NEW YORK CITY SERENADE

Live 22 Jul 1975 version

Ooh, ooh, ooh
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, oh, oh, oh, ah, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, oh
Well, oh, ah, ah
Well, oh, oh, no
Well, oh, ah, now
Well, oh, ah, ah
Well, oh, all right, well, oh, all right, well, oh
Oh, oh, oh
One, two, three!

Billy, he's down by the railroad tracks
Sitting low in the back seat of his Cadillac
Diamond Jackie, she's so intact
And she falls like a angel beneath him
Jackie's heels are stacked
Billy's got cleats on his boots
They're gonna boogaloo down Broadway
And come back home with the loot
Just about midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute, it's a mad dog's promenade
So walk tall
Or don't walk at all

Fish lady, oh, fish lady baits tenement walls
She don't take the corner boys, they ain't got no money, and they're so easy
Oh, baby, I'm easy, take my arm, waltz with me down Broadway, yeah
Take my hand, little woman, move quick with me down Broadway
I'm a young boy, I talk real loud and, hey, girl, I walk real proud with you, I'll be proud with you, I'll be proud with you, I'll be proud with you, I'll be proud with you, I'll be proud
with you, I'll be proud with you, whoa, I'll be proud with you, whoa, I'll be proud with you, whoa, I'll, whoa, I'll, whoa, I'll be proud with you, I'll be proud with you, I'll be proud with you
Oh, together we can shake away, shake away the city life
Shake away the dirty street life, hook it up
And hook up to the night train
Hook up to the right train
Hook up to the night train
Hook up to the right train
Ah, hook it up, ah, hook it up
Hey, hook it up, hook it up
Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Whoa, but she won't take the train, (she won't take the train)
She won't take the train, (no, she won't take the train)
No, she won't take the train, (no, she won't take the train)
She's afraid them tracks are gonna slow her down
When she turns around, he'll be gone
Baby, so long
Sometimes you gotta walk on, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh

Vibes man, hey, jazz man in the alley, play me your serenade
Any deeper blue, and you'll be blowin' that horn in your grave
Save your notes: don't spend 'em on the blues boys, no
Save your notes: don't spend 'em on the darlin' sharp boys
Straight for the church note, reach it, hey, vibes man, sting a trash can, oh, all right
Listen to the junkman
Ah, listen to your junkman
Just listen to your junkman
He's singin', (singin')
Singin', (singin')
He's all dressed up to sing, dressed up (singin')
Singin', singin', singin', singin', singin', singin', singin'
Oh, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Oh, oh, ah, la, la, la, la, la
Oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, all right
Oh
Oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

The streets
Just the rain going down
In the streets there ain't a sound
No, just the rain comin' down
And the kids are crying out
And it's hey, little stranger, what you doing tonight, are you looking in the lost and found?
No, you just gone crazy, running through the streets
And it's hey, little stranger, what you doing tonight, are you looking in the lost and found?
Running all down the street, baby, oh, running through the streets
Yeah, and I know a place where we can go where we can sing a song, and nobody knows
Hey, nobody knows it
Oh, nobody ever shows
Ah, nobody ever shows
These days ain't no one shows
Nobody ever shows
All right, everybody
Oh, let's wanna go
No one can go, all right
No one, no one, no one, all right
No one ─ outside the cops sittin' on the corner eating pizza in his squad car ─ nobody ever shows
And inside, down and down we go
And outside, the cops have a little car, coffee, doughnut
And inside, down, down, down, down we go
Oh

[recording cut]

Baby said, stop!
Baby said to stop!
Baby said, stop!
Oh, oh, baby, stop!
Baby, girl, stop!
Baby, girl, stop!
Baby, girl, stop!
Baby, girl...
All right!
Slip away
Slip away
What is
Baby, slip away
Baby, slip away
Ah
Oh, baby, slip away
Come on, let's slip away
Oh, yeah, let's slip away
Come on, let's slip away

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 22 Jul 1975 performance of NEW YORK CITY SERENADE at Geneva Theatre in Geneva, NY, during the Born To Run Tour. The song was played in a majestic full band arrangement much like the one played at the end of The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour, but without violin, featuring the "slip away" coda and a full band introduction.

Ticket stub for the 22 Jul 1975 show at Geneva Theatre, Geneva, NY

This concert was originally scheduled for 12 Jul 1975, but then moved forward to 11 Jul 1975. However, due to delays in completing the new album, it was first bumped back to 18 Jul 1975 and then delayed to 22 Jul 1975. Tickets for the original date (see above scan) were never used and a new set was printed for 11 Jul 1975 and then changed by hand.

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Some of the above information is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of NEW YORK CITY SERENADE on this website:

Page last updated: 03 Jun 2012