Lyrics

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD

Live 19 May 1993 version


[Joe Ely (spoken intro):] I wanna... I wanna bring out a friend of mine here (cheers). We have a, we have common... a common appreciation of Woody Guthrie.

Joe Ely:I'm blowing down this old dusty road
I'm blowing down this old dusty road
I'm blowing down this old dusty road, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Ely and Springsteen:I'm going where the weather suits my clothes
I'm going where the weather suits my clothes
I'm going where the weather suits my clothes, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Joe Ely:Blowing down this old dusty road
Bruce Springsteen:I'm going down this old dusty road
Ely and Springsteen:I'm going down this old dusty road, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Joe Ely:I'm going where the grapes and peaches grow
Bruce Springsteen:I'm going where the grapes and peaches grow
Ely and Springsteen:I'm going where the grapes and peaches grow, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Joe Ely:I'm blowing down this old dusty road
Bruce Springsteen:I'm blowing down this old dusty road
Ely and Springsteen:I'm blowing down this old dusty road, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Joe Ely:I'm going where the water taste like wine
Bruce Springsteen:I'm going where the water taste like wine
Ely and Springsteen:I'm going where the water taste like wine
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Joe Ely:I'm going where it's all dusty road
Bruce Springsteen:Yeah I'm going down this old dusty road
Ely and Springsteen:I'm going down this old dusty road, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Ely and Springsteen:I'm blowing down this old dusty road
I'm blowing down this old dusty road
I'm blowing down this old dusty road, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Joe Ely:I'm blowing down this old dusty road
Bruce Springsteen:I'm going down this old dusty road
Ely and Springsteen:I'm blowing down this old dusty road, Lord
And I ain't gonna be treated this way
Joe Ely:And I ain't gonna be treated this way
Ely and Springsteen:And I ain't gonna be treated this way

Info

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD is a song by Woody Guthrie. See the original Woody Guthrie version for more details.

Bruce Springsteen performed BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD live a few times since 1993, always as a duet with another artist, mostly Joe Ely. See the "Live History" section below for more details.

Live 19 May 1993 version

The above lyrics are for the live 19 May 1993 performance of BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD at National Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, during a guest appearance at a Joe Ely concert. The song was played in a full-band arrangement, as a duet between Ely and Springsteen.

Other Official Releases

Other versions of BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD were officially released.

Bruce Springsteen -- Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey June 24, 1993
The live 24 Jun 1993 version of BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey June 24, 1993 official live download in 2018.

Live History

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD was performed once during World Tour 1992-1993 (104 dates, June 1992 to June 1993), on 24 Jun 1993 in East Rutherford, NJ. The 24 Jun 1993 show in East Rutherford, NJ, was billed as "Concert To Fight Hunger" (see the live 24 Jun 1993 version). The song was played in an acoustic guitar driven arrangement and featured guests Joe Ely on guitar and shared lead vocals, Patti Scialfa on guitar and backup vocals, and Soozie Tyrell on violin. The live 24 Jun 1993 version of BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey June 24, 1993 official live download in 2018.

BLOWIN' DOWN THE ROAD was performed 3 times during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour (128 dates, November 1995 to May 1997). On all three dates the song featured a guest appearance by Joe Ely, Elliott Murphy, and/or Joe Grushecky. See the the live 25 Apr 1996 version.

List of The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour performances

  1. 25 Jan 1996 at Austin Music Hall, Austin, TX (with Joe Ely)
  2. 25 Apr 1996 at Brixton Academy, London, England (with Elliott Murphy and Joe Grushecky)
  3. 26 May 1997 at Palais Des Congrès De Paris, Paris, France (with Elliott Murphy)

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD was performed off-tour on 19 May 1993 at National Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, during a guest appearance at a Joe Ely concert. See the live 19 May 1993 version for more details.

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD was performed off-tour on 17 Mar 1996 at The Mean Fiddler in Dublin, Ireland, during a guest appearance at a Joe Ely concert.

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD was performed off-tour on 29 Sep 1996 at Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH, during a Woody Guthrie tribute concert. The song was played in an acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement and featured Joe Ely on guitar and shared lead vocals. See the live 29 Sep 1996 version for more details.

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD was performed on off-tour 14 Mar 2012 at Austin Music Hall in Austin, TX, during a surprise appearance at the conclusion of the 30th annual Austin Music Awards, joining Alejandro Escovedo and The Sensitive Boys for a four-song set, along with Joe Ely (on all four songs) and Garland Jeffreys (on two of the four songs).

List of off-tour performances

  1. 19 May 1993 at National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland (with Joe Ely)
  2. 17 Mar 1996 at The Mean Fiddler, Dublin, Ireland (with Joe Ely)
  3. 29 Sep 1996 at Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH (with Joe Ely)
  4. 14 Mar 2012 at Austin Music Hall, Austin, TX (with Alejandro Escovedo and his band, Joe Ely, and Garland Jeffreys)

Available Versions

List of available versions of BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD on this website:

BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD [Live 19 May 1993 version]
BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD [Live 24 Jun 1993 version]
BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD [Live 25 Apr 1996 version]
BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD [Live 29 Sep 1996 version]
BLOWIN' DOWN THIS ROAD [Original Woody Guthrie version]
Page last updated: 26 Apr 2015