SONG TO ORPHANS^©

Live 09 Jan 1973 version

The multitude assembled and tried to make a noise
Them black blind poet generals and restless loud white boys
But time's grew thin and the axis was left somehow incomplete
Where instead of child lions, they found agein' junkie sheep

And how many wasted have I seen signed "Hollywood or bust"
Oh left to ride them ever ghostly Arizona gusts
Cheerleader tramps and kids with big amps soundin' helpless in the void
Oh high society vamps and ex-heavyweight champs mistakin' soot for soil

Oh so break me now big Mama as Old Faithful breaks the day
Believe me my good Linda, help she's on the way
The confederacy's in my name now, them hounds are held at bay
The axis needs a stronger arm, do you feel your muscle play

Well the doorstep blanket weaver, Donna she pushes bells
From house to house to house I see her givin' last kisses and wishin' well
To every gypsy mystic and all-star that the kids might find a place
Who've been lost for ever true fathers on their time travels out in the space

Oh and the sons they search for fathers, but the fathers are all gone
The lost souls search for saviours, but saviours don't last long
Them aimless questless renegade brats who live their lives in songs
They run the length of a candle, and in a goodnight whisper and a puff they're gone

Oh so break me now big Mama as Old Faithful she breaks the day
Believe me my good Linda, yes help is on the way
The Confederacy's in my name now, them hounds are held at bay
The axis needs a stronger arm, do you feel your muscles play

Well now the missions are filled with hermits and they're all lookin' for a friend
And the terraces are filled with cat-men lookin' for a way in
These orphans lost up on silver mountains, jumped, jumped in alleyways
They wait for that old tramp Dog Man Moses, he takes in all the strays

And he told me, "don't grow on empty legends or lonely cradle songs
Because Billy the Kid was just a bowery boy who made a living twirlin' his guns
And the night she's long, she's lanky, and she speaks in a mother tongue"
And he lullabied the refugees with an amplifier's hum

And we could break us now big Mama as Old Faithful she breaks the day
Oh and leave me now good Linda, the aurora will shine your way
The Confederacy's in my name now, them hounds are held at bay
The axis needs a stronger arm, do you feel your muscle play
The Confederacy's in my name now, them hounds are held at bay
The axis needs a stronger arm, do you feel your muscles play

Oh da da da dada
Da da da da da da
Hmmm

Page last updated: 10 Sep 2007

The above lyrics are for the live 09 Jan 1973 performance at WBCN-FM radio studio, Boston, MA, during Bruce's first ever radio station performance. The show was hosted by the legendary DJ Maxanne Sartori who worked the afternoon shift at WBCN in the eraly '70s.

The radio show was recorded off the airways and is available in very good quality on the bootleg CDs Bound For Glory (Flamingo Records) and WBCN Studios 1973 (Great Dane Records). Unfortunately, this recording is missing nearly all of the last track of the show (BLINDED BY THE LIGHT) plus some concluding discussions about Bruce's upcoming tour plans. According to Brucebase, allegedly a complete (but poor quality) tape of the show was circulating briefly in the Boston area during the mid-70s, but it seems to have vanished from the tape trading pool. This is the earliest circulating "live" audio with the E Street Band.

The above lyrics are for the live 09 Jan 1973 performance at WBCN-FM radio studio, Boston, MA. Check out also the other available versions of this song (minor lyrics variations):

• Studio version (more details)
• Live 09 Jan 1973 version
• Live 31 Jan 1973 version
• Live 21 Nov 2005 version

Spoken intro to SONG TO ORPHANS [Live 09 Jan 1973 version]:

Let's do uh... a slow song. I'll do this, I'll do one by myself. Huh.

Spoken outro to SONG TO ORPHANS [Live 09 Jan 1973 version]:

That's w here the radio guy does the fade out [chuckles].