Live 07 Dec 2014 version
Early one morning with time to kill
I borrowed Jeb's rifle and I sat on the hill
I saw a lone rider crossing the plain
I drew a bead on him to practice my aim
My brother's rifle went off in my hand
A shot rang out across the land
The horse he kept running, the rider was dead
I hung my head, I hung my head
I hung my head
I set off running to wake from this dream
And my brother's rifle went into the stream
I kept on running into the salt lands
That's where they found me, my head in my hands
The sheriff he asked me, "Why I'd run"
Then it came to me yeah just what I've done
And all for no reason, just one piece of lead
I hung my head, I hung my head
I hung my head, I hung my head
Early one morning with time to kill
I'd see the gallows up on the hill
And out in the distance a trick of the brain
I see a lone rider crossing the plain
He's come to get me, to see what they done
We'll ride together 'til Kingdom come
I pray for no mercy for soon I'll be dead
I hung my head, I hung my head
I hung my head, I hung my head
I hung my head, I hung my head
I hung my head, I hung my head
[Guitar solo]
(I hung my head, I hung my head)
(I hung my head, I hung my head)
(I hung my head, I hung my head)
(I hung my head, I hung my head)
The above lyrics are for the live 07 Dec 2014 performance of I HUNG MY HEAD at John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts in New York City, NY, during the 37th annual Kennedy Center Honors gala. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement. For his version, Springsteen replaced the lyrics in the last line, originally "I pray for God's mercy for soon I'll be dead", to "I pray for no mercy for soon I'll be dead." Moreover, possibly due to time constraints, he only sang three (1st, 2nd, and 4th) out of the song's four verses.
That year's honorees were Al Green, Tom Hanks, Patricia McBride, Sting, and Lily Tomlin. Bruce Springsteen returned the favor to Sting who five years earlier performed THE RISING when Springsteen himself was being honored. Two hours of highlights from the gala, including Springsteen's performance, were broadcast on the CBS Television Network on 30 Dec 2014.
Springsteen sound-checked the song the previous day, going through it two times. As guitarist Shane Fontayne (from Springsteen's 1992-93 touring band) recounted, "[Springsteen] said, 'So I can say we played it twice!' Wherever Bruce is, so goes his guitar tech Kevin Buell and tour director George Travis. I worked with these remarkable men over twenty years ago, and the same warmth and camaraderie exists even though I have not been a part of that family in all that time. What a pleasure it was to see them again."
List of available versions of I HUNG MY HEAD on this website:
I HUNG MY HEAD [Live 01 Oct 2011 version]