WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE

Live 04 Nov 1976 version

[Spoken intro:] Hold up, kid, what do you think, we're going home? You think we're gonna go home and watch TV? (chuckles) We're gonna do this for, uh, this is for Alan and Patti, this is for them. I promised them last night we're gonna do this. Ready?

In this dirty old heart of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People say that there ain't no sense in trying

Well, now, my little girl, you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You're gonna die before your time is due

I see my daddy in bed and dying
I seen his hair turning grey
He's been working and slaving his life away
Yes, he has

(Work) He's been working everyday
(Work) Slaving his whole life away
(Work) All day long
Work, work, work, work!

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you
You know it's true

My little girl, you're so young and pretty
But there's one thing I know is true
You're gonna die before your time is due
Now!

I've watched my daddy slowly dying
I've watched his hair turning grey
He's been working, he slaved his whole life away
For nothing!

He's been (working) everyday
(Work) He slaved his whole life away
(Work) For nothing!
Work, work, work, whoa!

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there's a better life for me and you

[Spoken outro:] That's for Alan and Patti. Thank you, good luck!

Page last updated: 19 Sep 2012

Intro

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE is a 1965 song by The Animals. See the original The Animals version for more details.

On 15 Mar 2012, in a keynote speech to an audience at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, TX, Bruce Springsteen sang a snippet of the song, and then said, "That's every song I've ever written." See the live 15 Mar 2012 (Austin Convention Center) version for more details.

04 Nov 1976 Performance

The above lyrics are for the live 04 Nov 1976 performance of WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE at Palladium in New York City, NY, during the Lawsuit Tour. That was the first know Bruce Springsteen performance of the song. It was played in a full-band arrangement featuring Steve Paraczky on trumpet.

Promotional ad for the 1976 six-night stand at Palladium, New York City, NY [Taken from Brucebase]

Ticket stub for the 04 Nov 1976 show at Palladium, New York City, NY [Taken from Brucebase]

Live History

Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original agreement. Bruce replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of trust, and undue influence. Appel countersued on 29 Jul 1976 in New York State Supreme Court, asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This would drag for about a year. Meanwhile, Springsteen continued gigging, and in the process broke his self-imposed rule of not playing the larger arenas. This was basically because he was not able to put a record out, and it was the only way his fans would be able to hear him at all. The tour became known as the "Lawsuit Tour".

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE is known to have been performed at least once during the Lawsuit Tour: one time during the 1st leg (29 known dates, between August and November 1976) and zero times during the 2nd leg (33 known dates, between February and March 1977). Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song may have been played on some more dates during the Lawsuit Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement featuring Steve Paraczky on trumpet.

[Click here to display/hide detailed known Lawsuit Tour performances list]

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE was performed off-tour on 10 Jun 1984 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, where Bruce Springsteen and Nils Lofgren joined Cats On A Smooth Surface onstage for a five-song set. No audio recording of this show is known to exist.

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE was performed in part on 15 Mar 2012 at Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX, as part of Bruce Springsteen's keynote speech at the 2012 South By Southwest music festival. The song was a truncated version and was played on acoustic guitar. See the live 15 Mar 2012 (Austin Convention Center) version for more details.

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE was performed off-tour on 15 Mar 2012 at Moody Theater in Austin, TX, during an intimate concert following Bruce Springsteen's keynote speech at the South By Southwest music festival. The song was played with the E Street Band and featured a guest appearance by The Animals' Eric Burdon. See the live 15 Mar 2012 (Moody Theater) version for more details.

[Click here to display/hide detailed off-tour performances list]

Garry Tallent occasionally played a snippet of WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE for his solo during TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT on The Reunion Tour. See the live 29 May 1999 version of TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT for an example.

Available Versions

List of available versions of WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE on this website:

• Live 04 Nov 1976 version
• Live 15 Mar 2012 (Austin Convention Center) version
• Live 15 Mar 2012 (Moody Theater) version
• Original The Animals version

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake).