Bruce Springsteen Tribute - Lebanese Tribute to Bruce Springsteen

THUNDER ROAD^©

Live 31 Jan 1998 version

The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves
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 again, alright!
Baby don't you run back inside, darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking maybe we ain't that young anymore
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, 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 ain't no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance I'll make it good somehow
What else can we do now
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
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

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 my 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
Tonight we'll be, 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
Lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring 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, I'm pulling out of here to win, Whoa!

Page last updated: 11 Sep 2007

The above lyrics are for live 31 Jan 1998 performance at Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ, during the "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert. THUNDER ROAD was the show closer, with Bruce Springsteen and all that night's performers sharing the stage. Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny were on lead vocals.

Promotional poster for the 31 Jan 1998 benefit show at Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ

The "Come Together: Jon Bon Jovi & Friends" benefit concert was organized by the Long Branch Police Department, The Asbury Park Press, and FPI Concerts, along with Jon Bon Jovi. The concert was to honor slain Long Branch police officer Sgt. Patrick King and raise money for the Sgt. Patrick King Memorial Fund to provide for his family. King, 45-year-old father of two young boys, was fatally shot on 20 Nov 1997 by a fugitive who had vowed to kill himself and a police officer rather than be captured and returned to jail.

20 musicians with ties to the Jersey shore music scene answered Jon Bon Jovi's call, including Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa and several members of the then-disbanded E Street Band (Clarence Clemons, Danni Frederici, Patti Scialfa, Little Steven, and Max Weinberg), Southside Johnny, Bobby Bandiera, and Richie Sambora among others. Actor Danny DeVito was the event's MC. Tickets, which were priced at $125, went on sale on 17 Jan 1998 noon, selling out in eight minutes. The concert that was organized in short order raised more than $112,000 for King's widow and his two sons.

"It was a chance to forget about it [the murder] a little bit," Long Branch police Sgt. Bruce Johantgen, one of about 50 city police officers who attended the show, told The Asbury Park Press. "The outpouring of love from the performers to the audience was unbelievable". Johantgen said he found it ironic that Bon Jovi and other performers thanked the audience for coming to the sold-out show. "From the police perspective, I kept thinking, 'We should be thanking you for giving your time'," Johantgen said.

This was a near-reunion of the fabled E Street Band and Bruce's first full-length electric gig following the acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. Springsteen spent much of (or maybe all) the night onstage, singing or playing guitar only. Soundboard recording for that concert is available among collectors.

List of available versions of THUNDER ROAD on this website:

Spoken intro to THUNDER ROAD [Live 31 Jan 1998 version]:

[Bruce Springsteen:] Alright, here we go. Southside, you ready to sing your part on this one?
[Southside Johnny:] I don't know.
[Bruce Springsteen:] Come on, we'll be waiting for you.
[Southside Johnny:] Ohhh I'm gonna be there.

Spoken outro to THUNDER ROAD [Live 31 Jan 1998 version]:

[Bruce Springsteen:] Wanna thank Jon Bon Jovi who put all this together tonight. He got us all down here... Bobby Bandiera for rehearsing that band man. Thank you Johnny.
[Jon Bon Jovi:] Thank you everyone for coming, you all did a great thing tonight; well you helped out somebody from your hometown, ok? And uh... be careful driving home or going to the bar, goodnight.
[???:] Thanks Danny DeVito for coming in too. Thanks Danny. Richie Sambora flew back from Europe just for tonight. Clarence Clemons came up from Florida. ??? all over the place. And Johnny Bon Jovi, huh? That son of the bitch! Who knew?

THUNDER ROAD©

Live 31 Jan 1998 version

Page last updated: 11 Sep 2007

THUNDER ROAD^©