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Lou Reed's album version
Waltzing Matilda whipped out her wallet
The sexy boy smiled in dismay
She took out four twenties 'cause she liked round figures
Everybody's queen for a day
Oh, babe, I'm on fire and you know how I admire your-
-body why don't we slip away
Although I'm sure you're certain, its a rarity me flirtin'
Sha-la-la-la, this way
Oh, sha-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la
Hey, baby, come on, lets slip away
Luscious and gorgeous, oh what a humping muscle
Call out the national guard
She creamed in her jeans as he picked up her knees
From off of the Formica topped bar
And cascading slowly, he lifted her wholly
And boldly out of this world
And despite people's derision
Proved to be more than diversion
Sha-la-la-la, later on
And then sha-la-la-la-la, he entered her slowly
And showed her where he was coming from
And then sha-la-la-la-la, he made love to her gently
It was like she'd never ever come
And then sha-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la
When the sun rose and he made to leave
You know, sha-la-la-la-la, sha-la-la-la-la
Neither one regretted a thing
(Oooooh)
(Slip away, Oooooh)
Hey, that cunt's not breathing
I think she's had too much
Of something or other, hey, man, you know what I mean?
I don't mean to scare you
But you're the one who came here
And you're the one who's gotta take her when you leave
I'm not being smart
Or trying to be cold on my part
And I'm not gonna wear my heart on my sleeve
But you know people get all emotional
And sometimes, man, they just don't act rational you know
They think they're just on TV
Sha-la-la-la, man
Why don't you just slip her away
You know, I'm glad that we met man
It really was nice talking
And I really wish that there was a little more time to speak
But you know it could be a hassle
Trying to explain this all to a police officer
About how it was that your old lady got herself stiffed
And it's not like we could help
But there wasn't nothing no one could do
And if there was, man, you know I would have been the first
But when someone turns that blue
Well, it's a universal truth
And you just know that bitch will never fuck again
By the way, that's really some bad shit
That you came to our place with
But you ought to be more careful around the little girls
It's either the best or it's the worst
And since I don't have to choose
I guess I won't and I know this ain't no way to treat a guest
But why don't you grab your old lady by the feet
And just lay her out in the darkest street
And by morning, she's just another hit and run
You know, some people got no choice
And they can never find a voice
To talk with that they can even call their own
So the first thing that they see
That allows them the right to be
Why they follow it, you know, it's called bad luck
Well hey, man, that's just a lie
It's a lie she tells her friends
'Cause the real song, the real song
Where she won't even admit to herself
The beating in her heart
It's a song lots of people know
It's a painful song
A little sad truth
But life's full of sad songs
A penny for a wish
But wishing won't make you a soldier
With a pretty kiss for a pretty face
Can't have its way
Y'know tramps like us, we were born to pay
Love has gone away
And there's no one here now
And there's nothing left to say
But, oh, how I miss him, baby
Oh, baby, come on and slip away
Come on, baby, why don't you slip away
Love is gone away
Took the rings off my fingers
And there's nothing left to say
But, oh how, oh how I need him, baby
Come on, baby, I need you, baby
Oh, please don't slip away
I need your loving so bad, babe
Please don't slip away
STREET HASSLE is a song written and recorded by Lou Reed who released it on his 1978 album Street Hassle. The song is 10 minutes and 56 seconds long and is divided into three distinct sections: "Waltzing Matilda" (3:20), "Street Hassle" (3:31), and "Slipaway" (4:02). The above lyrics are for the Lou Reed's album version of STREET HASSLE as released in 1978.
STREET HASSLE features a guest appearance by Bruce Springsteen who performs a brief rap during the song's "Slipaway" section (from 9:02 to 9:39, lyrics above in bold). Because of Columbia Records' policy at the time, Springsteen's role was not listed in the Street Hassle album's credits. Reed recounted in Chris Roberts' 2004 book Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side, "I knew Steve Van Zandt [Springsteen's guitarist] and we asked him if Bruce would do this monologue. And Bruce said sure... but don't use my name. I wish all of Bruce's fans had gone out and bought it, but since we couldn't use his name, they think it's me imitating him."
Street Hassle was released in February 1978 by Arista Records. The album combines live concert tapes and studio recordings. The live parts were recorded on-tour in Germany in August 1977, with overdubs later added and the audience completely muted from the mix. The studio parts and overdubs were recorded in New York City between mid-August and mid-October 1977. Recording originally started at a studio in New York City, with Richard Robinson producing, where a good amount of overdubs were recorded. After Robinson's departure, the recording moved to The Record Plant in New York City and Lou Reed took the role of producer, helped by Record Plant's engineer Rod O'Brien. STREET HASSLE is the only song on the album to be wholly written and recorded in studio. The original track, recorded at the other studio in New York City, was relatively short ─ just over two minutes. It was expanded to 11 minutes and completed at The Record Plant, where Springsteen at the time was recording his Darkness On The Edge Of Town album.
In an interview published in Rolling Stone magazine issue #551 (04 May 1989), journalist David Fricke asked Lou Reed how did Springsteen come to recite those lines on STREET HASSLE. Reed explained, "Because if I'd done them, they'd have come out funny. And when he did it, it sounded real. He was at the same studio, the Record Plant. It wasn't making it with me doing it. So the engineer said, 'Why don't you ask Bruce to do it? He could really do that.' So we asked Bruce to do it, and he rewrote it a little." In the last line of the rap, Springsteen states "tramps like us, baby we were born to pay", an altered quotation from his own song BORN TO RUN. As Reed explained to Fricke, it was him who wrote that part. "It had been written with him in mind, but he wasn't there. I was just playing off the title."
In an interview conducted in October 1980 and published in the January 1981 issue of Creem magazine, Dave DiMartino asked Springsteen how he ended up on Lou Reed's STREET HASSLE. "He called me up in the studio, it was funny," Springsteen recounted. "We were at the Record Plant; I hadn't really met him and I liked his stuff, I always really liked it. He called me up and said 'I've got this part,' and it was related to 'Born to Run,' I guess, in some way, and said 'Come on upstairs,' and he had these words, and I went upstairs..." Springsteen read his part to a microphone. "And so I did it once, no, I think I did it twice, and he just picked one and I was real happy."
In an interview published in the October 2016 issue of Uncut magazine, Record Plant engineer Rod O'Brien recounted Damien Love in detail what exactly happened. "For that section, Lou decided he had another lyrical part, and so he records this thing, and I looked at him, and I hit the talkback, and I said, 'Uh. You realize what you just stole?' And Lou went, deadpan: 'Whaddaya mean?' And then he started to crack up laughing. But Lou says, 'But I gotta use it.' I said, 'Okay, but let's go downstairs' ─ because Bruce was working downstairs. I said to Bruce, 'Lou wants to play you something, he just wants to make sure that you're not going to be upset.' So Bruce says, 'Okay,' and he comes up, and we play him the piece, and he says 'Oh, that's fine that's no problem...' And then Lou looks at him, and I didn't know Lou was going to do this, but he says: 'Would you do it?' And Bruce is like, '...what, me?' Lou says, 'Yeah.' And Bruce says, 'Okay, but you can't put my name on it, because I don't want to go through all the hassles that would mean...' And Lou's like, 'No problem.' So, Lou wrote the little part out, and as far as I remember, Bruce went out and did it one take."
The first time that Bruce Springsteen and Lou Reed crossed pass was when Springsteen and The E Street Band opened for headliner Reed and his backing band The Tots on 23 Mar 1973 at Palace Theatre in Providence, RI.
In May 1978, Bruce Springsteen attended a Lou Reed concert at Bottom Line in New York City, NY. The show is officially released on Reed's live album Live: Take No Prisoners. Reed mentions and greets Springsteen during his lengthy monologue in WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (at 5:33), saying: "Hi Bruce. Springsteen is alright by the way. He gets my seal of approval, I think he's groovy. You notice the way the critics turned on him, like after they were on him, right?" It's hard to be certain, but Reed seems to invite Springsteen on stage to perform his spoken parts on STREET HASSLE, but Springsteen seems to turn down the invitation. An exchange in the audience during the song can be heard at 6:26, along with what sounds like Springsteen's voice.
In the above mentioned 1989 Rolling Stone interview, Lou Reed said about Springsteen: "I like him in concert. He's a great live performer. What I really like is the little skits with Clarence and everything, these great spoken introductions."
But Reed wasn't always a fan of Springsteen. "He's great at what he does... It's not to my taste," Reed told John Holmstrom in an interview published in Punk magazine issue #1 (January 1976 issue, published in December 1975). "Springsteen's already finished, isn't he? I mean, isn't he a has-been? Isn't Springsteen already over-the-hill? I mean — isn't everybody saying that they constructed him because they needed a rock star? I mean... Already, like, groups are coming out and saying they're the new Bruce Springsteen, which is really... He was only popular for a week."
Lou Reed's album version of STREET HASSLE was released a single internationally.
Lou Reed's album version of STREET HASSLE was also included on several Lou Reed and various artists compilation albums.
As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed STREET HASSLE live.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
Please contact me if you have scans for or info about any official release containing STREET HASSLE that's not mentioned on this page.
On the cover of the Street Hassle album, the reflection of a man appears on Lou Reed's glasses. Some believe it's none other than Bruce Springsteen. Please contact me if you have any information.
Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of STREET HASSLE on this website:
STREET HASSLE [Lou Reed's album version]
