Live 01 May 1973 version
[Spoken intro:] I'm gonna do a song right now about... about my girlfriend who lives in New Jersey — 16 years old, didn't come tonight — as a personal favour. She's alright, but the boys are gonna tell you about her right now, right? [Clarence: right now, right now] Good, good, good. [Clarence: Tell them about it, tell them about it] Alright, let me unbutton my shirt here. Uh... I don't know. No, no, my socks are up, man. No, you gotta buy stretch socks. Worse things is playing when your socks down. No worse than that. [Clarence: Like ???] But I found this bargain, 50 cents for all- for all you can get. Ready? Well...
Her brains they rattle and her bones they shake
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
Her brains they rattle and her bones they shake
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
Well don't dance with her Henry, don't dance with her Jake (her brains they rattle and her bones they shake)
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
Whoa she gives me all the loving that a good man gonna take (her brains they rattle and her bones they shake)
Oh she's an angel from the Innerlake
I guess she is the sweetest thing you ??? sing
Alright, it's a long ride up
Little Danny!
Ready!
Sha-na, na-na, na na, ooh ooh
Sha-na, na-na, na na, ooh ooh
Sha-na, na-na, na na, ooh ooh
Sha-na, na-na, na na, ooh ooh
Thundercrack, baby's back
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
And bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reeling
She moves up, she moves back
Out there on the floor there ain't nobody cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
Straight from the Bronx, hung off the line
She slips, she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps, she grinds
Even them dance hall hacks from the west side of the tracks move in close to catch her timing
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there ain't nobody cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
She ain't no little girl, she ain't got no curls
Her hair ain't brown and her eyes ain't either
Around and around and around and (round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
Like a ballerina (round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
My heart's wood, she's a carpenter
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, 'til the dawn
Until the dawn
Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh it's alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh it's alright
Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh it's alright
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
Ah-ah-ahhh ah-ah ah-ah
[Long instrumental break]
Thundercrack, (baby's back)
This time she'll tell me how she really feels
And bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reeling
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there ain't nobody cleaner
She does this thing she calls the "jump back jack"
She's got the heart of a ballerina
She has parents, she has religion, she has sisters
Chap! Hap! Hap! Hap! (Round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
La la la oh oh (Round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round)
My heart's wood, she's a partner
She's an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Well dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner
All night
All night, (all night)
All night, (all night)
All night, (all night)
Yeah
All night, (all night)
All night, (all night)
[fades out]
The above lyrics are for the live 01 May 1973 performance of THUNDERCRACK at Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour.
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.
Much of the above information is taken from Brucebase.
List of available versions of THUNDERCRACK on this website:
THUNDERCRACK [Official studio version]
