Live 16 Jun 1978 version
One soft infested summer me and Terry became friends
Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in
Catching rides to the outskirts, tying faith between our teeth
Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house, getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat, say!
Running for our lives at night on them backstreets
Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing
Where desperate lovers park we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings
Huddled in our cars waiting for the bells that ring
In the deep heart of the night that set us loose from everything
To go running on the backstreets, running on them backstreets
We swore we'd live forever, say!
On the backstreets we'd take it together
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where dancers scraped the tears up off the streets dressed down in rags
Running into the darkness, some hurt bad some really dying
At night sometimes it seemed you could hear that whole damn city crying
Blame it on the lies that killed us, on the truth that ran us down
Blame it all on me Terry, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight there was nothing left to say
I hate him and I hated you when you went away
Whoah-whoahhh!
So laying here in the dark, you're like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, that we'd go see
Trying to learn how to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be
And after all this time to find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends
In the backstreets until the end
Till the end
Just me and you, baby
Just me and you, girl
I remember you standing on the corner
In that pretty blue dress
That dress, that one that your baby bought you
You and your sad eyes
Your lonely lonely sad eyes
Your lonely lonely sad eyes
Baby how they cried
I'd hold you once we'd let them cry
Let 'em cry till they're all cried out
We'd let 'em cry
We'd let 'em cry till they're all cried out
We'd let 'em cry
Let 'em cry till they're all cried out
Go ahead and cry
Go cry till you're all cried out
But only me and you know
Baby, that only me and you knew
The way they could lie
They could tell such pretty lies
They could tell such pretty lies
And I wanted you so bad
You could dress 'em up and I'd buy each and every one
You could dress 'em all up
And I was dying
And you knew
You knew I was dying
And you knew
Baby you knew I was dying
You could see it in my eyes
I was dying
Oh you could see it in my eyes
I was dying
And you knew
I was dying
And you knew
Whoah-ah! Whoah-oh!
Whoah-ah! Whoah-oh!
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Well alright
We'll go hiding on the backstreets tonight
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
On the backstreets, on the backstreets
On the backstreets
Whoah-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
The above lyrics are for the live 16 Jun 1978 performance of BACKSTREETS at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS, during the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour.
List of available versions of BACKSTREETS on this website:
BACKSTREETS [Album version]