Live 02 Mar 1973 version
[Spoken intro:] Thank you. This is a song for Friday nights. Here we go, alright.
One, two, one, two, three, four
Crazy Janey and her mission man were back in the alley tradin' hands
'Long came Wild Billy with his friend G-Man, all duded up for Saturday night
Well, Billy slammed on his coaster brakes
Said, "Anybody wanna go on up to Greasy Lake?
It's about a mile down on the dark side of route eighty-eight
I got a bottle of rose, let's try it
We'll pick up Hazy Davy and Killer Joe, and I'll take you all out to where the gypsy angels go
They're built like light
Ooh, and they dance like spirits in the night" (all night)
In the night (all night)
Baby don't know what it do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Stand right up and let it shoot through you
Well now, Wild Billy was a crazy cat and he shook some dust out of his coonskin cap
Cried, "Trust some of this, it'll show you where you're at, at least it'll help you really feel it"
By the time we made it up to Greasy Lake I had my head out the window; Janey's fingers were in the cake
I think I really dug her; I was too loose to fake
I said, "I'm hurt," she said, "Honey, let me heal it"
Well, we danced all night to a soul fairy band
She kissed me just right like only a lonely angel can
Felt so right, just as soft as a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Baby don't know what it do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Stand right up and let it shoot through you
Aaaaah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
(Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
Well now, the night grew bright and the stars threw light on Billy and Davy
Dancin' in the moonlight
They were down near the water in a stone mud fight
Killer Joe passed out on the lawn
Yes, and Hazy Davy, he got really hurt, he ran into the lake in just his socks and a shirt
Me and Crazy Janey was makin' love in the dirt, oh, singin' our birthday songs
Then Janey said it was time to go
So we closed our eyes and said goodbye to gypsy angel row, felt so right
Together we moved like spirits in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Baby don't know what it do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Stand right up and let it shoot through you
Spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Whoa, in the night (all night)
In the night, all night (all night)
In the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
In the ni-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ight
Oh, now, baby, that's right
Like a spirit in the night
Like a spirit in the night
Like a spirit in the night
Doo, doo, ba da doo da da da da da da
Ah!
[Spoken outro:] Thank you.
The above lyrics are for the live 02 Mar 1973 performance of SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT 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 album-style arrangement.
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.
List of available versions of SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT on this website:
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Album version]
