Official studio version
A one two three four, one two three four!
Hey girl I'm calling all stations, blowing down the wire tonight
I'm singing through these power lines, I'm running on time and feeling alright
Skipping over the currents in the air, reaching to see if you're out there
Coming across your radio station, calling out nation to nation
If you can hear me then say alright
And if you can, meet me in the city tonight
I was busted for feeling no pain
Charged with doing things I can't explain
Picked up for parole violation
Locked with the boys in the subway station
Handcuffed on the killing floor
Transmitting from behind these jailhouse doors
If you're sick, if you're tired, if you're bored
Then check the line, check the time, check the action, check the score
Come and get me if I ain't right
But if I am, meet me in the city tonight
Everybody's lost in romance
Do you feel the way I feel, oh-oh
I'm just searching, girl
For the blood, for the bone, for the muscle, for what's real
[Sax solo]
I was busted for feeling no pain
Charged with doing things I can't explain
Picked up for parole violation
Locked with the boys in the subway station
I pushed my way through the heart of the crowd
I shoved my way through the heart of the crowd
Past the sign saying this is not allowed
To where someone's standing straight and shouting out loud
Handcuffed to the jailhouse door
Transmitting from the gallows floor
And if you're sick, if you're tired, if you're bored
Check the line, check the time, check the action, check the score
If you can holler, then say alright (alright)
If you can holler, then say alright (alright)
If you can holler, then say alright (alright)
If you can holler, then say alright (alright)
If you can holler, then say alright (alright)
And if you can, meet me in the city tonight
Meet me in the city tonight
Meet me in the city tonight
In the city, meet me in the city tonight
In the city, meet me in the city tonight
In the city, meet me in the city tonight
In the city, meet me in the city tonight
MEET ME IN THE CITY is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and released on The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set in 2015. The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's official studio version of MEET ME IN THE CITY as released in 2015.
MEET ME IN THE CITY debuted on 15 Oct 2015, the same day when The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set was announced. The song was posted on both Bruce Springsteen's official website and Bruce Springsteen's VEVO YouTube channel.
Only one studio take of MEET ME IN THE CITY is in circulation, released in 2015. This official studio version features modern lead vocals (with the exception of Springsteen's count-in), probably recorded in 2015, but the inclusion of both Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici in the credits suggests that some of the backing music was recorded during the 1979-1980 sessions at The Power Station in New York City, NY. However, according to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, MEET ME IN THE CITY was not cut in studio at the time The River was being recorded at The Power Station. Since the song was not completed during The River sessions, it seems likely that at least some of the backing music is modern.
MEET ME IN THE CITY is known to have been practiced with the band, in late March 1979 during rehearsal sessions at Springsteen's Telegraph Hill Road property in Holmdel, NJ. Eight takes from these rehearsal have appeared on bootlegs. See band rehearsal #1, band rehearsal #2, band rehearsal #3, band rehearsal #4, band rehearsal #5, band rehearsal #6, band rehearsal #7, and band rehearsal #8.
The Ties That Bind: The River Collection is a Bruce Springsteen box set released in 2015 on Columbia Records to celebrate the 35th anniversary of The River album. The 10"x12" box set contains four CDs, two Blu-Ray discs or three DVDs, and a hardcover 148-page coffee table book featuring 200 mostly unseen studio and live photographs, pages from Springsteen's notebooks, single covers, images and outtakes from the original album package, and other memorabilia documenting the album, plus a new essay by Mikal Gilmore. The box set was announced on 16 Oct 2015 and released to retail on 04 Dec 2015.
The first two discs consist of the 2014 remastered version of The River album. The third disc contains The River: Single Album, a 10-track album originally planned for release in 1979, under the title "The Ties That Bind". "The songs lacked the kind of unity and conceptual intensity I liked my music to have. So we went back in the studio," Springsteen wrote in his 1998 book Songs. He scrapped the project and went on to rework some of the songs and write and record some others, leading to the double-disc release the following year. All but one of these ten tracks were previously released.
| 1. | THE TIES THAT BIND | Different version previously released on The River |
| 2. | CINDY | Previously unreleased |
| 3. | HUNGRY HEART | Previously released on The River |
| 4. | STOLEN CAR | Previously released on Tracks |
| 5. | BE TRUE | Previously released as a B-side and on Tracks |
| 6. | THE RIVER | Previously released on The River |
| 7. | YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) | Different version previously released on The River |
| 8. | THE PRICE YOU PAY | Different version previously released on The River |
| 9. | I WANNA MARRY YOU | Previously released on The River |
| 10. | LOOSE ENDS | Previously released on Tracks |
The fourth discs contains The River: Outtakes, a 22-track album collection consisting of outtakes from the 1979-1980 sessions that didn't make the cut for either the single- or double-album versions of The River. The CD is divided into two parts, "Record One" (the first 11 tracks) and "Record Two" (the remaining 10 tracks). The former consists of unreleased songs while the latter consists of previously released songs.
| 1. | MEET ME IN THE CITY | Previously unreleased |
| 2. | THE MAN WHO GOT AWAY | Previously unreleased |
| 3. | LITTLE WHITE LIES | Previously unreleased |
| 4. | THE TIME THAT NEVER WAS | Previously unreleased |
| 5. | NIGHT FIRE | Previously unreleased |
| 6. | WHITETOWN | Previously unreleased |
| 7. | CHAIN LIGHTNING | Previously unreleased |
| 8. | PARTY LIGHTS | Previously unreleased |
| 9. | PARADISE BY THE "C" | Live version previously released on Live/1975-85 |
| 10. | STRAY BULLET | Previously unreleased |
| 11. | MR. OUTSIDE | Previously unreleased |
| 12. | ROULETTE | Previously released on Tracks |
| 13. | RESTLESS NIGHTS | Previously released on Tracks |
| 14. | WHERE THE BANDS ARE | Previously released on Tracks |
| 15. | DOLLHOUSE | Previously released on Tracks |
| 16. | LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD | Previously released on Tracks |
| 17. | TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME | Previously released on Tracks |
| 18. | RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN | Previously released on Tracks |
| 19. | I WANNA BE WITH YOU | Previously released on Tracks |
| 20. | MARY LOU | Previously released on Tracks |
| 21. | HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN | Previously released as a B-side |
| 22. | FROM SMALL THINGS (BIG THINGS ONE DAY COME) | Previously released on The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003 3-disc edition) |
The fifth disc contains the 60-minute documentary, The Ties That Bind, produced and directed by Grammy and Emmy-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The documentary features an intimate interview with Bruce Springsteen as he reflects on writing and recording of The River. The film transitions between Springsteen telling the stories behind the music ─ and illustrating them with solo acoustic guitar performances ─ interspersed with period concert footage and rare photos of him and the band in and out of the studio.
The sixth disc (on the Blu-Ray release) or sixth and seventh disc (on the DVD release) feature(s) The River Tour, Tempe 1980, a new professionally shot film consisting of 24 songs from Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's 05 Nov 1980 concert at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. The film uses four cameras and is recorded in multitrack audio and clocks at 2 hours and 40 minutes. The tapes were edited by Thom Zimny and the audio was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and mastered by Bob Ludwig.
The ten songs that are not included on The River Tour, Tempe 1980 (DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, INDEPENDENCE DAY, FACTORY, RACING IN THE STREET, CANDY'S ROOM, THE TIES THAT BIND, STOLEN CAR, WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY, POINT BLANK, and BACKSTREETS) were later officially released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net.
The last disc also contains The River Tour Rehearsals, which consists of a 5-song 20-minute bonus footage from Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's private rehearsals in late September 1980 at Clair Brothers Audio in Lititz, PA. Springsteen and the band can be seen working through live arrangements of what was then unreleased material from the upcoming album.
MEET ME IN THE CITY was performed off-tour on 19 Dec 2015 at Rockefeller Center in New York City, NY, during a TV appearance on Saturday Night Live. The song was played in its full-band album arrangement. See the live 19 Dec 2015 version for more details.
At least one artist has recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's MEET ME IN THE CITY.
Thanks Gianluca (aka Badlands69) and Stu for the lyrics help.
If you have any corrections or additional info, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of MEET ME IN THE CITY on this website:
MEET ME IN THE CITY [Official studio version]