Live 08 Aug 1984 version
[Spoken intro:] This is a song about trying to hold on to something as time goes by. I was... I always consider myself real fortunate because when I was, when I was real young I dreamed of doing something and, and my dream came true. So, this is uh, this is for Little Steven wherever he may be tonight. He's uh, he put out a great album called "Voice Of America." It's really a great record. And his mama's here tonight, so... this is for her, and him.
Well we busted out of class
Had to get away from those fools
We learned more from a three-minute record
Baby, than we ever learned in school
Tonight I hear the neighborhood drummer sound
I can feel my heart begin to pound
You say you're tired and you just wanna close your eyes
And follow your dream down
Well we made a promise we swore we'd always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Like soldiers on a winter's night with a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Well now young faces grow sad and old
And hearts of fire grow cold
We swore blood brothers against the wind
Now I'm ready to grow young again
And hear your sister's voice calling us home
Across the open yards
Well maybe we could cut someplace of our own
With these drums and these guitars
'Cause we made a promise we swore we'd always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Blood brothers on a summer's night with a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Now on the streets tonight the lights are growing dim
The walls in my room are closing in
But it's good to see your smiling face
And to hear your laughter again
Now we could sleep in the twilight
By the river bed
With a wide open country in our hearts
And these romantic dreams in our heads
'Cause we made a promise we swore we'd always remember
No retreat, baby, no surrender
Blood brothers on a summer's night with a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender
No retreat, baby, no surrender
The above lyrics are for the live 08 Aug 1984 performance of NO SURRENDER at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, NJ, during the Born In The U.S.A. Tour. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement.
This was the third of a ten-night stand at Brendan Byrne Arena.
List of available versions of NO SURRENDER on this website:
NO SURRENDER [Album version]