19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, after ‘Spirit in the Night’:
”Alright, thanks for the lift....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ‘My Father’s House’:
”Thanks....when I was a kid....I lived, uh....I lived on this block where
there was our house and then there was a field....and there was a....church.....and
there was this woods out in back of my.....my house....and I had this friend
who used to live on the other side of the woods and I can remember at night....I
used to try to get.....I had it timed perfect so I could leave his house just
about dusk and I’d make it through....so I wasn’t in those woods
when it was too dark....once I got by the woods then I had to get home and get
by my old man....that was.....sometimes that was scarier.....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ‘Glory Days’:
”(?) this is a song.... about old times....about....how the older you
get the more old times you got....now, I got my share.....Big Man, he’s
got more than me....but he wears his very well....now, old times....they always
look better the farther away they are..... I was watching this Twilight Zone
the other night (cheers).....and it was about this guy... he kept thinking ‘bout
what a good time he’d had way back when.....and then (plays ‘Outer
Limits’).....then he stepped into the twilight zone....and he got sent
back to where, where he thought he had such a good time....and everybody was
treating him real bad and.....it wasn’t the way he remembered it and everything....so
he came back to this own time....now me....I don’t have to go back into
the twilight zone.....to know....that in high school when everybody says you
were having a great time....I was having a lousy time (cheers).....I didn’t
like it at all.....I’m still glad when fall comes around that I don’t
have to go back (cheers)....every once in a while I go out....I’d be in
some bar....somebody´d come up to me....it was kinda like this....
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ‘My Hometown’:
”Thanks.....alright....everybody....I think everybody kinda ends up with....with
a love-hate....relationship....with the town they grew up in.....you know, I
remember when I was....when I was 16, I couldn’t wait....I couldn’t
wait to get out, I used to run up to New York City on the weekends and (cheers).....it
seemed so narrowminded....when I got older, I really kinda resisted....resisted
kinda....maybe taking my place or just admitting that....that whether I liked
it or not, I was a part of something (chuckles).... which, uh....I guess what
this song is about, this kinda says....that this is our place and....and whether
we like it or not, it’s our responsobility....what happens here.... in
this town and in this state and in this country (cheers)(chuckles)....and....and
we all kinda bear....bear the shame and we bear the glory....of the best and
the worst of it....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ‘No Surrender’:
”This is uh....this is a song, uh....about trying to....find something
you can hold on to.... that kinda....I remember when I was.....I was 16....I
went into this hullabaloo club.... and....I met one of my very best friends,
was playing in band there at the time....and uh...I guess the thing that we
had in common was we had a lotta faith.....in what we thought that rock and
roll could do for people (cheers).....so this is for Little Steven, wherever
he may be tonight (cheers).....good luck and God bless you.....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ‘Growin’Up’
There we were....it was a night....just like tonight....except it was raining....and
it was hotter....and it was a little later in the summertime....it was a long
long time ago....I’d just met the Big Man (cheers)....I was working in
a bowling alley setting up the pins, he was working at the gas-station.....on
the weekend we just (?) down on Main Street....we didn’t know what we
were gonna do with ourselves....we had no direction in our lives ....we had
no guidance.....we were lost....we were confused.....we needed some faith....we
needed some hope.....we were looking for some love....we needed a couple of
girls (cheers)...it was then that the Big Man mentioned that he knew two young
ladies....who lived just outside of town....so we got in his Oldsmobile....and
we drove south down Route 9 (cheers).....it’s dangerous down there (chuckles)(cheers)....
down through Toms River (cheers)....way down to the pines....we were on this
dark backroad....and then the unthinkable happened....we had a flat (laughter)....now....
there was no street lights.....clouds covered the moon....we couldn’t
see anything outside the car.....we didn’t know whether to roll the windows
up....stay in the car till morning.....or get out and see....if we had a spare....so
this being a democracy, we decided we’d (?).....I won.....then I went
out to see if we had a spare (laughter)....there was nothing in the trunk....and
the Big Man then said that he knew.....where there was a gas-station....just....on
the other.....side...of those woods (cheers).....so deep into the forest we
went....it was dark....it was spooky...there were sounds coming from everywhere
(cheers)....we were really getting scared now....we were walking for about 15
minutes down this path.....now, Big Man, there ain’t no like...there never
were no like wild animals in New Jersey (?) ?.....mean, they got no like killer
chipmunks or.... what about them water snakes ?....no ?....you sure we’re
safe ? ....yeah ?....I think....I think I hear something....(?)...I, I hear
something behind us ...(yells)...Big Man....oh..... Clarence.....oh, Clarence
!.....Hey Clarence !....oh, don’t do that, jeeze, you scared me....I think
gremlins got hold of my microphone (cheers) ....it was then.....we seen something
come shooting out of the sky....and all of a sudden clouds.....pulled away from
the moon.....and in the clearing.....we saw the answer to our quest (cheers)....and
we stood there in the moonlight....and then..... when we touched.....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, after ‘Racing in the Street’:
”That was for all the kids from Red Bank....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ‘Rosalita’:
‘‘In a little cafe....on the other side of Broad Street....
(....) Alright....ladies and gentlemen....children of all ages.....it’s
now my pleasure.....it is now my duty....it is now my responsobility to introduce
to you....the wonderful..... members of the E Street Band (cheers)....I would
like to begin.....with our newest member....a man we just met in South Jersey....close
personal friend of mine....Jim the dancing bear.....don’t worry, ladies
and gentlemen, he’s completely docile.... alright.... and now to my far
left.....a young man.....who gave up a scholarship....at Yale University....in
unusual sexual practises just to be on the 1984 with the E Street Band....you
may have read his study of the lost tribes of Hoboken, you may be familiar with
his theory of promiscuity, the educated, the dedicated, the only member with
a full high school diploma, Professor Roy Bittan (cheers).....(?) alright and
next....an alumni of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes....the lovely Miss
Patti Scialfa (cheers)....and next the gentleman who brings you the thunder
from way down under, the man who puts the bass in your face, I’m talking
about the one, the only, Mr.Garry W.Tallent (cheers)....and next the master
of all the percussive devices.... drummer, author of The Big Beat, the one,
the only, the mighty one, Mighty Max Weinberg (cheers)....and now....to my far
right.....the inimitable, the inevitable, the unbelievable, the unforgivable,
the immoral, the irreprovable, the fantastic....look out girls, he hates to
be alone, Phantom Dan Federici on the organ (cheers)....and next the gentleman....who
works the entire night.....without the benefit of a net.....drumroll, please....on
the guitar, Mr. Nils Lofgren.....(Nils does his stunt on a trampoline) ....(cheers)....that´s
incredible.....and now...how can I describe this next gentleman....if you know
the answer...to these next questions.....shout out this gentleman’s name....
who’s the man whose cool just grows and grows ? (crowd : ”Clarence!”)....who’s
the man whose loop comes and goes ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”).....who’s
the apple of my eye ? (crowd : ”Clarence !”)....who, though he’s
the king of the world, is a regular kinda guy ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)....who’s
everything that’s near and dear to me ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)....who’s
owed me a 100 bucks since 1963 ? (crowd: ”Clarence!”)....the one,
the only, the next President of the United States, ladies and gentlemen, the
Big Man, Clarence Clemons (cheers)....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ‘Born to Run’:
”(?) when I was a kid and I heard....heard music of Elvis Presley (cheers)....and
the best of rock and roll....that always kinda said just one thing to me and
it was a simple thing, it said ‘Let freedom ring.....for everyone everywhere’
(cheers)....this is....this is our hometown so we gotta fight for it every day....”
19.08.84 Meadowlands, NJ, intro to ´The Promised Land´
´´This is for Obie tonight....I promised (chuckles).....´´
Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi