4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY)

Live 31 Dec 1980 version

[Spoken intro:] All right!

Well, Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight
Forcin' a light into all those stoned-out faces left stranded on this fourth of July
Down in town the Circuit's full with switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, and sharp
And them wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers along the shore
Chasin' all them silly New York girls

Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life forever
Love me tonight, because I, I may never see you again
Whoa, Sandy, girl

Well, now, the greasers, they tramp the streets or get busted for trying to sleep on the beach all night
And them boys in their spiked high heels, ah, Sandy, their skins are so white
And me, well, I just got tired of hangin' in them dusty arcades, bangin' them pleasure machines
Chasin' the factory girls underneath the boardwalk, where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
You know that tilt-a-whirl way down on the south beach drag
Well, I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And that Joey kept me spinnin'
I didn't think I'd ever get off

Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life on the water
Now, I remember runnin' down the beach at night with my old boss's daughter
Well, he ain't my boss no more, Sandy

Now, Sandy, the angels have lost their desire for us
You know, I spoke to 'em just last night and they said they won't set themselves on fire for us anymore
Every summer when the weather gets hot
They ride that road down from heaven, on their Harleys they come and they go
And you can see 'em dressed like stars in all the cheap little seashore bars
And parked making love with their babies out on the Kokomo
Well, the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do
This boardwalk life for me is through
You know, you ought to quit this scene too

Oh, Sandy, the aurora is rising behind us
The pier lights our carnival life forever
Love me tonight and I promise that I'll love you forever
Swear!

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
How about it?

Page last updated: 11 Jan 2012

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 31 Dec 1980 performance of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, during The River Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement. This live 31 Dec 1980 performance of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) was included on the Live/1975-85 box set in 1986.

Ticket stub for the 31 Dec 1980 show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
[Taken from Brucebase]

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rounded up 1980 with three concerts at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, on 28, 29, and 31 Dec 1981. These three shows later became one of the main sources for the Live/1975-85 box set which includes six recordings from these shows. Four additional recordings were released as B-sides and on compilation albums.

The Live/1975-85 Box Set

With the Born In The USA album and tour, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band reached the highest level of rock stardom. Columbia Records was expecting a follow up studio album and tour that would, like it's predecessor, achieve a huge commercial success. Instead, Springsteen released Live/1975-85, an over-three-hours-and-a-half-long live compilation album consisting of 40 tracks recorded at various concerts between 1975 and 1985.

[Click thumbnail to enlarge/reduce artwork]

The set was produced by Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, and Bruce Springsteen, and hit the stores on 10 Nov 1986. It was released as a box set with either five vinyl records, three cassettes, or three CDs. Live/1975-85 is the first album to be credited to "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band" instead of "Bruce Springsteen" only.

The highly-anticipated live album generated advance orders of more than 1.5 million copies, making it the largest dollar-volume pre-order in the history of the record business at the time. Record stores around the country found fans waiting in line on Monday morning before opening and one New York store reportedly sold the album right off the back of the delivery truck. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart and also became the first five-record set to reach the top 10 and the first to sell over a million copies. Live/1975-85 is the second-best-selling live album in U.S. history based on RIAA certification. It has been certified by the RIAA for 13 times platinum, trailing only Garth Brooks' Double Live.

Live/1975-85 disc 1 track listing (CD format):

THUNDER ROAD [18 Oct 1975 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
ADAM RAISE A CAIN [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) [31 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
PARADISE BY THE C [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
FIRE [16 Dec 1978 at Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA]
GROWIN' UP [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
BACKSTREETS [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
RAISE YOUR HAND [07 Jul 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, West Hollywood, CA]
HUNGRY HEART [28 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
TWO HEARTS [08 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]

Live/1975-85 disc 2 track listing (CD format):

CADILLAC RANCH [06 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) [29 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
INDEPENDENCE DAY [06 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
BADLANDS [05 Nov 1980 at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ]
BECAUSE THE NIGHT [28 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
CANDY'S ROOM [08 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN [29 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
RACING IN THE STREET [06 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND [28 Dec 1980 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY]
NEBRASKA [06 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
JOHNNY 99 [18 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
REASON TO BELIEVE [19 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
BORN IN THE USA [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
SEEDS [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]

Live/1975-85 disc 3 track listing (CD format):

THE RIVER [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
WAR [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
DARLINGTON COUNTY [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY [19 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
THE PROMISED LAND [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
COVER ME [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
I'M ON FIRE [19 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
BOBBY JEAN [21 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
MY HOMETOWN [30 Sep 1985 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA]
BORN TO RUN [19 Aug 1985 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ]
NO SURRENDER [06 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT [20 Aug 1984 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]
JERSEY GIRL [09 Jul 1981 at Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ]

Other Official Releases

Besides it release on the Live/1975-85 box set, this live 31 Dec 1980 version of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) appears on an official Japanese sampler.

In 2005, the live 31 Dec 1980 version of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) was included on Live 1975-1985 Digest CD, a Japan-only promotional "Digest" CD-R advance sampler tying in with the release of the Japanese 2005 "mini-LP"-style CD album reissue of Live/1975-85. This disc comes in a plain slimline jewel case with no artwork and has no catalogue number.

[Click here to display/hide detailed track listing]

Bruce Springsteen -- Live 1975-1985 Digest CD (2005 Japan promo sampler) [disc]

Available Versions

List of available versions of 4TH OF JULY, ASBURY PARK (SANDY) on this website:

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake).