IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY

Album's version

I had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra
I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova
I could walk like Brando right into the sun
Dance just like a Casanova
With my blackjack and jacket and hair slicked sweet
Silver star studs on my duds like a Harley in heat
When I strut down the street I could feel its heartbeat
The sisters fell back said, "Don't that man look pretty."
The cripple on the corner cried out "Nickels for your pity."
Them gasoline boys downtown sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

I was the king of the alley, mama, I could talk some trash
I was the prince of the paupers crowned downtown at the beggar's bash
I was the pimp's main prophet I kept everything cool
Just a backstreet gambler with the luck to lose
And when the heat came down and it was left on the ground
The devil appeared like Jesus through the steam in the street
Showin' me a hand I knew even the cops couldn't beat
I felt his hot breath on my neck as I dove into the heat
It's so hard to be a saint when you're just a boy out on the street

And the sages of the subway sit just like the living dead
As the tracks clack out the rhythm, their eyes fixed straight ahead
They ride the line of balance and hold on by just a thread
But it's too hot in these tunnels you can get hit up by the heat
You get up to get out at your next stop but they push you back down in your seat
Your heart starts beatin' faster as you struggle to your feet
Then you're outa that hole back up on the street

And them South Side sisters sure look pretty
The cripple on the corner cries out, "Nickels for your pity."
Them downtown boys they sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

Published on Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, massively played until the end of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town tour, two appearances in The River tour, in Sep 1981, resurrected 17 years later during The Ghost Of Tom Joad tour on 25 Nov 1996, in the Asbury Park shows and then on. Two renderings in the Reunion tour. Exists also on the 1997 tribute album One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen, performed by David Bowie. This is the album's version. Check also the Tracks version, alternative version 1, and alternative version 2.

Bruce's streetwise, edge of society backround oozes through the lyrics of this track. This song announces his arrival, and confirms the reasons for why he belongs in the rock world.

Liner notes from the One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen tribute booklet:

Springsteen came down to hear what we were doing with his stuff. He was very shy. I remember sitting in the corridor with him, talking about his lifestyle, which was a very Dylanesque - you know, moving from town to town with a guitar on his back, all that kind of thing. Anyway, he didn't like what we were doing, I remember that. At least, he didn't express much enthusiasm. I guess he must have thought it was all kind of odd. I was in another universe at the time. I've got this extraordinarily strange photograph of us all - I look like I'm made out of wax.

-David Bowie