TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME^©

Bruce Springstone's version

Nelly Kelly loved baseball games
She knew the players and all of their names
You could see her up there every day
Shouting "hurray" as they'd play
Her boy friend by the name of Joe
Said, "To Coney Island, dear, let's go"
So Nelly started to fret and pout
And to him I heard her shout

"Take me out to the ball game
Take me out with the crowd
Oh won't you buy me some peanuts and some cracker jack
Well I don't care if I never get back
Let me root, root, root for the home team
If they don't win it's a shame
Because it's one, two, three strikes, you're out
At the old ball game"

Mmmm, mmm

Well Nelly Kelly was sure some fan
She would root just like any man
Told the umpire he was wrong
All along, good and strong
So when the score was just two to two
Nelly Kelly knew just what to do
Well just to cheer up the boys she knew
She made the gang sing this song

"Take me out to the ball game
Take me out with the crowd
Oh won't you buy me some peanuts and some cracker jack
Well I don't care if I never get back (I don't care if I never get back)
Let me root, root, root for the home team
If they don't win it's a shame
Because it's one, two, three strikes, you're out
At the old ball game
At the old ball game
At the old ball game"

Strike one!
Strike two!
Strike three!
You're out!!!!

Page last updated: 03 Mar 2008

The above lyrics are for a TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME version recorded by the Bruce Springsteen parody group, Bruce Springstone. This version of the song is clearly sung in the style of Springsteen's ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT).

Bruce Springstone

Bruce Springstone was created in the spring of 1982 by Baltimore's Tom Chalkley (writer, cartoonist, and satirist) and Craig Hankin. According to Chalkley, the idea came from a party, during which he was singing a song in the style of Bruce. Convinced he should cut a record, he originally wanted to sing "New York, New York" the Bruce way.

The Bruce Springstone: Live At Bedrock single was released in September 1982 on Clean Cuts Records. The A-side is BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES, a Bruce Springsteen parody singing The Flintstones theme. Check out BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES for more info.

The front cover is a parody of the Born To Run album, picturing Fred as Bruce and Dino as Clarence.

Upon it's release, many rock and college radio stations played the record to fool their audiences, and it is reported that it did fool a lot of people. Bruce Springsteen sent a postcard to Tom Chalkley saying: "Heard your record. Cute."

Cartoon makers Hanna-Barbara had a problem. They approved the use of "Meet The Flintstones", but they were against the sleeve artwork. After selling some 35,000 copies, Hanna-Barbara pulled the plug with a cease-and-desist order. Tom Chalkley wrote three other songs for Bruce Springstone -- "Cave Girl," "I'm On Ice," and "Ugga Bugga" -- but none of them made it to record under Bruce Springstone.

Credits: Tom Chalkley - lead vocals Gabor Lutor - bass Ron Holloway - saxophone John Ebersbergr - drums, glockenspiel, vocals Craig Hankin - rhythm guitar Suzy Shaw - keyboards Tommy Keene - lead guitar Arranged by Craig Hankin and Tom Chalkley Produced by Jack Heyrman Engineered by Steve Carr at Hit & Run Studios, Rockville, MD Front cover art by John Ebersbergr Back cover art by Tom Chalkley

Official releases

The Live At Bedrock single was released on both 7" and 12" formats:

• Bruce Springstone -- Live At Bedrock
  7" single - USA, Sep 1982 - Clean Cuts (CC902)
  
  
   
• Bruce Springstone -- Live At Bedrock
  12" single - USA, Sep 1982 - Clean Cuts (CC1202)
  
  

Bruce Springstone's TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME was also released on several compilations on Rhino Records:

• Various artists -- Baseball's Greatest Hits
  LP - USA, 1989 - Rhino (R11h 70710)
  CD - USA, 1989 - Rhino (R21S 70710)
  
  
   
• Various artists -- Baseball Hits
  CD - USA, 2001 - Rhino Flashback (???)
  
  

Available Versions

List of available versions of TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME on this website:

• Live 13 Jun 1973 version
• Original version
• Bruce Springstone's version

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Info about some of the above official releases are taken from the Nebraska website.

Request

In 1994, Bruce Springstone: Live At Bedrock Suzy Shaw keyboard player Suzy Shaw wrote "The Bruce Springstone Story" for Backstreets Magazine issue #48. If you have that issue, please contact me via the below form or by email: . Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are also welcome. You will be credited. Thanks in advance.