Live 01 May 1973 version
[Spoken intro by CBS Executive:] The first artist is being hailed all over the country as one of the most important new talents of the 70's. A warm welcome to Bruce Springsteen.
One, ah-one, two, three, four
Crazy Janey and her mission man were back in the alley tradin' hands
Well, along 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?
Well, 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)
Whoa, baby don't know what she do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Whoa, 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"
Well, by the time we made it up to Greasy Lake I had my head out the window; Janey's fingers were in the cake
Well, I think I really dug her, but I was too loose to fake
Said, "I'm hurt," she said, "Honey, let me heal it"
Yeah, we danced all night to a soul fairy band
She kissed me just right like only a lonely angel can
Felt so nice, just as soft as a spirit in the night (all night)
Oh, in the night (all night)
Well, baby don't know what she do to you
She's like a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Stand right up now and let it shoot through you
All ni-i-i-i-i-i-ight
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ah
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
Well now, 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, singin' our birthday songs
And then Janey said it was time to go
So we closed our eyes and said goodbye, to, to gypsy angel row, felt so nice
Together we moved like spirits in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Well, baby don't know what she do to you
She's like a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Well, stand right up and let it shoot through you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Oh in the night, yeah, yeah, yeaaahh
Come on now, baby, that's right
Like a spirit in the night
Oh, like a spirit in the night
Yes, like a spirit in the night
Oh, living and therefore I was... free
The above lyrics are for the live 01 May 1973 performance of SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT at Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. The song was played in a full-band, album-style arrangement.
Bruce Springsteen performed on 01 May 1973 at Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, as part of his Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour. This was a triple-bill show held in the sold-out 2,000-seat Ahmanson Theatre, with Springsteen opening for Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show and headliner New Riders Of The Purple Sage.
The Ahmanson Theatre show was a public admission event, but incorporating an unusual format. Organized and promoted by CBS as "A Week To Remember", it consisted of seven consecutive nightly shows each featuring three different CBS artists. Springsteen and the band flew to Los Angeles on 20 Apr 1973 and stayed at the Hilton Hotel, performed on 01 May, and returned east on 03 May.
All seven nights from the "A Week To Remember" event were filmed in color by Arnold Levine Productions on behalf of CBS, whose intention was to have material to show to representatives at the CBS Sales Convention in July 1973. Springsteen's complete performance was shown several times at the Convention, but has never been shown anywhere else since, and now remains in CBS's vaults. Springsteen's set was 40-minute long and comprised of five songs:
Audio recording of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY from this show was released promotionally (under the early title "Circus Song") on 07 Jul 1973 as part of Columbia/Epic Records' "Play:Back" EP series. Brief video snippets of WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY and THUNDERCRACK were utilized in mid-1974 as part of a promo-only video clip created by CBS to promote Springsteen's second album. This video clip readily circulated and was shown in the VH-1 Rockumentary. A brief video excerpt of SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT was shown in the 1998 Bruce Springsteen: A Secret History BBC documentary.
Videos for SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT, WILD BILLY'S CIRCUS STORY, and an incomplete THUNDERCRACK were restored and officially released in November 2005 as bonus footage on the Wings For Wheels: The Making Of Born To Run documentary, which was issued on DVD as part of the Born To Run - 30th Anniversary Edition box set.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Much of the above information is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT on this website:
SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT [Album version]
