GROWIN' UP^©

Live 05 Jul 1978 version

[spoken intro part 1]

I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair till it looked just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain, I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched
Well I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooooh, growin' up

Well the flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
Well I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she wouldn't sail but she sure could sing
Well I pushed B-52, bombed 'em with the blues, my gear set stubborn on standing
Well I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, never once gave thought to landing
Hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "come down" I threw up
Ooooh, growin' up

Big Man, please!

[spoken intro part 2]

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere , you know it's really hard to hold your breath
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid
My feet they finally took root in the earth, well I got me a nice little place in the stars
Well I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
Hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down"
Ooooh, growin' up
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Growin' up
Say it!

These lyrics refer to the live 05 Jul 1978 performance at The Forum, Los Angeles, CA.

Check also the album's version (more details), the Tracks version, and the alternative version. The live versions are all pretty similar, and have no important lyrics variations. Only the spoken intro differs. Check them out: 10 Aug 1972, 31 Oct 1973, 05 Feb 1975, 30 Dec 1975, 07 Apr 1976, 27 Oct 1976, 04 Nov 1976, 23 Mar 1977, 24 Mar 1977, 31 May 1978, 25 Jun 1978, 07 Jul 1978, 04 Aug 1978, 09 Aug 1978, 20 Aug 1984, 14 Sep 1984, 22 Sep 1992, 24 Sep 1999, 19 Feb 2003, and 22 Jun 2003.

Spoken intro on 05 Jul 1978 at The Forum, Los Angeles, CA:

Part 1: Professor!
I remember, one night, I was, I was coming in kinda late. And, and my father used to wait for me every night in the kitchen. And, and uh, he'd just be sitting there in the dark, you know, with a six pack of beer, drinking, waiting for me to come in, you know. And I remember I come in, slick my hair back real tight so it didn't look too long. And uh, he said "Bruce, sit down, I wanna talk to you for a while". So I sit down, you know. And we start talking. And then we'd always start yelling at each other. And pretty soon we'd be like "he" but not "we". He would be chasing me around the kitchen table, you know. And I never made it in the diningroom to be chased around the diningroom table. It was always like, I got in the first room, he chases me around the table, I'd run out the screen door, run outside, I got the street. And uh, I still don't know what the livingroom looks like in that house (chuckles). But I'm sure it was very nice (chuckles). But one night I was out, you know, I was feeling a little boomed out, I was feeling down, and uh, looked up in the sky, saw this star I never saw there before. And for just one moment, I remember it didn't last long, but for just one, one second...

Part 2: And, the other night, we went down that night. We saw the Buddy Holly Story. So it was, and it was funny because I could never picture Buddy Holly moving. You know, it was like, it was always like uh, like James Dean he's in the movies. So he was moving, you know (chuckles). The Buddy Holly. I always used to have a picture of him like standing there, you know. In the old bowtie and the guitar. So, I liked the picture because it made him a lot more, lot real, a lot more real for me, you know, made him lot more human for me and... I know it's funny because there was always this one scene in the movie that must've happened to everybody that played the guitar, did anything that they ever wanted to do against, you know, and the parents didn't want 'em to. They're sitting at the kitchen table, and uh, hell mother's going "Bobby, that guitar is ok for a hobby, but, you know, you really oughta think about doing something serious, you know" (chuckles). And like (chuckles), you know, that's what my mother and my mother and my sister they used to say to me. As I remember for the first, first two years I played guitar, my father could never even figure out what kinda guitar I was playing. You know, he used to like, he didn't know it was a Fender guitar or a Gibson. To him it was just a goddamn guitar. That's how he used to refer to it. His head stick in, "turn down that goddamn guitar", you know. He must've thought that everything in my room was the same make. He says "turn down that goddamn radio, take that goddamn record off that goddamn stereo". You know, "get up off that goddamn bed". How God could damn so many things in my room I could never figure out. But that was, was always funny, you know, like you know. You know, he didn't know like... I remember it was getting, it was getting late, you know, I was, think I was 18 or something, they were saying "listen, you gotta start thinking about doing something serious with yourself. The guitar is ok for a hobby but, but you need something to fall back on. You can do it on the weekends. You know, I think there's people in my office, they..." My mother'd say "there's people in my office, they play on the weekends, why can't you?" So, I said "well listen. You just better, what you should do..." My mother was very Italian, and uh, and still is (chuckles). She says "well you should", (chuckles) you know, and, "so what you should do, is you gotta talk to the priest. You go down to the rectory. I'm gonna call up Father Ray. You talk to the priest, you have a serious discussion about your future with him". I go "ah, ok, ok." Because my mother wanted me to, no... My father wanted me to be a lawyer, my mother wanted me to be an author. And they said "now, you go down and you talk to him about that, but you don't tell him nothing about that goddamn guitar." So I say "ok, ok, ok." So I went down to the rectory, you know, rang the bell, said "hey, Father Ray", you know ??? (chuckles). So he comes out, it was a nice summer day, we were walking around. And I was telling him, you know, "my mother wants me to be a lawyer, my father wants me to be a doctor, I like to play this guitar." He says "whoa, this is a lifelong decision. I don't really feel qualified to make this. You better talk to God about this. I'm gonna send you direct to Big Man", number one, it's like (chuckles). Number two, it's like (chuckles), it's like. "I'm gonna send you direct to the Big Man. You tell him about being a lawyer or an author," but he said "but you tell him nothing about that guitar." I said "ok, ok, fine." So I used to spend some time, I used to try to think what I'm gonna talk to God, where am I gonna talk to him. I can't talk to him in my bedroom because I don't know him that well, I don't go to church too much, it's too ???. Can't talk to him in church, figured I'd would let him get out of the house for a while. So me and Big Man, number one or two, this is alright (chuckles). He says "listen, you come with me in the car and I will take you out to this place called Crematory Hill which is supposed to be this indian burial ground, and at night in the dark down there, it's real peaceful, you can go up on the hill and talk to God, you'll get it straight." I said "ok". So we drove out there, and, he didn't tell me that it was like right next to the graveyard. It's midnight, spooky as hell. I go "Big Man, I'm not gonna go up there at night." He says "go on, you're the Boss, go on, get up there. Aren't you supposed to be so brave and tough?" (chuckles) "Get up on the hill". So I said "ok". So up the hill I go and I'm shaking and I'm scared as it could be, it was real dark. And finally I find a nice little spot, and I kneel down, you know. I'm looking up and there's, saw stars in the sky. And I say "God, my mother, she wants me to be an author, write great books, or at least, dirty novels and stuff" (chuckles), "that's better than Rock 'N' Roll, she thinks." (chuckles) "Then my father, he wants me to be a lawyer 'cause he says lawyers they own the world. But I don't think they do, you know". And, and, and it was real quiet ???. "I got this guitar I like to play." And it was real quiet for a real long time, and then there was some thunder (Max pounds the drums), and then there was some lightning (Max pounds the drums), little bit of lightning, please (Max pounds the drums)... And all I heard was this big voice saying "let it rock!"