Bruce Springsteen Tribute - Lebanese Tribute to Bruce Springsteen

THUNDER ROAD^©

Live 18 Oct 1975 version

The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone
Don't run back inside, darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Well show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain for a saviour to rise from these streets
Well now I'm no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's bustin' open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, heaven's waiting down on the tracks

And it's oh-oh come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
It's lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late but we can make it if we run
Oh oh oh Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride it ain't free
I know you're lonely in those words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free, all the promises will be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
From your room you hear their engines roar on
But when you get to the porch they're gone on the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling outta here to win

Hoo-hoo
Ho-whoa
Whoa-whoa
Hmm-hmm

Page last updated: 11 Sep 2007

The above lyrics are for the 18 Oct 1975 (early show) performance at The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA, during the Born To Run Tour. THUNDER ROAD was acoustic opener of the show, with Springsteen singing over Roy Bittan's piano, and playing harmonica during the intro and the outro.

The 18 Oct 1975 early show was filmed by Arnold Levine Productions on behalf of Mike Appel and Laurel Canyon. Bruce Springsteen now controls the footage, but none of it has ever been published or seen.

Shortly after the mammoth Born In The USA Tour ended, Springsteen decided to start working on a live album in Nov 1985. Him and his manager and co-producer, Jon Landau, began combing through concert tapes and came upon a stark voice-and-piano version of THUNDER ROAD from the 18 Oct 1975 early show at the Roxy. They felt they could make what biographer Dave Marsh described as something that "wouldn't be a live album or a greatest hits album so much as the next Bruce Springsteen album."

That performance of THUNDER ROAD was released on the Live 1975-85 box set on 10 Nov 1986. It's the opener of the box set, and it was the only song from that show (and the only song from 1975) that was included.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- Live 1975-85

This live 18 Oct 1975 version of THUNDER ROAD would appear on several official samplers (info and scans for the below samplers are taken from the Lost In The Flood website):

The "Live" / The Legend Comes Alive
A 1986 Japan-only promotional release compiling 10 tracks from the Live 1975-85 box set
- Vinyl LP - Japan, 1986 - catalogue # CBS/SONY XDAP 93156
- Cassette - Japan, 1986 - catalogue # CBS/SONY XDKP 93022
The cassette version is an ultra-scarce collectable compared to the more common vinyl LP version

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- The "Live" / The Legend Comes Alive (LP)

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live
A 1986 single LP sampler compiling 10 tracks from the Live 1975-85 box set
- Vinyl LP - Argentina, 1986 - catalogue # CBS 70.015
- Cassette - Argentina, 1986 - catalogue # CBS 170015
- Cassette - Uruguay, 1986 - catalogue # CBS 8283-4

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live (LP)

Ao Vivo
Brazil-only release compiling 10 tracks from the Live 1975-85 box set
- Vinyl LP - Brazil, 1986 - catalogue # CBS/SUPER LUXO 177127/1-464061
- Cassette - Brazil, 1986 - catalogue # CBS 77.127
- CD - Brazil, 1998 - catalogue # COL 700.268/2-464061
Promo copies of the vinyl version were gold stamped on the back. The CD version has identical artwork to the LP version, and was available as an import item in many European countries. A "Master Songs" cardboard slipcase version which doesn't seem to have been distributed outside of Brazil (pictured below-right) exists as well.

Bruce Springsteen -- Ao Vivo (LP)

En Vivo
Same tracks and overall packaging as Ao Vivo, but this Venezuelan pressing is much rarer and was not reissued on CD
- Vinyl LP - Venezuela, 1986 - catalogue # CBS CS-10624
Promo copies were gold stamped on the back

Bruce Springsteen -- En Vivo

The Future Of Rock'n'Roll / 70's To 80's
Impossibly rare Japan-only promotional release compiling an impressive 28 tracks from Bruce's first nine albums plus two 1988 live B-sides. This is the scarcest of all Springsteen promo CD's.
- 2-CD - Japan, 1988 - catalogue # CBS/SONY XADP 90009-10

Bruce Springsteen -- The Future Of Rock'n'Roll / 70's To 80's

Live 1975-85 Digest CD
Japan-only promotional CDR advance sampler tying in with the 2005 "mini-LP"-style CD reissue of Live 1975-85.
- CD - Japan, 2005 - catalogue # SONY (no catalogue number)

Bruce Springsteen -- Live 1975-85 Digest CD

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band PBS Exclusive
US-only promotional sampler exclusively available to donors supporting the "Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)" programming with a $ 60 "pledge"; contains seven live tracks compiled off the Live 1975-85 box set, the Live In New York City album, and the Live In Barcelona DVD.
- CD - USA, 2005 - catalogue # COL 82876 75932 2

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- PBS Exclusive

Track credits:
Bruce Springsteen: vocals, harmonica
Roy Bittan: piano

List of available versions of YOUNGSTOWN on this website:

THUNDER ROAD©

Live 18 Oct 1975 version

Page last updated: 11 Sep 2007

THUNDER ROAD^©