Live 03 Mar 1974 (late show) version
[Spoken intro:] (coughs) Oh, hey! Rosie, come on out tonight, will you?
Oh, spread out now, Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mama's reins
You know playin' blind man's bluff is a little baby's game
You pick up Little Dynamite, well, I'm gonna pick up Little Gun
And together we're gonna go out tonight and make that highway run
You don't have to call me lieutenant, Rosie, and I don't want to be your son
The only lover I'm ever gonna need's your soft sweet samurai tongue
Baby, you're the one!
D-d-d-d-d-d-d-dynamite's in the belfry, baby, playin' with the bats
Little Gun's downtown in front of Woolworth's, tryin' out his attitude on all the cats
Papa's on the corner, waiting for the bus
Mama, she's home in the window, waitin' up for us
She'll be there in that chair when they wrestle her upstairs, you know we ain't gonna come
I ain't here on business, babe, I'm only here for fun
Yeah
Ah, Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosie, you're my stone desire, oh, yeah
Oh!
Jack the Rabbit and Weak Knees Willie, don't you know they're gonna be there
Sloppy Sue and Big Bones Billy, they'll be comin' up for air
We're gonna play some pool, skip some school, act real cool
Stay out all night, it's gonna feel all right
So, Rosie, come out tonight, baby, come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Oh, closets are for hangers, winners use the doors
Use it!
Ah, Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosalita, you're my st—brrr!
[Spoken:] Ernest Carter on the drums. Garry Tallent on the bass guitar. On the piano, Mr. Daniel Federici. On the organ, Mr. Dave Sancious. And on the tenor saxophone, Mr. Clarence Clemons. I'll bring it in for the countdown. All right, ten, nine, [crowd:] eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!
Hey!
Oh!
Now, I know your mama, she don't like me 'cause I play in a rock and roll band
Oh, and I know your daddy don't dig me, but he never did understand
Oh, papa lowered the boom, put you in your room
Coming to lend a hand
Riding to liberate you, oh, con—confiscate you, I want to be your man
Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny
But now you're sad, mama's mad
Papa says he knows (that I don't have any money)
So your papa says he (knows that I don't have any money)
Oh, your papa says he knows (that I don't have any money)
This is his last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance
The record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance!
My tires were slashed, I almost crashed, the Lord had mercy
My machine, she's a dud, out stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Hold on tight, stay up all night, Rosie, I'm comin' on strong
By the time we meet the morning light, I will hold you in my arms
I know a pretty little place in Southern California down San Diego way
There's a little café, they play guitars all night and all day
You can hear 'em in the back room strummin'
Hold tight, baby, don't you know I'm coming
Everybody sing
Ohhhh!
Rosalita, jump a little lighter
Senorita, come sit by my fire
Just want to be your lover, ain't no liar
Rosalita, you're my stone desire
All right
Oh, baby!
All right!
(Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!)
[Spoken outro:] Thank you very much! Thank you very much indeed!
The above lyrics are for the live 03 Mar 1974 late show performance of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement, with band introductions in the midsection, and featuring early lyrics ("samurai tongue") that can be found on Springsteen's 1972 handwritten lyrics for ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT).
Bruce Springsteen and the band played two shows at Georgetown University on 03 Mar 1974: an early show at 7:30 p.m. and a late show at 10:30 p.m. Bruce Springsteen was the headliner and Orleans were the opening act. The shows were held at the university's 750-seat Gaston Hall. There is no known audio recording from the early show, but Springsteen's late show (minus the last song) was simulcast on the University's popular radio station WGTB-FM. The broadcast now circulates on several bootlegs in excellent soundboard quality.
The 03 Mar 1973 late show broadcast from Georgetown University 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 info about Springsteen's shows at Georgetown University is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) on this website:
ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) [Album version]
