THUNDER ROAD^©

Live 05 Apr 1995 version

The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways
And like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey it's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Well don't you 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, hey!
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 I'm no hero, that's understood
And all the redemption I can offer 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
For 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

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

Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk*
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, those words that I ain't spoken
But tonight girl, 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
In the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
When you get to the porch they're gone on the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers, we're pulling outta here to win

Page last updated: 11 Sep 2007

The above lyrics are for the live 05 Apr 1995 performance with the E Street Band at Sony Studios, New York City, NY. This show was video taped in front of a small audience, and some of the footage was later broadcast internationally to promote the Greatest Hits album.

* This line is followed by a quick but heavy guitar riff.

Three tracks taken from that 05 Apr 1995 show (STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - MURDER INCORPORATED - THUNDER ROAD) were officially released on the 1995 Hungry Heart EP. Note that the credits on this EP erroneously state that the three live songs were recorded in "May 1995" while the correct date is 05 Apr 1995.

Check out also all available lyrics pages for THUNDER ROAD:

• Album's version (more details)
• Alternative version #1
• Alternative version #2
• Alternative version #3
• Alternative version #4
• Live 05 Feb 1975 version
• Live 18 Oct 1975 version
• Live 18 Nov 1975 version
• Live 19 Sep 1978 version
• Live 22 Sep 1979 version
• Live 16 Nov 1990 version
• Live 22 Sep 1992 version
• Live 24 Jun 1993 version
• Live 15 Feb 1995 version
• Live 05 Apr 1995 version
• Live 05 May 1997 version
• Live 31 Jan 1998 version
• Live 29 Jun 2000 version
• Live 19 Oct 2001 version
• Live 04 Oct 2002 version
• Live 16 Oct 2002 version
• Live 19 Feb 2003 version
• Live 04 Apr 2005 version
• Live 12 Oct 2005 version
• Greg Kihn's version
• Badly Drawn Boy
• Cowboy Junkies' version
• Kevin Rowland's version

Spoken intro to THUNDER ROAD [Live 05 Apr 1995 version]:

We wanna thank all you guys for coming out tonight... wherever the fuck you came from... I didn't get a straight answer to that one, alright [chuckles]. ???. Alright, thanks ???. Alright. Let's go Roy!