Live 02 Mar 1973 version
[start cut]
As nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant, pleadin' the immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Oh, Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
And someone said, "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand, whoa, that's quicksand that ain't mud
Have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?"
That pure American brother, dull-eyed and empty-faced
He races Sundays in Jersey in a Chevy stock super eight
He rides her low on the hip, on the side he's got Bound For Glory in red, white and blue flash paint
He leans on the hood telling racin' stories, the kids call him Jimmy The Saint
Well that blaze and noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point
He rides headfirst into a hurricane and disappears into a point
Till there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell
That is, nothin' left you could sell
Just junk all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell
And someone said, "Hey kid, you think that's oil? Man, that ain't oil, that's blood"
Well, I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm
Or was he just lost in the flood?
Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air
Some storefront incarnation of Maria, she's puttin' on me her stare
And Bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware
Everything stops, you hear five quick shots, the cops come up for air
Now the whiz-bang gang from uptown, they're shootin' up the street
That cat from the Bronx, he starts lettin' loose, but gets blown right off his feet
Some kid comes blastin' round the corner, but a cop puts him right away
He lays on the street holding his leg screaming something in Spanish
Still breathing when I walked away
And someone said, "Hey man, did you see that? His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud"
Oh, I wonder what that dude was sayin', or was he just lost in the flood?
Now, hey man, did you see that, lord, those poor cats are sure messed up
I wonder what they was gettin' into, or were they all just lost in the flood?
Whoa, oh
Were the lost, oh, trapped
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, oh, oh, were they lost
Oh, oh, were they lost?
Oh
Oh, oh
Yeah, were they lost
[Spoken:] Thank you.
The above lyrics are for the live 02 Mar 1973 performance of LOST IN THE FLOOD at Berkeley Community Theatre in Berkeley, CA, during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. The song was played in a full-band version, similar to the album version but even slower and more dirge-like.
This was a double-bill show, with Bruce Springsteen opening for headliners Blood, Sweat & Tears. A 7-song soundboard recording in circulation among collectors is believed to be the complete 02 Mar 1973 performance.
The 02 Mar 1973 show at Berkeley Community Theatre was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Some of the above information is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of LOST IN THE FLOOD on this website:
LOST IN THE FLOOD [Album version]
