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Unofficial studio version
One, two
Oh Billy stares at Cherry in the hall
Then walks out into the rain so blessed and tall
Standing on the corner with a gun underneath his coat
Beneath the stars on the street
Oh on Lexington Avenue they stand
Velvet aces they case the promised land
Reaching out across the hoods with both hands
Oh, trying to catch a ride
Tonight we're lovers in the cold, oh oh oh
Running past the graveyards in the snow, no no no
Walking in the street with nowhere to go, oh oh oh
And it's no no no no no no no
Oh and then the getaway driver waits outside the store
He pulls away just as Billy runs out the door
Oh and Billy won't run anymore, no no, no no no no no
Oh baby I can't lay the stars at your feet
Oh but I think we could take it all, just you and me
Oh come on and see there's a lot of room
For you baby in this front seat
Tonight we're lovers on that road, oh oh oh
Running past the graveyards in the snow, oh oh oh
Walking in the street with nowhere to go, oh oh oh
And it's oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
[Saxophone solo]
Tonight we're lovers in the snow, oh oh oh
Running past the graveyards oh I don't know, no no no
Walking in the street with nowhere to go, oh oh oh
And it's oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
WALKING IN THE STREET is a song written by Bruce Springsteen who recorded it in studio in 1974. The song has not yet been officially released. The above lyrics are for the only circulating studio version of WALKING IN THE STREET.
The song is also known among collectors under the title "Lovers In The Cold" (see the "Bootleg Releases" section below).
In an interview published in the January 1999 issue of Mojo magazine, Springsteen told Mark Hagen: "There was another one called 'Walking In The Street' which I would have liked to have put on [the Tracks box set] but I couldn't find the master. We searched and searched. It might have been simply recorded over, because in those days, if something wasn't going to make it, you're going to need that tape so you recorded something else over the top."
WALKING IN THE STREET was written and recorded for the Born To Run album. Lyrically, the song has a very similar theme and story to MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER. Musically, it echoes the riff of the instrumental outro of THUNDER ROAD. The early version of THUNDER ROAD (see the live 05 Feb 1975 version for an example), known as "Wings For Wheels", shares some lyrics with WALKING IN THE STREET.
Only one version of WALKING IN THE STREET is in circulation; it's a rough and unfinished take recorded around August or September 1974 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. In May the following year, Springsteen would revisit the song and finish it.
A reel-to-reel tape for WALKING IN THE STREET can be seen around the 40th minute of the 2005 documentary Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run. As indicated on the label (see screen capture below), at least two complete takes of the song were recorded on 28 May 1975 at The Record Plant in New York City, NY. It remains unknown whether or not this is the master tape that Springsteen mentions in the Mojo interview.
This unofficial studio version of WALKING IN THE STREET can be found on several bootlegs, including Born In The Studio (Archive Productions) [track 05] and War And Roses (E. St. Records) [track 10]. The count-in ("One, two") is edited out on these bootleg releases, but can be found intact on audio in circulation among fans. The song is titled "Lovers In The Cold" on these two CD bootlegs, but was correctly titled "Walking In The Street" on earlier vinyl bootlegs.
As far as it's known, Bruce Springsteen has never performed WALKING IN THE STREET live.
As far as it's known, no artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's WALKING IN THE STREET.
List of available versions of WALKING IN THE STREET on this website:
WALKING IN THE STREET [Unofficial studio version]
