YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN

Live 08 Dec 1978 version

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[Spoken intro:] This is a song we haven't done yet on this tour. Don't stop yelling, you got me excited.

One, two, three, four!

Hey pretty baby
Well don't you hear the drummer thumping
(You can't sit down)
We're gonna shake it like a crazy
(You can't sit down)
Because the band is saying something
(You can't sit down)
Mow everybody get to jumping
(You can't sit down)
We're gonna shake, break, flip flop all around
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)

You gotta move, move, move around and round
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)
You gotta fly, fly, fly across the ground
We're putting down a crazy sound
No no you can't sit down, no no you can't sit down

When you're on South Street
(You can't sit down)
And the band is really booting
(You can't sit down)
You hear the hip beat with the back beat
(You can't sit down)
And everybody is a-grooving
(You can't sit down)
You better get your motor moving
(You can't sit down)
I'm gonna shake, break, flip flop all around
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)

You gotta move, move, move around and round
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)
Fly, fly, fly across the ground
We're putting down a crazy sound
No no you can't sit down
Hey!

[Instrumental]

Big Man!

[Saxophone solo]

My pretty darling
(You can't sit down)
You know you're really looking fine now
(You can't sit down)
I wanna ??? baby
(You can't sit down)
I want to shake you one more time now
(You can't sit down)
Well everybody draw a line now
(You can't sit down)
I wanna shake, break, flip flop all around
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)

You gotta move, move, move around and round
(You can't sit down, you can't sit down)
Fly, fly, fly across the ground
We're fooling around a crazy sound
You can't sit down
Hey!

[Spoken outro:] We're gonna go hide behind the curtain, you guys yell, then we come back out and do another one, okay?

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Info

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN is a 1963 song by The Dovells. See the original The Dovells version for more details.

Bruce Springsteen performed YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN live a number of times between 1976 and 1978 and on a few occasions later in his career. See the "Live History" sections below for more details. He also included the song in DETROIT MEDLEY towards the end of The River Tour and in LIGHT OF DAY a couple of times during The Reunion Tour.

Live 08 Dec 1978 version

The above lyrics are for the live 08 Dec 1978 performance of YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN at The Summit in Houston, TX, during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour.

Introducing the song, Springsteen says, "This is a song we haven't done yet on this tour". But this was not the case; the song had been played at least six times earlier in the tour (see the "Live History: on-tour" section below). This could explain why this part (above in bold) was edited out on the official releases.

The 08 Dec 1978 Show

Towards the end of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed a show at The Summit in Houston, TX, on 08 Dec 1978.

This was reportedly the only show of the tour that was filmed in its entirety, and this could be the very reason it was chosen for official release as part of The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set in 2010 (see the section below for more details).

In September 2017 the complete 08 Dec 1978 concert was officially released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net (see the "Official Live Downloads" section below for more details). This was the first stand-alone audio release of the show. It benefits the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund to aid those affected by the recent devastation in Texas and Florida caused by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Bruce Springsteen, the E Street band, Sony Music, and nugs.net pledged to donate all their proceeds to the hurricane relief effort.

The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story

The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story is a Bruce Springsteen box set released in 2010 on Columbia Records. It was originally expected to be released for the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album's 30th anniversary in 2008, but that didn't happen, possibly due to Springsteen's touring schedule. The box set was officially announced on 26 Aug 2010 and released to retail on 16 Nov 2010.

The 8.5"x11" box set contains three CDs, three Blu-Ray discs or three DVDs, and an 80-page spiral-bound notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen's original notebooks from the recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes, in addition to a new essay by Springsteen on the album and never-before-seen photographs. The box set won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package.

Disc 1 consists of a digitally remastered version of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album. Disc 2 and 3 consist of The Promise, a collection of unreleased songs from the Darkness On The Edge Of Town recording sessions.

Disc 4 is The Promise: The Making Of Darkness On The Edge Of Town, a documentary that was produced for the box set. It was directed by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The ninety-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978, including home rehearsals and studio sessions, with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record.

The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 14 Sep 2010 and also aired on HBO on 07 Oct 2010. It was first exclusively available as part of The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set, but was then released separately on 03 May 2011, in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats, with some bonus features.

Disc 5 consists of two parts: Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park 2009 and Thrill Hill Vault 1976 - 1978. The former is a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's live performance of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album in its entirety, shot in HD on 13 Dec 2009 at Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, without an audience.

Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978 is a collection of archival footage from Springsteen's personal vault It consists of an about-an-hour's worth (it clocks at about 56 minutes) of home rehearsals footage from 1976, studio sessions footage from 1978, and live in concert footage from 1978. It was produced and edited by Emmy- and Grammy-winner Thom Zimny and the audio for the live 1978 footage and some of the 1978 studio footage was mixed by Bob Ludwig. Zimny re-edited the 1978 concert footage making use of previously unseen camera angles. The home rehearsals and studio session footage was originally produced and directed by Barry Rebo, while the live in concert footage was originally directed by Arnold Levine.

Disc 6 is Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut, a video of the complete 08 Dec 1978 concert at The Summit in Houston, TX. The footage was taken from the in-house video screen at The Summit, which was one of the first arenas in the United States to have this system at the time. This gave the release its title "Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut". Considering that it was taken from the mono soundboard, the sound is only available in PCM stereo and not in 5.1 surround. The video was produced by Emmy- and Grammy-winner Thom Zimny and the audio was mastered by Bob Ludwig. It clocks at around 176 minutes.

Official Live Downloads

Prior to the High Hopes Tour, Bruce Springsteen's management announced a new service allowing fans to download concert recordings approximately 48 hours after each show. The initial plan required fans to purchase a special USB wristband, which could then be used to download a single High Hopes Tour show of the purchaser's choice and also functions as a regular reusable USB flash drive. The wristband, which could be purchased online or at the concert venue, was priced at $40. Following some negative response from fans over the high cost for the wristband, Springsteen's management subsequently announced a separate cheaper option for purchasing shows directly, without the need for the wristband. The shows were available for purchase and download via Live Nation, Bruce Springsteen's concert promoter, priced at $9.99 for MP3 and $14.99 for FLAC. Audio recordings for 31 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, and 03 May 2014) were released as such and they were available until 30 Jun 2014.

On 17 Nov 2014, Live.BruceSpringsteen.net was launched. It's a new addition to the official website, serving as an online store offering high-quality live concert recordings as well as high-resolution digital releases of Springsteen's album catalog. The download store is powered by Nugs.net in cooperation with Columbia Records. Audio recordings for 30 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, 03 May 2014, and 18 May 2014) were re-released on the new download store in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Nugs.net adopted the MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) format on 24 May 2017. From then on, all Bruce Springsteen live concert recordings, including the previously released ones, became also available in MQA.

Audio recordings for all 75 The River Tour 2016 dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Audio recordings for all 14 Summer '17 Tour dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Archival releases were periodically released on the same site, as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archive Series. These shows were also made available in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless FLAC or ALAC, 24-bit FLAC or ALAC or MQA, DSD, and audio CD-R. So far 90 shows (or sets of shows) were released from the ongoing series.

Live History: on-tour

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN is known to have been performed at least 15 times during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour (62 know dates, August 1976 to March 1977). Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the Lawsuit Tour. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement featuring The Miami Horns.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN is known to have been performed at least 7 times during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour (111 dates, May 1978 to January 1979). A few of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour. The live 08 Dec 1978 version of YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was released on The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set in 2010.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed once during the Magic Tour (100 dates, October 2007 to August 2008), on 15 Aug 2008 in Jacksonville, FL

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed 3 times during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009).

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed twice during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013).

Live History: off-tour

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed off-tour on 31 Dec 1977 at Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, during a Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes concert. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band made an unscheduled appearance at the end of the show, joining the Jukes onstage for a few songs before kicking into a 5-song set of their own. The song was played as part of the second set with the E Street Band in a full-band arrangement featuring The Miami Horns.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed off-tour on 25 Aug 1978 at Toad's Place in New Haven, CT, during a guest appearance with Beaver Brown.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed off-tour on 15 Apr 1979 at The Fast Lane in Asbury Park, NJ. Springsteen, along with four members of the Asbury Jukes (Kevin Kavanaugh on piano, Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Eddie Manion on baritone saxophone, and Joel Gramolini on guitar) made a guest appearance with Beaver Brown, playing a four-song set.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed off-tour on 11 Jul 1981 at Big Man's West in Red Bank, NJ, where Bruce Springsteen made a guest appearance with Clarence Clemons on the opening night of his new nightclub, playing a six-song set.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed off-tour on 20 Feb 1982 at Big Man's West in Red Bank, NJ, during a guest appearance with Beaver Brown.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed off-tour on 31 Jul 1987 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, during a guest appearance with Marshall Crenshaw.

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN was performed off-tour on 17 Jul 2011 at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ, during a guest appearance with JT Bowen & The Sensational Soul Cruisers who were playing a tribute concert to Clarence Clemons.

Available Versions

List of available versions of YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN on this website:

YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN [Live 08 Dec 1978 version]
YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN [Original The Dovells version]

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Page last updated: 14 Jul 2018