audio to 17 Jul 1970, but it could also be from the following night's show.
In the banter during GIRLFRIEND BLUES, Springsteen referenced the 1970 Asbury Park race riots that happened between 04 Jul and 10 Jul 1970. The seven days of rioting, looting, and destruction were a major civil disturbance in Asbury Park, NJ. He joked: "From what I've seen there must've been a bargain sale in Asbury. Run in as fast as you can, take what you can get, and split." He also tells a story about an encounter with the state troopers and policemen that happened "about in the middle of last week some time." All this evidence supports the belief that this audio recording is from the two-night residency at Sunshine In.
WHY'D YOU DO THAT is known to have been performed at least 3 times in Bruce Springsteen's early years (pre-October 1972). Very little is known about shows from this early period, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates.
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List of available versions of WHY'D YOU DO THAT on this website:
WHY'D YOU DO THAT [Live 17 Jul 1970 version]