Live 17 Jul 1970 version
[Spoken intro:] Alright, we're gonna do something for you called "Lady Walking." Ready?
Lady, lady
Lady, lady
Lady, lady
Lady, lady
[Spoken:] Yeah. Come on, hey! Ah get off! Alright. Hey. You're pulling out the plug! Get the fuck outta here, man! Slight problem onstage, but that's ok, come on!
Lady walking down by the river
Pushing ??? her infant son
Lady walking down by the river
She says her work is never done
Hah!
Lady walking down by the river
Come on, come on
[Spoken:] Vincent.
[Spoken:] What? What?
Hey come on
[Spoken:] What? What? We're not ??? here yet. Come on now. Things are happening around here.
Let 'em young lovers quench their thirst for sunlight
Wedging their tongues in a forestland stream
They bathe in the splendor of their bodies
And they sleep 'neath the silent trees
Lady walking down by the river
Won't you come and sing me a song
Lady walking down by the river
Won't you come and take me along
Hey!
Lady walking down by the river
Carrying her infant son
Lady walking down by the river
She says her man has long been gone
She says her man has long been gone
Lady walking down by the river
Won't you come and sing me a song
Lady walking down by the river
Won't you come and take me
Alright yeah
Home home, whoa whoa-whoa, go go go
[Instrumental interlude]
[Spoken:] Alright, oh let's keep it going now. And come on in. And come on in, hey! Hey!
Lady walking down by the river
Lady walking down by the river
Lady walking down by the river
Lady walking down by the river
Lady walking down by the river
Lady walking down by the river
[Spoken:] We're gonna do a little thing now. I said we're gonna do a little thing. Alright. Alright. Okay. You win, ???. Tinker can you bring this baby up a little bit? One. I said oh come on now. And ??? out there. Whoa everybody, I don't know.
[Recording cut]
The above lyrics are for the live 17 Jul 1970 performance of LADY WALKING DOWN BY THE RIVER at Sunshine In in Asbury Park, NJ. On the soundboard tape, drummer and background vocalist Vini Lopez's voice microphone is abnormally dominant in the mix, sounding like he was a co-lead singer. The parts above in bold correspond to Vini Lopez joining in on vocals. The parts in bold italic are by Vini Lopez alone.
SECTION NOT YET COMPLETED
Steel Mill performed on 17 and 18 Jul 1970 at Sunshine In in Asbury Park, NJ. These were double-bill shows, with Steel Mill headlining and Lotus opening. A good quality 58-minute soundboard recording of one of the two nights is in circulation among collectors. The tape does not represent the complete show; it seems to include the first three and last two songs of the night. Brucebase has attributed this audio to 17 Jul 1970, but it could also be from the following night's show.
In the banter during GIRLFRIEND BLUES, Springsteen referenced the 1970 Asbury Park race riots that happened between 04 Jul and 10 Jul 1970. The seven days of rioting, looting, and destruction were a major civil disturbance in Asbury Park, NJ. He joked: "From what I've seen there must've been a bargain sale in Asbury. Run in as fast as you can, take what you can get, and split." He also tells a story about an encounter with the state troopers and policemen that happened "about in the middle of last week some time." All this evidence supports the belief that this audio recording is from the two-night residency at Sunshine In.
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List of available versions of LADY WALKING DOWN BY THE RIVER on this website:
LADY WALKING DOWN BY THE RIVER [Live 13 Jan 1970 version]