JUNGLELAND

Outtake version

Well the Rangers had a home-coming in Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat piloted his sleek machine across the Jersey State Line
Barefoot girl sits drinking warm beer on the hood of an old Dodge
In the soft summer rain
Rat rolls up his pants, together they'd make a stab at romance
And move down Flamingo Lane

Well now the maximum lawmen they run down the Flamingo chasing the Rat
And the barefoot girl
But the kids they live like shadows in empty doorways
(But they live like shadows in the vacant doorways)
Always silent, holding hands
The Rat pulls her close (The Rat pulls Mary close)
And from the churches to the jails there is silence in the world
(all is silent in the world)
For tonight they'd take their chance
Down here in Jungleland

Well there's a crazy kind of light tonight
Brighter than the one that sparkles for prophets
Brighter than the Giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light
There's an opera out on the Turnpike, there's a ballet being fought outside the alley
Well the cops they let their faces show and rips this holy night
The streets alive with tough-kid Jets in Nova-light machines
Boys flash guitars like bayonets and rip holes in their jeans
Then the hungry and the haunted explode into rock 'n' roll bands
They face off against each other when they meet
Down here in Jungleland

The street's on fire in a classic death waltz
Between the masters of flesh and fantasy
The poets down here don't write nothin' at all, they just stand and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment to make an honest stand
But they wind up wounded, not rightly dead, down here in Jungleland - yes they do

Oh beneath the city their hearts beat, soul cool engines tired and brave
Oh as the young (jungle) girls stand by fire angels fallen in the city
In the tunnels of machines they'll hear the screams
Drowned out by the roarin' trains
Them rats above, oh locked in love
The Rat saves her from the edge of an on-coming train
That Angel rides a...
Down here in Jungleland - oh yes they do
They hear the animals sing - oh oh oh

Studio outtake. Interesting early live version (05 Feb 1975) has been played before the release of the Born To Run album's version. Also alternate end verses and early live version (23 Mar 1977) are available.

Featuring the best sax solo of all time, JUNGLELAND is the ultimate rock and roll opera, if you forget the connotations of that term. Unlike the bloated remnants of glam and pop "opera" such as Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, JUNGLELAND weaves a story that is worth the telling as much as it is uplifting musically.

Available on:

1. Born To Run (track 8)
2. The Essential Bruce Springsteen (disc 1- track 8)
3. Live In New York City (disc 2- track 7)