14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Atlantic City’:
”Alright....Friday night in Philly (chuckles)(cheers)....”
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Open All Night’:
”Now....now this is a song....about the Golden Roadway of the east....the
New Jersey Turnpike (cheers)....I used to work up in New York City....North
Jersey all the time.... I’d get done real late....I’d end up riding
down that Turnpike around three, four a.m in the morning (cheers)...(?) radio
on....I’d be driving along....thinking ‘bout getting home....seeing
my girlfriend...hitting her refridgerator....kissing my girl (cheers).... making
a ham and cheese sandwich.....hugging my baby....making a peanutbutter and jelly
sandwich (cheers)...making another peanutbutter and jelly sandwich....I used
to.... I used to always have to ride that road, now....I was riding home one
night....I’d ride off at Exit 8 which is the exit that you get off if
you’re going down to....Freehold of the Shore (cheers)....see, right between
Exit 8, you gotta ride through Heightstown (cheers)....there’s nothing
going on in Heightstown so those guys all they gotta do is sit there by the
side of the highway and wait for you all night long....so I got off at Exit
8 one night and I was going down....going down the highway and.....now....I
knew I wasn’t speeding....but I must’ve been going suspiciously
slow....I was in this white pick-up truck that I had....and all of a sudden
I see these red lights in my rearview mirror....now, like I’m one of them
people that I always forget my wallet and stuff, I always leave my wallet home
(cheers)....so I get pulled over....and a state trooper comes up....Heightstown,
Heightstown man comes up and says....says ‘License, registration’....said
‘Uh....I don’t have my license and registration , Sir’ (cheers).....
he takes my name and he goes and sits back in the patrol car.....and in about
five minutes he calls me back....and he looks at me and he says.....’Hey....are
you....are you....are you that rock and roll singer ?’ (cheers)....I say.....’Yeah,
yeah, that’s me, that’s me’, you know.....and he says ....’Did.....are
you the guy....did you write that, write that Born to Run song ?’ (cheers)....I
say...I say ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s, you know, that’s me, that’s
me’....he says ‘Yeah’, he says ‘I got some of your records
at home’....I say ‘You do’, he says ‘Yeah....and son,
you’re in a lotta trouble’...so he takes me in, impounds my truck.....gives
me a ticket...and the worst part of it was I had to go to traffic court... you
know, a month later....and when you go to traffic court....there’s always
weird people sitting there (chuckles)....and you can only plead....you got your
choice, you can plead....guilty....but nobody pleads that ‘cause they
don’t, they don’t wanna admit that they did what they did.....and
you can plead innocent.....but nobody really pleads that either because they
know that they did it....so....the other thing that everybody pleads is ‘guilty
with an explanation’ (cheers)...and that means that you did what they
said you did but they give you five minutes to bullshit your way out (cheers)....so....so
.....you know, everybody’s pleading ‘guilty with an explanation’
and I’m....I’m sitting there....and this guy kinda recognises me
and he comes up to me....and....you know, he’s one of those people that
like....there’s a whole lotta room on the bench that you’re sitting
but he sits like.....almost on your lap or leans into your face.....and you
can tell he’s been driving....you know, so finally....finally they call
his name and he gets up.... in front of the judge....and he was caught doing.....60
miles an hour on a residential side-street....and....his explanation....he told
the judge that he was drunk and he thought he was out on the highway (chuckles)...you
know...people, they think the judge is gonna buy that stuff....he should’ve
been pleading insanity (chuckles)....but anyway, I get up there, it’s
my turn and they call my name....and so I get up in front of the judge.....thinking.....I
said ‘Now...Your Honor.....and this is gonna sound a little wild.....but
let me....let me start....let me start at the beginning....
(......) Anyway.....I thought it was a good story but the judge wouldn’t
buy it.....he fined me and on the way out I saw.....I saw the patrolman that
gave me my ticket.... and he just said ‘Son....come on boy....anytime.....´cause
out on the highway....we’re open all night....’
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘My Father’s House’:
”Yeah, they show no mercy out there....here’s a song.....seems like
the hardest thing to do sometimes...as you get older is.....to make that connection
again with your folks that....that you might’ve missed when you were a
little younger....I remember when I was a kid that.....my dad to me was like
something that....was too hard to talk to... seemed so distant from me....and
there’s a lotta things in the end that end up not getting said that ought
to get said....it’s good to try and catch a hold of ‘em.....before
they’re gone, before it’s too late....”
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘I’m Goin’Down’:
”This is uh....this is a song about uh....I guess relationships....kinda
what happens to ‘em.....you know how it’s when you first meet somebody.....you
put on what I call your love-face (chuckles)....now your love-face that’s
the face you put on when you first meet ‘em....so that they don’t
know what a jerk you’re gonna be later on down the road (chuckles)(cheers)....you
know it’s like everything they do is wonderful ....you know you can’t,
you compliment each other all the time like ‘Oh honey, you look so beautiful
tonight’...and.....like the girls they say ‘Oh, you’re gonna
get tired of me’, you say ‘No, I’ll, I’ll never get
tired of you as long.....as long as I live’ (chuckles)..... and....and
they say ‘Well, I bet you say that to your other girlfriends’ ....you
say ‘Yeah but like....I didn’t mean it, I really mean it now’
(chuckles)....you know....then anything....it doesn’t matter what either
of youse wanna do like ‘Do you wanna go out or stay home ?’.....’Oh
honey, I don’t care what we do as long as I’m with you’ (cheers).....you
know....’What movie do you wanna see ?’.....’Oh, I don’t
care , honey, anything you wanna see’.....yeah......but anyway.....come
back about four or five months later....and sometimes the tune changes.....you
know.....’What movie you wanna see ?’.....’I wanna go see
Road Warrior’.....’No....I wanna go see Kramer Vs. Kramer’
(chuckles)....’Are you gonna wear that shirt when we go out tonight ?’....
‘Do I have to sit here all night long and look at your face ?’ (cheers)
.....(?)....anyway....ends up...feeling something like this most of time.....”
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Darlington County’:
”Alright, are you ready to go road-tripping ? (cheers)....Ever been to
Darlington County?’
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Glory Days’:
”It’s Friday night....I’m feeling alright.....now this is
a song....about....ancient history (cheers)....and I don’t mean the (?)
and....all them crazy guys, I mean....old times, now.....I was watching this
Twilight Zone the other night (cheers)....we play so long that by the time I
get home , the only thing on is Twilight Zone (cheers).....and the strange thing
about it.....it’s only on on my TV.....boo !....anyway I watching this
Twilight Zone....and it was the one about this old actor...and like he’s
up in.....up in his years.....and all he does is keep thinking ‘bout the
old times.....and how great things were when he was....when he thinks he was
a young man and....and how, you know, nice everything was....and so all of a
sudden.....(plays ‘Outer Limits’)....he gets whipped back into the
Twilight Zone....and....when he gets back there....he finds out that everything
that he thought was so great wasn’t that great after all....and every-body’s
treating him like an old dog and.....you know, he was back.....back where he
was.....so anyway the end of the thing.....he comes back into the present time
and..... he feels a lot better.....the reason I bring this up.....is that I
always meet people that tell me about what a great time I had in high school....you
know.....they always tell me ‘Oh, we had so much fun then’.....you
know....but.....I seem to remember that in school....I had a lousy time (cheers)....I
didn’t have no fun.....had to do homework (boos)....oh, now back when
this time of year comes around, I’m still glad that.....I don’t
have to go back (cheers)....(?)....but anyway....the only thing that was good
about high school is I got interested in two things that are still very near
and dear to my....one of ‘em’s the guitar (cheers)....I got good
at that one.....the other one....I’m still looking for some volunteers
who wanna practise, practise, practise (cheers).....(?) shame on you, alright
(chuckles)......gentlemen, are you prepared ?.....”
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Hungry Heart’:
(after the singalong) ‘‘Alright, you’re hired.....pack your
bags....”
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Cadillac Ranch’ (after ‘Dancing
in the Dark’)
”Good dancing, good dancing......(music starts) oh, take me home.....in
that Cadillac..”
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘No Surrender’:
”(?)....this is uh....this is for Little Steven (cheers).....(?)....he
put out a record called Voice of America which is a real good record (cheers)....if
you haven’t heard it yet..... I think he’s over in Europe tonight
so....”
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Growin’Up’:
”Now once upon a time.....in a land not too far from here.....long , long
time ago....
(.....) There I was....I was still in high school....it was kinda late in the
summertime.... I was sitting around in my hometown.....trying to think what
I was gonna do with myself.... didn’t know what I wanted to be....didn’t
have no direction.....didn’t have no confidence.....didn’t have
no girlfriend....I was lost...I was but a man in the wilderness.....I needed
some faith.....I needed some hope.....I needed a close physical relationship
with a member of opposite sex (cheers)....(?)....so I was walking down Main
Street...didn’t know what I was gonna do....all of a sudden I came upon
this guy reading a newspaper (cheers)....I kinda started talking to him but.....he
just kept reading the newspaper....(cheers) so I sat down next to him....he
was reading the Personal Column.....part-time jobs....we got talking.....he
said he was out of work..... I said I was out of work .....said he didn’t
know what to do with himself.....I said I didn’t know what to do with
myself.....he said he was lost and didn’t have no faith.... I said I was
lost and didn’t have no faith.....I said I didn’t know any girls....he
said he did (cheers).....he told me his name was Clarence ‘He-who-knows-all’
Clemons (cheers)....and figuring that we were kinda in the same boat....he said
he’d take me outside of town.....where he knew these two girlfriends of
his.....and he´d get me a date (cheers).....so we got in his Oldsmobile.....and
we started driving....driving south..... down Route 9 (cheers)....south through
the pines....it started raining....started snowing.....then we got hit with
a heatwave......and then finally....adding insult to injury....on some dirty
backroad....we got a flat tire....we got out, checked the trunk, didn’t
have no spare....but he said he knew where there was a gas-station......some-
where just....on the other side.....of those woods (cheers)....so into the forest
we went....it was dark...it was spooky....sounds like werewolves coming from
every place (cheers)....sounds like, like there was lions in those woods (cheers)....sounded
like there was homicidal cows (cheers)....sounded like there was killer....killer
birds (cheers)....and finally we got deep in the forest....now, Big Man....there
ain’t no like.... there ain’t no....like, like big wild animals
in here tonight....there ain’t no nothing like that´s gonna....I
don’t like wild animals....I don’t like being outside...I think
I hear something behind us....there’s.....(Bruce yells)....Clarence....hey,
Clarence....oh, Clarence.....hey, Clarence....hey, Clarence.....oh, oh, gee.....jeez....just
when things were getting pretty dark.....something came shooting out of the
sky....and then over in the clearing....the clouds....pulled away from the moon....and
we saw the answer to our quest.....(cheers).....and I knew everything was gonna
be alright.....and then as we stood there....beneath the pines.....when we touched......
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, middle of ‘Rosalita’:
”Ladies and gentlemen....children of all ages....citizens of Philadelphia
(cheers).... and whoever the hell else is out there....it’s now time....to
be introduced....the illustrious members of the E Street Band (cheers)....beginning.....to
my far left....the only member of the E Street Band with a full high school
diploma....a gentleman who turned down a scholarship to Harvard University....where
he was working on his PHD in unusual sexual practises to join the 1984 tour
with the E Street Band.....let’s hear it for the educated, the dedicated,
the complicated, the sexually liberated, Professor Roy Bittan (cheers)....and
next.....on the vocals....from Long Branch, New Jersey (cheers).... an alumni
of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.....the lovely, the beautiful, the
talented, Miss Patti Scialfa (cheers)....she’s single, boys....and next,
on the drums.... the man who puts the heat in your beat to get you outta your
seat and moving your feet....Mighty Max Weinberg on the drums (cheers)....and
next, the gentleman that puts the bass in your face, that brings the thunder
from down under....his mother was a talent, his father was a talent, Mr.Garry
W.Tallent (cheers)....(?) and next on the organ....the inimitable, the inevitable,
the incredible, the incourageable, the unbelievable, the immoral, the original
sinner....ladies and gentlemen, Phantom Dan Federici on the organ (cheers)....look
out girls, he hates to be alone....oh yes....and our newest member from South
Jersey (cheers)....Jim the Dancing Man....don’t worry, ladies and gentlemen,
he’s completely docile....and now.....I’d like to introduce to you
a man.....you seen him in the movies.....no, you ain’t seen him in the
movies yet.... you’re probably gonna be seeing him in the movies (chuckles)....but
until you see him in the movies....you’re gonna see him right here on
our stage....on the guitar, Mr. Nils Lofgren.....(Nils does his trampoline stunt)
(cheers)...the man don’t need the movies after that.....and now....a man
who you have recently seen on national television (cheers).....he needs no introduction....all
I can say is you know him from his own band, The Red Bank Rockers.....so folks,
let’s give the man a warm welcome....gimme a C....L...A...R...E...N....C....E....What’s
that spell ?....
14.09.84 Philadelphia, PA, intro to ‘Born to Run’:
”I’d like to....I wanna just take a minute , thank everybody....for
coming down to the show tonight, thank you (cheers).....this is, when I was
a kid....(?) the first thing that.... that ever had any impression on me.....was
when I heard the music of Elvis Presley (cheers)....and it kinda did something
for me that....that.....didn’t get done for me in school or didn’t
get done for me ‘round my house or....on the street anywhere .....it kinda
set my mind free...so that I could...dream a little bit bigger.....and see those
possibilities that I hadn’t thought of....and uh....his music always said
to me ‘Let freedom ring’....and....remember it’s something,
something that we gotta fight for.... every day....”
Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi