TALKING TO THE KING

Live Oct 1995 version

Woke up from a dream took a walk downstairs
That's when I saw him standing there
I swore I heard you down here singing
And next thing you know I was talking to the King

I was talking to the King in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land

There are so many questions that I'd like to ask
He said go ahead and started to laugh
I lost a few pounds and quit dyeing my hair
I'm keeping clean there ain't no pills up there
But one thing I miss is a place to sing in
I grabbed my guitar and started jamming with the King

I was jamming with the King in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land, come on!
Talking to the King
Talking to the King

You better be careful or you'll lose everything
It ain't no fun to be a king
You make me mad when you start to complain
You should be glad nobody knows your name
You got two lovely kids and a wife at home
And I died alone on my throne
Sometimes I think I sold my soul
To become the King of rock and roll!

I was talking to the king in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land

I was talking to the king in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land
You got two lovely kids and a wife at home
And I died alone on my throne
Sometimes I think I sold my soul
To become the King of rock and roll!

King, in the promised land
He just flew in for a one night stand
All dressed in leather, guitar in his hand
I was talking to the King in the promised land, oh!
Talking to the King
Talking to the King in the promised land
Talking to the King
Talking to the King in the promised land, alright
Talking to the King
Talking to the King
Talking to the King
Talking to the King

Pump it, boys!

Page last updated: 15 Jan 2012

Intro

TALKING TO THE KING is a song by Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers who released it in 1992. See the Original Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers version for more details.

The above lyrics are transcribed from a live version of TALKING TO THE KING recorded on 20 or 21 Oct 1995 at Nick's Fat City in Pittsburgh, PA, during Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers' October Assault Tour. See the "Live History" section below for more details. Springsteen plays guitar and sings harmony vocals on this track.

Official Releases

Joe Grushecky released two UK-only CD EPs in 1996, Labour Of Love (cat# PLR007-3) and Labour Of Love (Live) (cat# PLR007-5). The pair contain in total five live recordings from the 20 and 21 Oct 1995 October Assault Tour shows plus one studio cut from American Babylon. A live recording of TALKING TO THE KING (from one of the two Pittsburgh gigs, 20 or 21 Oct 1995) was included on the second EP, Labour Of Love.

Along with other recordings from the same two Pittsburgh shows, TALKING TO THE KING was also released in 1999 on the Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers live album Down The Road Apiece Live, and in 2009 on October Assault 1995, Nick's Fat City, Pittsburgh, PA, a bonus CD included with the documentary DVD A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story.

Live History

In October 1995, Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers kicked off the release of their American Babylon album with a six-stop tour dubbed the "October Assault." Introduced as "honorary Houserocker of the week" on the first night, Springsteen joined the band for the majority of the set on all six dates, playing guitar and sharing vocals with Grushecky. At each show, Springsteen came out for American Babylon's WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR and remained on stage for the rest of the set. TALKING TO THE KING was performed every night during the Springsteen portion of the set, always right after WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR.

[Click here to display/hide detailed October Assault Tour performances list]

TALKING TO THE KING was performed during the first (2000), second (2001), fourth (2003), fifth (2004), seventh (2006), tenth (2010), eleventh (2011), and twelfth (2012) annual Light Of Day benefits. The song was played with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Light Of Day benefits shows performances list]

Springsteen also performed TALKING TO THE KING on several other occasions from 1998 onwards.

[Click here to display/hide detailed remaining performances list]

Available Versions

List of available versions of TALKING TO THE KING on this website:

• Live Oct 1995 version
• Original Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers version

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help and Frederic Clair for the Labour Of Love EP scan.

Info about the October Assault Tour is taken from Backstreets magazine issue #50/51.

Request

If you know the exact date for this live recording of TALKING TO THE KING, or if you have any corrections or additional info, please contact me via the below form or by email: . You will be credited. Thanks in advance.

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