Live 13 Sep 1985 version
[Spoken intro:] This man just took off his leg, wait a minute (chuckles). Hold it on up, man. Wait a second. This man took that last song too literally. But he gets a song. "Traveling Band", our last song tonight. Key of E, "Traveling Band".
Seven Forty Seven coming out of the sky
Won't you take me down to Memphis on a midnight ride
I wanna move
I'm in a traveling band
Flying across the land trying to get a hand
Playing in a traveling band
Listen to the radio talking about the last show
Someone got excited, called the state militia
I wanna move
In a traveling band
Flying across the land trying to get a hand
Playing in a traveling band
Whoa!
Here we come again, it's Saturday night
Gonna rock, gonna roll, 'till you get me to the rhyme
I wanna move
In a traveling band
Flying across the land trying to get a hand
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Flying across the land trying to get a hand
Playing in a traveling band
[Spoken intro:] Man, we've been traveling all year long. Tonight's uh, stop number 146. Eh, we came through New York, Memphis Tennessee, Miami Florida. Aw!??? over to Dallas Texas. Now all what I wanna know is, are you ready to travel? You're gonna have to quit your job, you're gonna have to quit school, you're gonna have to kiss your baby goodnight, you're gonna have to say goodbye to your mamma and your daddy if you wanna be in a rock and roll band. Are you ready to go? Are you ready to go? Are you ready to go? Are you ready to go?
Here we come again, it's a Saturday night
Gonna rock, gonna roll, 'till you get me to the rhyme
I wanna move
I'm in a traveling band
Flying across the land trying to get a hand
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Playing in a traveling band
Flying across the land trying to get a hand
Playing in a traveling band
[Spoken outro:] We got to travel. Thanks. Alright Max. Thank goodnight. We see you tomorrow.
TRAVELIN' BAND is a song originally released by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970. See the original Creedence Clearwater Revival version for more details.
Bruce Springsteen regularly included TRAVELIN' BAND in DETROIT MEDLEY during the Born In The U.S.A. Tour, starting from 31 Jul 1984 in Detroit, MI. He also performed it as a standalone song a few times at the end of the tour and on some other occasions since then. See the "Live History" sections below for more details.
The above lyrics are for the live 13 Sep 1985 performance of TRAVELIN' BAND at Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX, during the Born In The U.S.A. Tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement.
The show was supposed to end with STAND ON IT, but TRAVELIN' BAND was added in response to an artificial leg being thrown on stage (see the above spoken intro).
Other versions of TRAVELIN' BAND were officially released.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed 10 times during the Born In The U.S.A. Tour (156 dates, June 1984 to October 1985); these were the last ten shows of the tour. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement. The version from 24 Sep 1985 in Denver, CO, was part of a medley with HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL. The live 27 Sep 1985 version of TRAVELIN' BAND was released on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Sept 27, 1985 official live download in 2019.
In preparation for the Vote For Change Tour, TRAVELIN' BAND is known to have been practiced during one of the tour's three private rehearsals that took place from 27 to 29 Sep 2004 in Asbury Park.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed twice during the Vote For Change Tour (7 dates, October 2004). On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement as a duet with John Fogerty. See the live 03 Oct 2004 version.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed once during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009), on 21 Jul 2009 in Turin, Italy. The song was played in a full-band arrangement.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed once during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013), on 26 Jun 2013 in Gijon, Spain. The song was played in a full-band arrangement.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed once during The River Tour 2016 (75 dates, January to September 2016), on 06 Jun 2016 in Coventry, England. The song was played in a full-band arrangement. Audio recordings for all The River Tour 2016 shows are officially available for purchase. See the live 03 Jun 2016 version for more details.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 22 Aug 1984 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, during a guest appearance with LaBamba & The Hubcaps.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 03 Sep 1984 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, during a guest appearance with John Eddie & The Front Street Runners.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 02 Jun 1989 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, during a guest appearance with Killer Joe, plus Roy Bittan, Patti Scialfa, and The Miami Horns.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 09 Jul 1989 at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, during a guest appearance with Cats On A Smooth Surface. See the live 09 Jul 1989 version for more details.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 01 Mar 1990 at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, during a guest appearance by Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. See the live 22 Sep 1992 version for more details.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 12 Jul 1991 at McLoone's Rum Runner at Sea Bright, NJ, during a guest appearance with Bobby Bandiera.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 04 Aug 1991 at Cheers in Long Branch, NJ, during a guest appearance with The Outcry.
TRAVELIN' BAND was performed off-tour on 20 Dec 1999 at McLoone's Rum Runner in Sea Bright, NJ, during a guest appearance with Bobby Bandiera and his band. The exact date has not been confirmed but it seems like the party took place on 20 Dec 1999.
List of available versions of TRAVELIN' BAND on this website:
TRAVELIN' BAND [Live 13 Sep 1985 version]
