SANTA ANA

Live 09 Nov 2005 version

[Spoken intro:] Alright, folks, let's see uh... Should we get obscure here? (cheers) Should we get as in "never before done"? (cheers) I don't think even with the band at any time we did this (chuckles). As in "I might not know all of it" (chuckles) Alright. (chuckles) Let's see what we got here. (people yelling) I need some quiet, I gotta think if I'm gonna do this now, hold it down. Alright, here we go, ready. Oh boy, alright.

Well from the tin rooftop the little boy did watch the procession down through town
Yeah through the museum where Daniel whupped the Devil with the boys from the underground
Where the Giants of Science fight for tight control over the wildlands of New Mexico
Sam Houston's ghost's in Texas fighting for his soul
And the townsfolk rest uneasy beneath the guns of Kid Cole
And the kid says, "Hey, where is Santa Ana?"
He who could romance the dumb into talking
Take a chance with me tonight, my contessa
If it don't work out I ain't lame, I can walk

Now some folks think cancer's taken to the streets of this town
Well Sandy eats her candy and then lays her money down
And cats are in from the canyons to strut their stuff in town
But there's only secret sinners here, Lord, there's only secret thieves
Only a fool would try to save what the desert chose to leave
Yeah well, hey now senorita, with your playboys in their Spanish bandanas
French cream won't soften those boots, baby
And French kisses will not break your heart, yeah!

Well painted night set free with light glows outside the Rainbow Saloon
I'm matching graces with a Spanish lady 'neath a graduation moon
No more colleges, no more coronations, some punk's idea of a teenage nation
Has forced Santa Ana to change his station from soldier to cartoon
And the Giants of Science spend their days and nights
Not with wives, not with lovers, but searchin' for the light
They spotted in the desert on their helicopter flights
Just to be lost in the dust and the night
Well now, hey my contessa, in your juke joint rags you always bring candy for the kids
Come waltz with me tonight senorita, only fool are all alone on a night like this, hey!

Info

The above lyrics are for to the live 09 Nov 2005 performance of SANTA ANA at Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA, during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour. The song was played solo on piano and harmonica. This was the first outing of the song after having disappeared from Springsteen's repertoire for more than three decades.

Ticket stub for the 09 Nov 2005 show at Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA

Available Versions

List of available versions of SANTA ANA on this website:

Page last updated: 06 Feb 2013