BACKSTREETS^©

Live 21 Feb 1995 version

[Spoken intro:]
Alright! Oh, a little bit of lights. Alright. Our repertoire is slimming [chuckles]. [The band is fiddling with their instruments for a couple of minutes]. You guys are great [cheers]. It's a lot of fun for us. So, just for... just because it ought to be done, Roy Bittan on the piano, Garry Tallent on the bass, Steve Van Zandt on the guitar, Nils Lofgren on the guitar, Max Weinberg on the drums, Patti Scialfa on the vocals and guitar, Dan Federici on the organ, Clarence "Big Man" Clemons on the saxophone, the E Street Band.

Hmmm, hmmm
Hmmm, hmmm

One soft infested summer me and Terry became friends
Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in
Hitching rides through the evening, tying faith between our teeth
Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house, getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat
Running for our lives at night out on those backstreets

Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing
Where desperate lovers park we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings
Huddled in our cars waiting for the bells that ring
In the deep heart of the night to set us loose from everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever
Just taking it on the backstreets together

Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where dancers scraped the tears up off the streets dressed down in rags
Running into the darkness, some hurt bad some really dying
At night sometimes it seemed you could hear that whole damn city crying
Blame it on the lies that killed us, on the truth that ran us down
You can blame it all on me Terry, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight there was nothing left to say
'Cept I hated him and I hated you when you went away
Say it, say chyeah

Now laying here in the dark, you're like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see
Trying in vain to live like the heroes we thought we had to be
Well after all this time we find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends
On the backstreets until the end

Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreet
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
It's alright
We go hiding on the backstreets tonight
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets

Whuh, huh

Page last updated: 00 Xxx 2008

BACKSTREETS was played off-tour on 21 Feb 1995 at the Tramps Nightclub, New York City, NY. This was a reunion gig with the E Street Band intended for the video shooting of MURDER INCORPORATED, and the above lyrics correspond to that performance.

List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:

• Album's version (more details)

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.