The River (1980)
Il primo album doppio. Contiene venti tracce.
Disk 1
You been hurt and you're all cried out you
say
You walk down the street pushin' people
outta your way
You packed your bags and all alone you
wanna ride,
You don't want nothin', don't need no one
by your side
You're walkin' tough baby, but you're
walking blind,
To the ties that bind
(Chorus)
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind
Cheap romance, it's all just a crutch
You don't want nothing that anybody can
touch
You're so afraid of being somebody's fool
Not walkin' tough baby, not walkin' cool
You walk cool, but darlin', can you walk
the line
And face the ties that bind
I would rather feel the hurt inside, yes I
would darling,
Than know the emptiness your heart
must hide,
Yes I would darling, yes I would darling,
Yes I would baby
You sit and wonder just who's gonna stop
the rain
Who'll ease the sadness, who's gonna
quiet the pain
It's a long dark highway and a thin white
line
Connecting baby, your heart to mine
We're runnin' now but darlin' we will
stand in time
To face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind
You can't forsake the ties that bind
Your Mama's yapping in the backseat
Tell her to push over and move them big
feet
Every Monday morning I gotta drive her
down to the unemployment agency
Well this morning I ain't fighting tell her I
give up
Tell her she wins if she'll just shut up
But it's the last time that she's gonna be
riding with me
(Chorus)
You can tell her there's a hot sun beating
on the black top
She keeps talking she'll be walkin' that
last block
She can take a subway back to the ghetto
tonight
Well I got some beer and the highway's
free
And I got you, and baby you've got me.
Hey, hey, hey, what you say Sherry
Darlin'
Now there's girls melting on the beach
And they're so fine but so out of reach
Cause I'm stuck in traffic down here on
53rd Street
Now Sherry my love for you is real
But I didn't count on this package deal
And baby this car just ain't big enough for
her and me
(Chorus)
So you can tell her there's a hot sun
beating on the black top
She keeps talking she'll be walkin' that
last block
She can take a subway back to the ghetto
tonight
Well I got some beer and the highway's
free
And I got you, and baby you've got me
Hey, hey, hey, what you say Sherry
Darlin'
Well let there be sunlight, let there be rain,
Let the brokenhearted love again
Sherry we could run with our arms open wide
before the tide
To all the girls down at Sacred Heart
And all you operators back in the park
Say hey, hey, hey, what you say Sherry
Darlin'
Hey hey hey, what you say Sherry
Darlin'
Driving home she grabs something to eat
Turns a corner and drives down her
street
Into a row of houses she just melts away
Like a scenery in another man's play
Into a house where the blinds are closed
To keep from seeing things she don't
wanna know
She pulls the blinds and looks out on the
street
The cool of the night takes the edge off
the heat
In the Jackson Cage
Down in the Jackson Cage
You can try with all your might
But you're reminded every night
That you've been judged and handed life
Down in the Jackson Cage
Every day ends in wasted motion
Just crossed swords on the killing floor
To settle back is to settle without knowing
The hard edge that you're settling for
Because there's always just one more
day
And it's always gonna be that way
Little girl you've been down here so long
I can tell by the way that you move you
belong to
The Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
And it don't matter just what you say
Are you tough enough to play the game
they play
Or will you just do your time and fade
away
Down into the Jackson Cage
Baby there's nights when I dream of a
better world
But I wake so downhearted girl
I see you feeling so tired and confused
I wonder what it's worth to me or you
Just waiting to see some sun
Never knowing if that day will ever come
Left alone standing out on the street
Till you become the hand that turns the
key down in
Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
Well darling can you understand
The way that they will turn a man
Into a stranger to waste away
Down in the Jackson Cage
I went out walking the other day
Seen a little girl crying along the way
She'd been hurt so bad said she'd never
love again
Someday your crying girl will end
And you'll find once again
(Chorus)
Two hearts are better than one
Two hearts girl get the job done
Two hearts are better than one
Once I spent my time playing tough guy
scenes
But I was living in a world of childish
dreams
Someday these childish dreams must
end
To become a man and grow up to dream
again
Now I believe in the end
(Chorus)
Sometimes it might seem like it was
planned
For you to roam empty hearted through
this land
Though the world turns you hard and cold
There's one thing mister, that I know
That's if you think your heart is stone
And that you're rough enough to whip this
world alone
Alone buddy there ain't no peace of mind
That's way I'll keep searching till I find my
special one
(Chorus)
Well papa go to bed now it's getting late
Nothing we can say is gonna change
anything now
I'll be leaving in the morning from St.
Mary's Gate
We wouldn't change this thing even if we
could somehow
Cause the darkness of this house has got
the best of us
There's a darkness in this town that's got
us too
But they can't touch me now
And you can't touch me now
They ain't gonna do to me
What I watched them do to you
So say goodbye it's Independance Day
It's Independance Day
All down the line
Just say goodbye it's Independance Day
It's Independance Day this time
Now I don't know what it always was with
us
We chose the words, and yeah, we drew
the lines
There was just no way this house could
hold the two of us
I guess that we were just too much of the
same kind
Well say goodbye it's Independance Day
It's Independance Day all boys must run
away
So say goodbye it's Independance Day
All men must make their way come
Independance Day
Now the rooms are all empty down at
Frankie's joint
And the highway she's deserted clear
down to Breaker's Point
There's a lot of people leaving town now
leaving their friends, their homes
At night they walk that dark and dusty
highway all alone
Well papa go to bed now, it's getting late
Nothing we can say can change anything
now
Because there's just different people
coming down here now and they see
things in different ways
And soon everything we've known will
just be swept away
So say goodbye it's Independance Day
Papa now I know the things you wanted
that you could not say
But won't you just say goodbye it's
Independance Day
I swear I never meant to take those things
away
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore Jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don't know where it's
flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going
(Chorus)
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your
part
Everybody's got a hungry heart
I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love I knew it had to end
We took what we had and we ripped it
apart
Now here I am down in Kingstown again
(Chorus)
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody
says
Ain't nobody like to be alone
(Chorus)
Put on your best dress baby
And darling, fix your hair up right
Cause there's a party, honey
Way down beneath the neon lights
All day you've been working that hard line
Now tonight you're gonna have a good
time
I work five days a week girl
Loading crates down on the dock
I take my hard earned money
And meet my girl down on the block
And Monday when the foreman calls time
I've already got Friday on my mind
When that whistle blows
Girl, I'm down the street
I'm home, I'm out of my work clothes
When I'm out in the street
I walk the way I wanna walk
When I'm out in the street
I talk the way I wanna talk
When I'm out in the street
When I'm out in the street
When I'm out in the street, girl
Well, I never feel alone
When I'm out in the street, girl
In the crowd I feel at home
The black and whites they cruise by
And they watch us from the corner of their
eyes
But there ain't no doubt girl, down here
We ain't gonna take what they're handing
out
When I'm out in the street
I walk the way I wanna walk
When I'm out in the street
I talk the way I wanna talk
Baby, out in the street I don't feel sad or
blue
Baby, out in the street I'll be waiting for
you
When the whistle blows
Girl, I'm down the street
I'm home, I'm out of my work clothes
When I'm out in the street
I walk the way I wanna walk
When I'm out in the street
I talk the way I wanna talk
When I'm out in the street
Pretty girls, they're all passing by
When I'm out in the street
From the corner, we give them the eye
Baby, out in the street I just feel all right
Meet me out in the street, little girl, tonight
Meet me out in the street
Meet me out in the street
My feets were flying down the street just
the other night
When a Hong Kong special pulled up at
the light
What was inside, man, was just c'est
magnifique
I wanted to hold the bumper and let her
drag me down the street.
(Chorus)
Ooh, ooh I gotta crush on you
Ooh, ooh I gotta crush on you
Ooh, ooh I gotta crush on you tonight
Sometimes I spot a little stranger
standing 'cross the room
My brain takes a vacation just to give my
heart more room
For one kiss, darling I swear everything I
would give
Cause you're a walking, talking reason to
live
(Chorus)
Well now she might be the talk of high
society
She's probably got a lousy personality
She might be a heiress to Rockefeller
She might be a waitress or a bank teller
She makes the Venus de Milo look like she's
got no style
She make Sheena of the Jungle look
meek and mild
I need a quick shot, Doc, knock me off my
feet
Cause I'll be minding my own business
walking down the street... watchout!
(Chorus)
Yesterday I went shopping buddy down
to the mall
Looking for something pretty I could hang
on my wall
I knocked over a lamp before it hit the
floor I caught it
A salesman turned around said, "boy,
you break that thing you bought it."
(Chorus)
You can look but you better not touch boy
You can look but you better not touch boy
Mess around and you'll end up in dutch
boy
You can look but you better not, no you
better not, no you better not touch
Well I came home from work and I
switched on Channel 5
There was a pretty little girly lookin'
straight into my eyes
Well I watched as she wiggled back and
forth across the screen
She didn't get me excited she just made
me feel mean
(Chorus)
Well I called up Dirty Annie on the
telephone
I took her out to the drive-in just to get her
alone
I found a lover's rendezvous, the music
low, set to park
I heard a tapping on the window and a
voice in the dark
(Chorus)
I see you walking, baby, down the street
Pushing that baby carriage at your feet
I see that lonely ribbon in your hair
Tell me I am the man for whom you put it
there
You never smile girl, you never speak
You just walk on by, darling week after
week
Raising two kids alone in this mixed up
world
Must be a lonely life for a working girl
(Chorus)
Little girl, I wanna marry you
Oh yeah, little girl, I wanna marry you
Yes I do
Little girl, I wanna marry you
Now, honey, I don't wanna clip your
wings
But a time comes when two people
should think of these things
Having a home and a family
Facing up to their responsibilities
They say that in the end true love prevails
But in the end true love can't be no
fairytale
To say I'll make your dreams come true
would be wrong
But maybe, darling, I could help them
along
(Chorus)
My daddy said right before he died
That true, true love was just a lie
He went to his grave a broken heart
An unfulfilled live, makes a man hard
Oh, darlin'
There's something happy and there's
something sad
'Bout wanting somebody, oh so bad,
I wear my love darling, without shame
I'd be proud if you would wear my name
I come from down in the valley
Where mister, when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy
done
Me and Mary we met in high school
When she was just seventeen
We'd drive out of this valley down to
where the fields were green
We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride
Then I got Mary pregnant
And, man, that was all she wrote
And for my 19th birthday I got a union
card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
And the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles, no walk down
the aisle
No flowers, no wedding dress
That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we did ride
I got a job working construction for the
Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work on
account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so
important
Well, mister they vanished right into the
air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care
But I remember us riding in my brother's
car
Her body tan and wet down at the
reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath
she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt
me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse,
That sends me
Down to the river
Though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride
Disk 2
Do you still say your prayers little darlin'
do you go to bed at night
Praying that tomorrow, everything will be
allright
But tomorrow's fall in number in number
one by one
You wake up and you're dying you don't
even know what from
Well they shot you point blank you been
shot in the back
Baby point blank you been fooled this
time little girl that's a fact
Right between the eyes baby, point blank
right between the pretty lies that they tell
Little girl you fell
You grew up where young girls they grow
up fast
You took what you were handed and left
behind what was asked
But what they asked baby wasn't right
You didn't have to live that life,
I was gonna be your Romeo you were
gonna be my Juliet
These days you don't wait for Romeo's
you wait on that welfare check
And on all the pretty things that you can't
ever have and on all the promises
That always end up point blank, shot
between the eyes
Point blank like little white lies you tell to
ease the pain
You're walking in the sights, girl of point
blank
And it's one false move and baby the
lights go out
Once I dreamed we were together again
baby you and me
Back home in those old clubs the way we
used to be
We were standin' at the bar it was hard to
hear
The band was playin' loud and you were
shoutin' somethin' in my ear
You pulled my jacket off and as the
drummer counted four
You grabbed my hand and pulled me out
on the floor
You just stood there and held me, then
you started dancing slow
And as I pulled you tighter I swore I'd
never let you go
Well I saw you last night down on the
avenue
Your face was in the shadows but I knew
that it was you
You were standin' in the doorway out of
the rain
You didn't answer when I called out your
name
You just turned, and then you looked
away like just another stranger waiting to
get blown away
Point blank, right between the eyes
Point blank, right between the pretty lies
you fell
Point blank, shot straight through the
heart
Yea point blank, you've been twisted up
till you've become just another part of it
Point blank, you're walking in the sights,
Point blank, living one false move just one
false move away
Point blank, they caught you in their
sights
Point blank, did you forget how to love,
girl, did you forget how to fight,
Point blank they must have shot you in
the head
Cause point blank, bang bang baby
you're dead.
Well, there she sits buddy justa gleaming
in the sun
There to greet a working man when his
day is done
I'm gonna pack my pa and I'm gonna
pack my aunt
I'm gonna take them down to the Cadillac
Ranch
Elderado fins, whitewalls and skirts
Rides just like a little bit of heaven here on
earth
Well buddy when I die throw my body in
the back
And drive me to the junkyard in my
Cadillac
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Open up your engines let 'em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old
dinosaur
James Dean in that Mercury '49
Junior Johnson running through the woods of
Caroline
Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans-
Am
All gonna meet down at the Cadillac
Ranch
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Open up your engines let 'em roar
Tearing up the highway just a big old
dinosaur
Hey, little girlie in the blue jeans so tight
Driving alone through the Wisconsin night
You're my last love baby you're my last
chance
Don't let them take me to the Cadillac
Ranch
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Pulled up to my house today
Came and took my little girl away
I got a 007 watch and it's a one and only
It's got a I-Spy beeper that tells me when
you're lonely
I got a Batmobile so I can reach ya' in a
fast shake
When your world's in crisis of an
impendin' heartbreak
Now don't you call James Bond or Secret
Agent Man
Cause they can't do it, like I can
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker - every
day
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker
If you're hanging from a cliff or you're tied
to the tracks, girl
Columbo split and you can't find Kojak
True love is broken and the tears are
fallin' faster
You're sufferin' from a pain in your heart
or some other natural disaster
Now I don't care what kind of shape
you're in
If they put up a roadblock, I'll parachute in
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker - I'm in
love
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker - every
day
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker - with you
So you fell for some jerk who was tall,
dark and handsome
Then he kidnapped your heart and now
he's holding it for ransom
Well, like a mission impossible I'm gonna
go and get it back
You know I would'a taken better care of it,
baby, than that
Sometimes I get so hot girl, well, I can't
talk
But when I'm with you I cool off, and I walk
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker, and I talk
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker, every day
I'm a rocker, baby, I'm a rocker, every day
Well now you say you've found another
man who does things to you that I can't
And that no matter what I do it's all over
now between me and you girl
But I can't believe what you say
No I can't believe what you say
'Cause baby
(Chorus)
I don't wanna fade away
Oh I don't wanna fade away
Tell me what can I do what can I say
Cause darling I don't wanna fade away
Well now you say that you've made up
your mind it's been such a long, long
time since it's been good with us
And that somewhere back along the line
you lost your love and I lost your trust
Now rooms that once were so bright are
filled with the coming night, darlin'
(Chorus)
You say it's not easy for you
And that you've been so lonely
While other girls go out doing what they
want to do
You say that you miss the nights when
we'd go out dancing
The days when you and I walked as two
Well girl I miss them too
Oh I swear that I do
Oh girl
Now baby I don't wanna be just another
useless memory holding you tight
Or just some other ghost out on the street
to whom you stop and politely speak
when you pass on by vanishing into the
night
Left to vanish into the night
No baby
(Chorus)
I met a little girl and I settled down
In a little house out on the edge of town
We got married, and swore we'd never
part
Then little by little we drifted from each
other's heart
At first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our
love grew deep
In the end it was something more I guess
That tore us apart and made us weep
And I'm driving a stolen car
Down on Eldridge Avenue
Each night I wait to get caught
But I never do
She asked if I remembered the letters I
wrote
When our love was young and bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel one hundred
years old
And I'm driving a stolen car
On a pitch black night
And I'm telling myself I'm gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
That in this darkness I will disappear
Hey, little dolly with the blue jeans on
I wanna ramrod with you honey, till half
past dawn
Let your hair down sugar and pick up this
beat
Come on and meet me tonight down on
Bluebird Street
I've been working all week, I'm up to my
neck in hock
Come Saturday night I let my ramrod rock
She's a hot stepping hemi with a four on
the floor
She's a roadrunner engine in a '32 Ford
Late at night when I'm dead on the line
I swear I think of your pretty face when I
let her unwind
Well look over yonder see them city lights
Come on little dolly 'n' go ramroddin'
tonight
Come on, come on, come on little baby
Come on, come on let's shake it tonight
Come on, come on, come on little sugar
Dance with your daddy and we'll go
ramroddin' tonight
Hey little dolly won't you say you will
Meet me tonight up on the top of the hill
Well just a few miles cross the county line
There's a cute little chapel nestled down
in the pines
Say you'll be mine little girl I'll put my foot
to the floor
Give me the word now sugar, we'll go
ramroddin' forever more
You make up your mind, you choose the
chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and
the desert breaks
Out on to an open road you ride until the
day
You learn to sleep at nigth with the price
you pay
Now with their hands held high, they
reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads
they'd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to
break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay
(Chorus)
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you
pay
Now you can't walk away from the price
you pay
Now they'd come so far and they'd waited
so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where
everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the
light of the day
And you've gotta stand and fight for the
price you pay
(Chorus)
Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the
promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay
So let the game start, you better run you
little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all
the days
But just across the county line, a stranger
passing through put up a sign
That counts the man fallen away to the
price you pay, and girl before the end of
the day,
I'm gonna tear it down and throw it away
When I lost you honey sometimes I think
I lost my guts too
And I wish God would send me a word
send me something I'm afraid to lose
Lying in the heat of night like
prisoners all our lives
I get shivers down my spine and all
I wanna do is hold you tight
(Chorus)
I swear I'll drive all night just to buy you
some shoes
And to taste your tender charms
And I just wanna sleep tonight again in
your arms
Tonight there's fallen angels and they're
waiting for us down in the street
Tonight there's calling strangers, hear
them crying in defeat.
Let them go, let them go, let them go, do
their dances of the death (let 'em go right
ahead)
You just dry your eyes girl, and c'mon
c'mon c'mon let's go to bed baby, baby,
baby
(Chorus)
There's machines and there's fire waiting
on the edge of town
They're out there for hire but baby they
can't hurt us now
Cause you've got, you've got, you've got,
you've got my love, you've got my love
Through the wind, through the rain, the
snow, the wind, the rain
You've got, you've got my, my love
heart and soul
Last night I was out driving
Coming home at the end of the working
day
I was riding alone through the drizzling
rain
On a deserted stretch of a county two-
lane
When I came upon a wreck on the
highway
Now there was blood and glass all over
And there was nobody there but me
As the rain tumbled down hard and cold
I seen a young man lying by the side of
the road
He cried Mister, won't you help me
please
An ambulance finally came and took him
to Riverside
I watched as they drove him away
And I thought of a girlfriend or a young
wife
And a state trooper knocking in the
middle of the night
To say your baby died in a wreck on the
highway
Sometimes I sit up in the darkness
And I watch my baby as she sleeps
Then I climb in bed and I hold her tight
I just lay there awake in the middle of the
nigth
Thinking 'bout the wreck on the highway
All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.
"Point Biank", "The Price You Pay", "The Ties That
Bind", "The River", "Independence Day", "Stolen
Car" and "Hungry Heart":
© 1979 Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP).
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
"Out In The Street", "Drive All Night", "l'm A Rocker",
"I Wanna Marry You", "Cadillac Ranch", "Ramrod",
"Sherry Darling", "You Can Look (But You Better Not
Touch)", "Crush On You", "Wreck On The Highway",
"Fade Away", "Two Hearts" and "Jackson Cage":
© 1980 Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP).
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
© all right reserved