Live 04 Nov 2011 version
| Springsteen and Grushecky: | Well, the screen door slams, Mary's dress sways |
| Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays | |
| Roy Orbison singing for the lonely | |
| Hey, that's me and I want you only | |
| Don't turn me home again | |
| I just can't face myself alone again | |
| Don't you run back inside | |
| Joe Grushecky: | Darling, you know just what I'm here for |
| Bruce Springsteen: | That was high! |
| Springsteen and Grushecky: | So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore |
| Show a little faith, there's magic in the night | |
| You ain't a beauty, but, hey, you're all right, yes | |
| Oh, and that's all right with me | |
| Springsteen and Grushecky: | You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain |
| Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain | |
| Waste your summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets | |
| Well, I'm no hero, that's understood | |
| All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood | |
| With a chance to make it good somehow | |
| Hey, what else can we do now | |
| Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair | |
| Well, the night's busted open, these two lanes will take us anywhere | |
| We got one last chance to make it real | |
| To trade in these wings on some wheels | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Climb in back |
| Joe Grushecky: | Heaven's waiting on down the tracks |
| Springsteen and Grushecky: | Whoa, oh, come take my hand |
| We're riding out tonight to case the promised land | |
| Whoa, oh, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road | |
| Lying out there like a killer in the sun | |
| Hey, I know it's late, but we can make it if we run | |
| Whoa, oh, oh, Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk |
| Springsteen and Grushecky: | And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk |
| From your front porch to my front seat | |
| The door's is open but the ride, it ain't free | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | I know you're lonely, there's words that I ain't spoken |
| Springsteen and Grushecky: | But tonight, girl, we'll be free, all the promises will be broken |
| There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away | |
| Bruce Springsteen: | Let me hear you! |
| Crowd: | They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets |
| They scream your name at night in the streets | |
| Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet | |
| And in the lonely cool before dawn | |
| You hear their engines roaring on | |
| But when you get to the porch, they're gone | |
| On the wind; so Mary climb in | |
| It's a town full of losers and we're pulling out of here to win |
[Spoken outro (Bruce Springsteen):] Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Grushecky, help me thank the Houserockers for making me feel at home, thank you Pittsburgh, see you guys really soon!
The above lyrics are for the live 04 Nov 2011 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Soldiers And Sailors Memorial Hall And Museum in Pittsburgh, PA, during an appearance with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers. The song was the show closer and was played in an acoustic sing-along arrangement, with Joe Grushecky on shared lead vocals.
Bruce Springsteen appeared as a special guest at a total of six Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers concerts at Soldiers And Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh, PA, in 2010, 2011, and 2014. He opened each of these shows with a short solo acoustic set before joining Grushecky and The Houserockers. On the last three of these six shows, Springsteen ended the night with an additional short acoustic set.
Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help.
List of available versions of THUNDER ROAD on this website:
THUNDER ROAD [Album version]