GROWIN' UP^©

Live 09 Aug 1978 version

[spoken intro part 1]

I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
I combed my hair till it looked just right and commanded the night brigade, hey!
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain, I walked on a crooked crutch
Well I strolled all alone through a fallout zone, came out with my soul untouched
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 couldn't sail but she sure could sing
Well I pushed B-52, bombed 'em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing
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! Assist me

[spoken intro part 2]

Well 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, got me a nice little place in the stars
I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
Well I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood
Ooooh, growin' up
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Growin' up
Say!

Cleveland Boys!
One, two!

These lyrics refer to the live 09 Aug 1978 performance at The Agora, Cleveland, OH.

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, 05 Jul 1978, 07 Jul 1978, 04 Aug 1978, 20 Aug 1984, 14 Sep 1984, 22 Sep 1992, 24 Sep 1999, 19 Feb 2003, and 22 Jun 2003.

Spoken intro on 09 Aug 1978 at The Agora, Cleveland, OH:

Part 1: I wrote this song in 1971, I think. Roy!
It was, it was, I remember I was 12 years old. One... And I was going to this Catholic school and I got sent home for pissing in my desk. Obviously, a popular pastime, right? (chuckles) And the sisters told my mother that I needed psychiatric attention (chuckles). And so my mother, the only people that were more scared of nuns than the kids was the parents. And you know, I kinda remember my old man and my old lady, they were terrified of them sisters. So downtown they take me to this doc. And uh, I'm sitting down there on the couch and he says "son, how did you get this way?" And I thought about it and I said "doc, I'm glad you asked because up to now I've kept it a secret, but the fact was I was a teenage werewolf." I said "doc, I was standing out on the street. I remember it was midnight. I looked up, it was a full moon. Felt this hair growing all over my face, felt my fingers get longer and my nails pop out, and a guitar pop out of my left side. My pants got tighter, my hair got longer, and a man with a cigar come up and stung me on the ass. And (chuckles), and all of a sudden, in one moment I looked up and there was this light, and for just one second...

Part 2: And I remember, it was years later. I grew up, I came home from high school one day. The old man's sitting at the kitchen table with the old lady, and they're looking pretty serious. (Clarence: they said "son, sit down, please") So I knew I was in trouble as they called me "son". The other stuff they used to call me I can't say over the radio (chuckles). But uh (chuckles), so, anyway, I sit down, and my mother, she does the talking, she's the Italian, right? She says "it's time, we decided, me and your father, we decided you gotta stop fooling around with yourself". How'd they know what I was doing in my room at night? They said "you gotta get serious, it's right (chuckles), it's uh, it's time that you put that guitar down, that thing's ok for a hobby but you're never gonna get anyplace with that". And my father said "you should be a lawyer because lawyers, they own the world". And my mother, she said "you should be an author, you should write books". So, they said "but we decided this is too big a decision, what you gotta do, you gotta go over to the rectory, you gotta talk to Father Ray about your vocation, we set up an appointment, you gotta go over there in an hour". 'Cause that was the thing I used to have to do in those days. So I go over to the rectory... Oop, before I went over there, my father says "now when you go talk to the priest, you tell him you wanna be a lawyer, you tell him you, you wanna be an author but don't you tell him nothing about that goddamn guitar". I said "ok, ok". I go over to the priest's house. I ring on the doorbell, "Father Ray, this is Mr. Springsteen's son, I've come to talk to you about my vocation". So he comes out and we start walking around the church and uh, they all, the priests in those days, they all had like illusions of "The Bells Of Saint Mary". They'd seen that movie too many times or something. They're all doing Patrick O'Brien, is that his name? Pat O'Brien imitations. And like, we talked for a while and he says "listen, I decided that this decision is too big for me to make. What you gotta do, you gotta go direct to God, you gotta talk to God about this. Now you tell him you wanna be a lawyer. You tell Him you wanna be an author. (a woman from the crowd yells) But don't tell him nothing about being, what? An interior decorator? (chuckles) That's you? (chuckles) But don't you tell him nothing about that goddamn guitar" I said "ok, ok". So I figured I gotta go see God and all I have to go see him in was my mother's Rambler. Was all beat up, all smashed up, paint scraped off the side. So I drive over to Clarence's house. I say "Clarence, I got the word, I gotta go see God tonight". He says "you can't go in that car". "So what do you mean I can't go in this, it's the only car I got". He says "naw, that thing's, thing's ugly as hell, it's like... You think he's gonna see you in that car? There's gonna be guys up there with Monte Carlos, Lincolns, Continentals, you think he's gonna notice you?" So I said "ok, ok". So I went down to Earl Shieb. At the time it was 39.95. I went by the other day, I seen that Earl's since upped it 10 bucks (chuckles). But anyway, he does the car, midnight blue, I leave the windows down. He does the interior for free. Ah, if I had my brother in the back seat, he had done him free of charge too, it's right (chuckles). Anyway, me and Clarence we drive out to see God. Clarence says he knows where he is. So we get out there and I don't see nothing but this dark hill next to this cemetery. I say "Clarence uh, are you sure he's up there?" "You sure it ain't (chuckles), you sure it ain't, you sure it ain't the other guy? This is the right place?" And while I'm up there what? ask him about? (Clarence: My Nakamichi*) The tape player that (Clarence: yeah) somebody stole out of your room". So I had these two big questions that I'd ask, about Clarence's tape player and what I'm gonna do with my life. So up the hill I go and it's dark and it's scary. All these noises coming out of the woods. And when I got to the top I realized that the place was packed. There was people all over the place. I'm walking around. I bump into Kid Leo. I go "Kid, what are you doing?". He says "praying for more watts. I gotta blast this baby all the way to New Jersey". Crazy man up there. So I find myself a quiet place, I kneel down. I say "God, my father wants me to be a lawyer, my mother wants me to be an author, but I got this guitar, you see?" And all of a sudden, heard this thunder (Max pounds the drums), seen this lightning coming out of the sky, it was real quiet for a while, and then I heard just three words "Let it rock!"

[* Nakamichi is a high quality Japanese electronics brand]