IDIOT'S DELIGHT^©

Live 12 Oct 2005 version

Well I met up with St. Peter, he was working at the pearly gates
He said I can't let you in right now, boy, you have to wait
Sit back and take it easy, and kick off both your shoes
And grab yourself a beer right now while I watch the evening news

Yeah the jackals leave here laughing as they slip into the night
How did something so beautiful turn into an idiot's delight

He said what makes them all so stupid, oh, what I cannot tell
Maybe I should go down there now and show them just a little hell
But would they get the message, would anybody learn
That such a might effort for such a small return

Well the jackals leave here laughing as they slip into the night
How did something so beautiful turn into an idiot's delight

He said sometimes I get so angry, my blood begins to boil
I must of put my seed into some kind of mutant soil
They don't understand a thing, they ain't got no respect
But they sure do keep me laughing, so what the heck

Well the jackals leave here laughing as they slip into the night
How did something so beautiful turn into an idiot's delight

The jackals leave here laughing as they slip into the night
How did something so beautiful turn into an idiot's delight, delight, delight, delight

Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers' 1997 album Coming Home included four tracks co-written by Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky:

• I'M NOT SLEEPING
• CHEAP MOTEL
• 1945
• IDIOT'S DELIGHT

Known to be performed live 3 times with Joe Grushecky:

• 02 Mar 1998 at Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA
• 25 Apr 2000 at the Civic Center, Pittsburgh, PA, during the Reunion tour
• 06 Nov 2004 at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, during the fifth annual Light Of Day Benefit

Also performed 10 times during the Devils & Dust tour, all in Oct 2005 and on bullet microphone:

• 04 Oct 2005 at Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ (read below)
• 06 Oct 2005 at Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, NY
• 07 Oct 2005 at Civic Center, Hartford, CT
• 09 Oct 2005 at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
• 12 Oct 2005 at Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN
• 13 Oct 2005 at United Center, Chicago, IL
• 15 Oct 2005 at Dane County Arena, Madison, WI
• 20 Oct 2005 at DCU Center, Worcester, MA
• 21 Oct 2005 at Dunkin Donuts center, Providence, RI
• 28 Oct 2005 at TD Bank North Garden, Boston, MA

The above lyrics refer to Springsteen's 12 Oct 2005 performance at Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN. Check out Grushecky's album version.

From Backstreet.com about the 04 Oct 2005 show at the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ:

[...] With his hair slicked back, Springsteen dressed casually in a denim shirt and the show had a workman-like feel to it. Opening with the obscure "Idiot's Delight," a song he co-wrote with Joe Grushecky that appears on Grushecky's Coming Home CD, Springsteen obscured it even more by singing the lyrically topical tune into his "Reason to Believe" bullet microphone [...]