TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME

Tracks version

...Four One Two Three Four
Last night I dreamed we was running through the outlands
Tears streaming, your pretty face all a wreck
(I held your daddy's gun in my tremblin' hands)
And down the highway another stranger comes
You gotta take 'em baby when they come

Little girl put on your best dress
'Cause we're goin' out on the town tonight
(Better bring along your switchblade)
'Cause for sure some fool's gonna wanna fight*
You've got to take 'em baby as they come

You gotta take 'em, take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em baby as they come

God save the rider in the black night
Save the man who taught that it was right
To do what they have done
To become what we have become
You gotta take 'em baby when they come
Little girl, gone are the days
Faded away into a clear blue night
And all the vows that we made
Lie shattered and broken in the morning light
You gotta take 'em baby when they come

You gotta take 'em, take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em baby as they come

I know your heart is breaking
I can feel it too, girl
Though my finger on the trigger's shakin'
Here I swear to you, girl
If I could take all your sorrow so that you'd never cry, girl, or be blue
(Come tomorrow, girl)
That's what I'd do for you, pretty one
I swear I'll take 'em baby when they come

You gotta take 'em, take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em baby as they come

You gotta take 'em, take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em as they come, girl
Take 'em baby as they come
Take 'em baby as they come
Take 'em baby as they come
Take 'em baby as they come
Take 'em baby as they come

The River outtake released on Tracks in 1998. The above lyrics are for the version released on Tracks. It was recorded on 10 Apr 1980 at The Power Station in New York City, NY.

See also outtake version 1 and outtake version 2.

* This line appears also in some early live version of SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT.
** Very similar to the first verse in JANEY DON'T YOU LOSE HEART.