GROWIN' UP

Live 30 Sep 2009 version



Well I stood stone-like at midnight, suspended in my masquerade
I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain, walked on a crooked crutch
I strode all alone into a fallout zone, came out with my soul untouched
Hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up

The flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for a first mate, she couldn't sail but she sure could sing
I pushed B-52, bombed 'em with the blues, my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, never once gave thought to landing
Hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "come down" I threw up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Awhoo!

[Spoken:] Aah. Hey band! Hey C! [Clarence: Yeah?] I had the weirdest dream I ever had a few nights ago. It was one of those dreams that, uh, you wake up and, oh, shuddering, and when you wake up, you go, "Oh fuck! Thank you Jesus, thank you." You start praying to the God who you don't believe in, and, uh, it's funny, 'cause I woke, I woke up saying, "Oh, Jesus Christ." It was a dream... but it was the weirdest dream I think I ever had. It was in my house, and, uh, there was a, a lot of people around. I, I, I don't like, I don't like a lot of people around. And, uh, but there was a shit-load of people at my house. And, uh, it was actually filled with my relatives, every relative since I was like, you know, living in Freehold, old, plain, boring. That's bigger than the population of Freehold, right there. Some of you are lying. But it was filled with like my aunts and uncles, and, uh, I had to entertain, I had to entertain everybody... Oh Jesus, save me... And I was walking through my house like in a trance, and, uh, then came the scariest fucking part. All the fucking lights went out. All the lights. And then all I remember was this cake [chuckles]... This is the part, this is the part you won't believe. There were sixty fucking candles in the cake. Sixty fucking candles! [Clarence: Where were they, Boss?] On the cake! [Clarence: Okay] And I started to like, not be able to breath, you know, and, uh, and... [Crowd: Happy birthday to you] And... [Crowd: Happy birthday to you] And then the worst part... [Crowd: Happy birthday dear Bruce] And then there were... Then there were... [Crowd: Happy birthday to you] Then there were, see, then there were thousands of people reminding me of something I was trying to forget. And then, then I woke up. Then I woke up. I woke up after that. [Clarence: Good, good] Man, was I glad to wake up. [Clarence: Yeah] I woke up and, and when I fell back to sleep I, I...

Took month-long vacations in the stratosphere, you know it's really hard to hold your breath
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid
My feet they finally took root in the earth, I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up

Yeah, yeah, growin' up


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 30 Sep 2009 performance of GROWIN' UP at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, during the Working On A Dream Tour. The song was played in a full-band, album-style arrangement. This version featured a spoken break in the middle, plus the crowd singing Bruce part of "Happy Birthday".

Ticket stub for the 30 Sep 2009 show at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Ticket stub for the 30 Sep 2009 show at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Handwritten setlist for the 30 Sep 2009 show at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Handwritten setlist for the 30 Sep 2009 show at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.

Available Versions

List of available versions of GROWIN' UP on this website:

GROWIN' UP [Album version]
GROWIN' UP [Outtake version]
GROWIN' UP [03 May 1972 demo version]
GROWIN' UP [Live Aug 1972 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 31 May 1973 (WGOE-FM) version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 02 Jun 1973 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 31 Oct 1973 (late show) version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 09 Mar 1974 (KLOL-FM) version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 09 Apr 1974 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 05 Feb 1975 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 23 Aug 1975 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 13 Sep 1975 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 30 Dec 1975 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 07 Apr 1976 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 07 Aug 1976 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 30 Sep 1976 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 25 Oct 1976 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 27 Oct 1976 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 04 Nov 1976 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 13 Feb 1977 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 23 Mar 1977 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 24 Mar 1977 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 31 May 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 25 Jun 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 01 Jul 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 05 Jul 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 07 Jul 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 04 Aug 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 09 Aug 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 15 Aug 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 01 Sep 1978 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 20 Nov 1980 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 27 Nov 1980 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 26 Jan 1981 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 24 Aug 1981 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 20 Aug 1984 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 14 Sep 1984 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 02 Oct 1985 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 07 Aug 1992 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 22 Sep 1992 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 08 Nov 1996 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 24 Sep 1999 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 19 Feb 2003 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 20 Feb 2003 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 02 Mar 2003 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 24 May 2003 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 22 Jun 2003 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 11 Aug 2005 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 22 Nov 2005 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 11 Nov 2006 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 17 Nov 2006 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 22 Apr 2008 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 27 Jul 2008 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 21 Aug 2008 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 21 Apr 2009 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 23 Aug 2009 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 30 Sep 2009 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 22 Nov 2009 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 01 Feb 2014 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 24 Apr 2014 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 23 Feb 2016 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 29 May 2016 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 03 Jul 2016 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 05 Sep 2016 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 07 Sep 2016 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 11 Sep 2016 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live 14 Sep 2016 version]
GROWIN' UP [Live July 2018 version]
GROWIN' UP [Any Trouble's cover version]
GROWIN' UP [David Bowie's cover version]

Page last updated: 23 Jul 2010