17K In Concert / MTV XXplugged album lyrics
@ALBUM: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - IN CONCERT / MTV ><PLUGGED

 1. Red Headed Woman
 2. Better Days
 3. Atlantic City
 4. Darkness on the Edge of Town
 5. Man's Job
 6. Human Touch
 7. Lucky Town
 8. I Wish I Were Blind
 9. Thunder Road
10. Light of Day
11. If I Should Fall Behind
12. Living Proof
13. My Beautiful Reward

The performers are:
Bruce Springsteen (vocals, guitar),
Zachary Alford (drums),
Roy Bittan (keyboards),
Shane Fontayne (guitar),
Tommy Simms (bass),
Crystal Talifiero (guitar, percussion, vocals),
Gia Ciambotti (vocals),
Carol Dennis (vocals),
Cleopatra Kennedy (vocals),
Bobby King (vocals),
Angel Roges (vocals),
and Patti Scialfa.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - EUROPEAN TOUR 1993
MARCH 31 Glasgow Scotland, APRIL 3/4 Dortmund Germany, 7/8 Zurich Switzerland,
11 Verona Italy, 13 Lyon France, 15/16 Sheffield England, 19/20 Rotterdam Holland,
23/24 Ghent Belgium, MAY 1 Lisbon Portugal, 5 Madrid Spain, 7 Gijon Spain,
9 Santiago Spain, 11 Barcelona Spain, 14 Berlin Germany, 16 Munich Germany,
17 Mannheim Germany, 20 Dublin Ireland, 22 Milton Keynes England, 25 Rome Italy,
28 Stockholm Sweden, 30 Copenhagen Denmark, JUNE 1 Oslo Norway


@SONG: RED HEADED WOMAN

Well brunettes are fine man
And blondes are fun
But when it comes to getting a dirty job done

I'll take a red headed woman
A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done

Well listen up stud
Your life's been wasted
Til you've got down on your knees and tasted

A red headed woman
A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done

Tight skirt, strawberry hair
Tell me what you've got, baby, waiting under there
Big green eyes that look like, son
They can see every cheap thing that you ever done

Well, I don't know how many girls you dated, man
But you ain't lived til you've had your tires rotated

By a red headed woman
A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done


@SONG: BETTER DAYS

Well my soul checked out missing as I sat listening
To the hours and minutes tickin' away
Yeah just sittin' around waitin' for my life to begin
While it was all just slippin' away
I'm tired of waitin' for tomorrow to come
Or that train to come roarin' 'round the bend
I got a new suit of clothes a pretty red rose
And a woman I can call my friend

These are better days baby
Yeah there's better days shining through
These are better days baby
Better days with a girl like you

Well I took a piss at fortune's sweet kiss
It's like eatin' caviar and dirt
It's a sad funny ending to find yourself pretending
A rich man in a poor man's shirt
Now my ass was draggin' when from a passin' gypsy wagon
Your heart like a diamond shone
Tonight I'm layin' in your arms carvin' lucky charms
Out of these heard luck bones

These are better days baby
These are better days it's true
These are better days
There's better days shining through

Now a life of leisure and a pirate's treasure
Don't make much for tragedy
But it's a sad man my friend who's livin' in his own skin
And can't stand the company
Every fool's got a reason to feelin' sorry for himself
And turn his heart to stone
Tonight this fool's halfway to heaven and just a mile outta hell
And I feel like I'm comin' home

These are better days baby
There's better days shining through
These are better days
Better days with a girl like you

These are better days baby
These are better days it's true
These are better days
Better days are shining through


@SONG: ATLANTIC CITY

Well they blew up the chicken man in
Philly last night now they blew up his house too
Down on the boardwalk they're gettin'
Ready for a fight gonna see what them
Racket boys can do

Now there's trouble busin' in from outta
State and the D.A. can't get no relief
Gonna be a rumble out on the
Promenade and the gamblin'
Commissions hangin' on by the skin of his teeth

CHORUS

Everything dies baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City

Well I got a job and tried to put my money away
But I got in too deep and I could not pay
So I drew what I had from the Central Trust
And I bought us two tickets on that Coast City bus

CHORUS

Now our luck may have died and our love
May be cold but with you forever I'll stay
We're goin' out where the sands turnin' to
Gold so put on your stockin's cause the
Nights gettin' cold and maybe everything dies
That's a fact but maybe everything that
Dies someday comes back

Now I been lookin' for a job but it's hard to find
Down here it's just winners and losers
And don't get caught on the wrong side of that line
Well I'm tired of comin' out on the losin' end
So honey last night I met this guy and I'm
Gonna do a little favor for him
Well I guess everything dies baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City


@SONG: DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

They're still racing out at the Trestles,
But that blood it never burned in her veins,
Now I hear she's got a house up in Fairview,
And a style she's trying to maintain
Well, if she wants to see me,
You can tell her that I'm easily found,
Tell her there's a spot out 'neath Abram's Bridge,
And tell her, there's a darkness on the edge of town

Everybody's got a secret, Sonny,
Something that they just can't face,
Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it,
They carry it with them every step that they take
Till some day they just cut it loose
Cut it loose or let it drag 'em down,
Where no one asks any questions, or looks too long in your face,
In the darkness on the edge of town

Some folks are born into a good life,
Other folks get it anyway, anyhow,
I lost my money and I lost my wife,
Them things don't seem to matter much to me now
Tonight I'll be on that hill 'cause I can't stop,
I'll be on that hill with everything I got,
Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost,
I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost,
For wanting things that can only be found
In the darkness on the edge of town


@SONG: MAN'S JOB

Well you can go out with him
Play with all of his toys
But takin' care of you darlin'
Ain't for one of the boys
Oh there's somethin' in your soul
That he's gonna rob
And lovin' you baby lovin' you darlin'
Lovin' you woman is a man's man's job
Lovin' you's a man's job baby
Lovin' you's a man's job
Lovin' you's a man's job baby
Lovin' you's a man's job

Well now his kisses may thrill
Those other girls that he likes
But when it comes to treatin'
A real woman right
Well of all of his tricks
No they won't be enough
'Cause lovin' you baby lovin' you woman
Lovin' you darlin' is a man's man's job
Lovin' you's a man's job baby
Lovin' you's a man's job
Lovin' you's a man's job baby
Lovin' you's a man's job

You're dancin' with him he's holding you tight
I'm standing here waitin' to catch your eye
Your hand's on his neck as the music sways
All my illusions slip away

Now if you're lookin' for a hero
Someone to save the day
Well darlin' my feet
They're made of clay
But I've got somethin' in my soul
And I wanna give it up
But gettin' up the nerve
Gettin' up the nerve
Gettin' up the nerve is a man's man's job
Lovin' you's a man's job baby
Lovin' you's a man's job
Lovin' you's a man's job woman
Lovin' you's a man's job


@SONG: HUMAN TOUCH

You and me we were the pretenders
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well the world just strips away

Girl ain't no kindness in the face of strangers
Ain't gonna find no miracles here
Well you can wait on your blessings my darlin'
But I got a deal for you right here

I ain't lookin' for prayers or pity
I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch

Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood
It's just you and me tonight

Tell me in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much?
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch

Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize
Well it comes with a hard hard price
You can't shut off the risk and the pain
Without losin' the love that remains
We're all riders on this train

So you been broken and you been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But hell a little touch up 
And a little paint...

You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that human touch

Baby in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much?
I just want to feel you in my arms
And share a little of that human touch...


@SONG: LUCKY TOWN

House got too crowded clothes got too tight
And I don't know just where I'm going tonight
Out where the sky's been cleared by a good hard rain
There's somebody callin' my secret name

I'm going down to Lucky Town
Going down to Lucky Town
I wanna lose these blues I've found
Down in Lucky Town
Down in Lucky Town

Had a coat of fine leather and snakeskin boots
But that coat always had a tread hangin' loose
Well I pulled it one night and to my surprise
It led me right past your house and on over the rise

I'm going down to Lucky Town
Down to Lucky Town
I'm gonna lose these blues I've found
Down in Lucky Town
Down in Lucky Town

I had some victory that was just failure in deceit
Now the joke's comin' up through the soles of my feet
I been a long time walking on fortune's cane
Tonight I'm steppin' lightly and feelin' no pain

Well here's to your good looks baby now here's to my health
Here's to the loaded places that we take ourselves
When it comes to luck you make your own
Tonight I got dirt on my hands but I'm building me a new home

Down in Lucky Town
Down in Lucky Town
I'm gonna lose these blues I've found
Down in Lucky Town


@SONG: I WISH I WERE BLIND

I love to see the cottonwood blossom
In the early spring
I love to see the message of love
That the bluebird brings
But when I see you walkin' with him
Down along the strand
I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man

I love to see your hair shining
In the long summer's light
I love to watch the stars fill the sky
On a summer night
The music plays you take his hand
I watch how you touch him as you start to dance
And I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man

We struggle here but all our love's in vain
Oh these eyes that once filled me with your beauty
Now fill me with pain
And the light that once entered here
Is banished from me
And this darkness is all baby that my heart sees

And though the world is filled
With the grace and beauty of God's hand
Oh I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man


@SONG: THUNDER ROAD

The screen door slams
Mary's dress waves
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 run back inside
Darling you know just what I'm here for
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 alright
Oh and that's alright with me

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 saviour to rise from these streets
Well now 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 busting 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
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting on down the tracks
Oh-oh come take my hand
Riding out tonight to case the promised land
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 we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight take hold
Thunder Road

Well I got this guitar
And I learned how to make it talk
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 open but the ride it ain't free
And I know you're lonely
For words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free
All the promises'll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets

They scream your name at night in the street
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 I'm pulling out of here to win


@SONG: LIGHT OF DAY

Well I've been out of the woods for six days and nights now
I'm a little hot wired, but I'm feeling alright
I got some money in my pocket and a long lean ride
I got to make it down to Galveston by Saturday night, now

Well I'm a little down under, but I'm feeling O.K.
Got a little lost along the way

I'm just around the corner to the light of day
Well, I'm just around the corner to the light of day

Been driving five hundred miles, got five hundred to go, yeah
I got rock and roll music on the radio
I got a brother on a rig just off the gulf coast
He says the girls down there, well they're really the most, man

Well I'm a little down under, but I'm feeling O.K.
Got a little lost along the way

Just around the corner to the light of day
Just around the corner to the light of day
I'm just around the corner to the light of day
I'm just around the corner to the light of day

Well I got thrown out of work on the Kokomo
Don't ask me what I'm doing, I don't know
He wasn't joking when he wrote me that letter
Things can't get any worse, they got to get better

I'm a little down under, but I'm feeling O.K.
Got a little lost along the way

I'm just around the corner to the light of day
Just around the corner to the light of day
Just around the corner to the light of day
Just around the corner to the light of day


@SONG: IF I SHOULD FALL BEHIND

We said we'd walk together baby come what may
That come the twilight should we lose our way
If as we're walking a hand should slip free
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me

We swore we'd travel darlin' side by side
We'd help each other stay in stride
But each lover's steps fall so differently
But I'll wait for you
And if I should fall behind
Wait for me

Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true
But you and I know what this world can do
So let's make our steps clear that the other may see
And I'll wait for you
If I should fall behind
Wait for me

Now there's a beautiful river in the valley ahead
There 'neath the oak's bough soon we will be wed
Should we lose each other in the shadow of the evening trees
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me
Darlin' I'll wait for you
Should I fall behind
Wait for me


@SONG: LIVING PROOF

Well now on a summer night in a dusky room
Come a little piece of the Lord's undying light
Crying like he swallowed the fiery moon
In his mother's arms it was all the beauty I could take
Like the missing words to some prayer that I could never make
In a world so hard and dirty so fouled and confused
Searching for a little bit of God's mercy
I found living proof

I put my heart and soul I put 'em high upon a shelf
Right next to the faith the faith that I'd lost in myself
I went down into the desert city
Just tryin' so hard to shed my skin
I crawled deep into some kind of darkness
Lookin' to burn out every trace of who I'd been
You do some sad sad things baby
When it's you you're tryin' to lose
You do some sad and hurtful things
I've seen living proof

You shot through my anger and rage
To show me my prison was just an open cage
There were no keys no guards
Just one frightened man and some old shadows for bars

Well now all that's sure on the boulevard
Is that life is just a house of cards
As fragile as each and every breath
Of this boy sleepin' in our bed
Tonight let's lie beneath the eaves
Just a close band of happy thieves
And when that train comes we'll get on board
And steal what we can from the treasures treasures of the Lord
It's been a long long drought baby
Tonight the rain's pourin' down on our roof
Looking for a little bit of God's mercy
I found living proof


@SONG: MY BEAUTIFUL REWARD

Well I sought gold and diamond rings
My own drug to ease the pain that living brings
Walked from the mountain to the valley floor
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward

From a house on a hill a sacred light shines
I walk through these rooms but none of them are mine
Down empty hallways I went from door to door
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward

Well your hair shone in the sun
I was so high I was the lucky one
Then I came crashing down like a drunk on a barroom floor
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward

Tonight I can feel the cold wind at my back
I'm flyin' high over gray fields my feathers long and black
Down along the river's silent edge I soar
Searching for my beautiful reward
Searching for my beautiful reward