ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [Live 08 Jul 1978 version]

Spread out now, Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mama's reins
You know playin' blind man's bluff is a little baby's game
You pick up Little Dynamite, I'm gonna pick up Little Gun
Together we're gonna go out tonight, make that highway run
You don't have to call me lieutenant, Rosie, I don't want to be your son
The only lover I'm ever gonna need's your soft sweet little girl's tongue
You're the one!

Dynamite's in the belfry, baby, playin' with the bats
Little Gun's downtown in front of Woolworth's, tryin' out his attitude on all the cats
Papa's on the corner, waitin' for the bus
Mama's home in the window, waitin' up there for us
She'll be there in that chair when they wrestle her upstairs, you know we ain't gonna come
I ain't here on business, only here for fun
So, hey!

Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire
All right!

Jack the Rabbit, Weak Knees Willie, you know they're gonna be there
Gonna be Sloppy Sue, Big Bones Billy, they're comin' up for air
Gonna play some pool, skip some school, act real cool
Stay out all night, it's gonna feel all right
Rosie, come out tonight, come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Closets are for hangers, winners use the door!

Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire

You guys are dangerous down here tonight!

Hey!

One, two, three, four!

[Spoken:] On the keyboards, Professor Roy Bittan! On the guitar, Miami Steve Van Zandt! On the bass guitar, Mr. Garry W. Tallent! On the drums, The Mighty Max! On the organ, Phantom Dan Federici! And last but not least, vrrggh! The King of the World! The Master of Disaster! The Big Man, Clarence Clemons!

Bring it up!

I know your mama, she don't like me 'cause I play in a rock and roll band
I know your pop don't dig me, he never did understand
Papa lowered the boom, locked you in your room
Coming to lend a hand
Riding to liberate you, confiscate you, I want to be your man
Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny, la, la, la
Now you're sad, mama's mad
Papa says he knows (that I don't have any money)
(Papa says he knows that I don't have any money)
Say!
(Your papa says he knows that I don't have any money)

This is his last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance
The record company, Rosie, gave me a big advance!
My tires were slashed, I almost crashed, the Lord had mercy
My machine, she's a dud, out stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Hold on tight, stay up all night, Rosie, I'm comin' on strong
By the time we meet the morning light, I will hold you in my arms
I know a pretty little place in Southern California down San Diego way
A little café, they play guitars all night and day
You can hear 'em in the back room strummin'
Hold tight, baby, don't you know I'm comin'
Everybody say—Phoenix!
Ohhhhh!
Whoa!

Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire

(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!)

Hey!

[Spoken outro:] You guys ain't kidding! That girl almost put out my front tooth! Whoa! The E Street Band! The Big Man! Your goddamn selves!

Page last updated: 27 May 2012

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 07 Jul 1978 performance of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, AZ, during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement and featured band introductions in the midsection.

Part of this show was filmed in 35mm by director Arnold Levine. Videos of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT), PROVE IT ALL NIGHT, and BADLANDS were originally released promotionally. ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT), which was the most widely distributed among the three, was later released commercially in an edited form (above lyrics in red edited out) on Springsteen's Video Anthology / 1978-88 home video in 1989 (read below) and in an unedited form on the Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978 DVD in 2010 (read below).

Popularity of Music Video

The promotional video for ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) (the live 08 Jul 1978 performance in Phoenix, AZ) first appeared in the United States on the Heroes of Rock and Roll documentary, directed by Malcolm Leo and narrated by Jeff Bridges. The documentary debuted on ABC-TV on 09 Feb 1979 in prime time, and was exposed to a large audience and received many favorable reviews. The documentary was re-broadcast again by ABC-TV later in 1979, and was also shown on TV networks overseas.

Despite having two successful albums under his belt at the time, there was no Springsteen video available to the numerous TV network music video shows that were emerging in countries around the world. This was the early dawn of the music video era, so CBS made the live ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) video clip available to these types of TV shows in key Springsteen markets as a promo-only video – a viable commercial market for music videos was still several years away.

Probably the first notable TV music show host to support and play Springsteen's ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) video was Molly Meldrum on his legendary Countdown TV show in Australia. Meldrum first broadcast the clip on Countdown in March 1979 and he used to play it frequently during the 1979-1982 period when no other clips from Springsteen were available. The same kind of thing happened in 1979 in the strongest Springsteen markets in Europe. MTV also showed the clip in the early eighties – it debuted on 16 May 1984 on MTV according to an article by Christopher Phillips in the Spring 1999 issue of Backstreets magazine.

To capitalize on the sudden emergence and popularity of the music video in Europe, CBS released the album version of the song as a single in 1979 in Holland. They also included it on two UK EPs, in 1981 and 1985. See the album version for detailed releases.

The music video occupies the #71 spot on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Top Music Videos" which was compiled in 1993.

Video Anthology Home Video

Video Anthology / 1978-88 is a collection of 18 Bruce Springsteen music videos and concert performances, released in VHS format on 31 Jan 1989. The home video was also released on LaserDisc.

Video Anthology / 1978-88 track list (VHS format):

ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [live 08 Jul 1978] – originally released in 1978, directed by Arnold Levine
THE RIVER [live 22 Sep 2979] – originally released in 1980, directed by Danny Goldberg, Julian Schlossberg, Anthony Potenza
THUNDER ROAD [live 22 Sep 2979] – originally released in 1980, directed by Danny Goldberg, Julian Schlossberg, Anthony Potenza
ATLANTIC CITY – originally released in 1982, directed by Arnold Levine
DANCING IN THE DARK – originally released in 1984, directed by Brian De Palma
BORN IN THE USA – originally released in 1984, directed by John Sayles
I'M ON FIRE – originally released in 1985, directed by John Sayles
GLORY DAYS – originally released in 1985, directed by John Sayles
MY HOMETOWN [live 30 Sep 1985] – originally released in 1985, directed by Arthur Rosato
WAR [live 30 Sep 1985] – originally released in 1986, directed by Arthur Rosato
FIRE [live 13 Oct 1986] – originally released in 1986
BORN TO RUN [live 19 Aug 1984] – originally released in 1987, directed by Arthur Rosato
BRILLIANT DISGUISE – originally released in 1987, directed by Meiert Avis
TUNNEL OF LOVE – originally released in 1987, directed by Meiert Avis
ONE STEP UP – originally released in 1988, directed by Meiert Avis
TOUGHER THAN THE REST [live 27 Apr 1988] – originally released in1988, directed by Meiert Avis
SPARE PARTS [live 10 Jul 1988] – originally released in 1988, directed by Carol Dodds
BORN TO RUN [live 27 Apr 1988] – originally released in 1988, directed by Meiert Avis

Video Anthology / 1978-88 track list (LaserDisc format):

First 10 tracks on side 1, and remaining 8 tracks on side 2.

Sonny reissued the video on 16 Jan 2001 in DVD format. Titled The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000, the new release added a second disc with 15 additional music video, concert performances, and television appearances.

The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000 disc 1 track list:

Video Anthology / 1978-88

The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000 disc 2 track list:

HUMAN TOUCH – originally released in 1992, directed by Meiert Avis
BETTER DAYS – originally released in 1992, directed by Meiert Avis
57 CHANNELS (AND NOTHIN' ON) – originally released in 1992, directed by Adam Bernstein
LEAP OF FAITH [live 06 Aug 1992] – originally released in 1992, directed by Meiert Avis
STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA – originally released in 1993, directed by Jonathan Demme and Ted Demme
MURDER INCORPORATED – originally released in 1995, directed by Jonathan Demme
SECRET GARDEN – originally released in 1995, directed by Peter Care
HUNGRY HEART [live 09 Jul 1995] – originally released in 1995, directed by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher
DEAD MAN WALKIN' – originally released in 1196, directed by Tim Robbins
THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD – originally released in 1996, directed by Arnold Levine
THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD [live 27 Nov 1995] – from The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN – previously unreleased, directed by Sean Penn
IF I SHOULD FALL BEHIND [live 26 Jun 2000] – previously unreleased, directed by Jonathan Demme
BORN IN THE USA [live 20 Nov 1998 ] – from The Charlie Rose Show
LIFT ME UP – audio only, plays over end credits
SECRET GARDEN [with Strings] – previously unreleased, directed by Peter Care

Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978

Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978 is a collection of archival footage from Springsteen's personal vault that was released on 16 Nov 2010 exclusively as part of the The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set, in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats. The video clocks at about 56 minutes, and is combined with Darkness On The Edge Of Town: Paramount Theater, Asbury Park 2009 on one disc.

Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978 consists of an about-an-hour's worth of home rehearsals footage from 1976, studio sessions footage from 1978, and live in concert footage from 1978. It was produced and edited by Emmy- and Grammy-winner Thom Zimny and the audio for the live 1978 footage and some of the 1978 studio footage was mixed by Bob Ludwig. Zimny re-edited the 1978 concert footage making use of previously unseen camera angles. The home rehearsals and studio session footage was originally produced and directed by Barry Rebo, while the live in concert footage was originally directed by Arnold Levine.

SAVE MY LOVE [Holmdel, NJ 76]
CANDY'S BOY [Holmdel, NJ 76]
SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT [Red Bank, NJ 76]
DON'T LOOK BACK [NYC 78]
AIN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU [NYC 78]
THE PROMISE [NYC 78]
CANDY'S ROOM [demo, NYC 78]
BADLANDS [Phoenix 78]
THE PROMISED LAND [Phoenix 78]
PROVE IT ALL NIGHT [Phoenix 78]
BORN TO RUN [Phoenix 78]
ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [Phoenix 78]

Other Official Releases

In addition to its release on the Video Anthology home video and Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978 DVD, unedited video for the live 08 Jul 1978 performance of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) was also included on The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 1, a 2003 DVD compiling interviews and performances from several artists who appeared on the BBC2 show The Old Grey Whistle Test during its 16-year run (1971-1987). Springsteen's episode first aired aired on 22 Dec 1984.

Available Versions

Credits

Request

Please contact me if you know about any official release containing the live 08 Jul 1978 version of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) that's not mentioned on this page. Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are welcome. You can contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.

ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)

Live 08 Jul 1978 version