Bruce Springsteen

[fox69]

JOHN HENRY

JOHN HENRY


Well John Henry was a little baby
Sittin' on his daddy's knee
He picked up a hammer and
a little piece of steel
And cried, "Hammer's gonna
be death of me, Lord, Lord
Hammer's gonna be the death of me"

Now the captain he
said to John Henry
"I'm gonna bring that
steam drill around
I'm gonna bring that
steam drill out on these tracks
I'm gonna knock that
steel on down, God, God
I'm gonna knock that
steel on down"

John Henry told his captain
"Lord a man ain't noth' but a man
But before I let that steam drill
beat me down
I'm gonna die with a hammer
in my hand, Lord, Lord
I'll die with a hammer in my hand"

John Henry driving
on the right side
That steam drill driving
on the left
Says, "Fore I let your
steam drill beat me down
I'm gonna hammer
myself to death, Lord, Lord,
I'll hammer my fool self to death"

Well captain said to John Henry
"What is that storm I hear?"
John Henry said, "That
ain't no storm captain
That's just my hammer
in the air, Lord, Lord
That's just my hammer in the air"

John Henry said to his shaker
"Shaker, why don't you sing?
Cause I'm swingin' thirty pounds
from my hips on down
Yeah, listen to my cold steel
ring, Lord Lord

Listen to my cold steel ring"

John Henry he hammered
in the mountains
His hammer was striking fire
But he worked so hard;
it broke his heart
John Henry laid down his hammer
and died, Lord, Lord

John Henry laid down his hammer and died

Well, now John Henry
he had him a woman
By the name of Polly Ann
She walked out to those tracks
Picked up John Henry's hammer
Polly drove steel like a man, Lord, Lord
Polly drove that steel like a man

Well every, every Monday morning
When a blue bird he began to sing
You could hear John Henry
from a mile or more
You could hear John Henry's hammer
ring, Lord, Lord
You can hear John Henry's hammer ring
I say, You can John Henry's
hammer ring, Lord, Lord
You can John Henry's
hammer ring

 

[fox69]

JOHNNY 99

JOHNNY 99


Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month
Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none
He came home too drunk from mixin' Tanqueray and wine
He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call him Johnny 99
Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop
Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top
When an off-duty cop snuck up on him from behind
Out in front of the Club Tip Top they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99

Well the city supplied a public defender but the judge was Mean John Brown
He came into the courtroom and stared young Johnny down
Well the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crime
Prison for 98 and a year and we'll call it even Johnny 99

A fist fight broke out in the courtroom they had to drag Johnny's girl away
His mama stood up and shouted "Judge don't take my boy this way"
Well son you got a statement you'd like to make
Before the bailiff comes to forever take you away

Now judge I had debts no honest man could pay
The bank was holdin' my mortgage and they were gonna take my house away
Now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man
But it was more `n all this that put that gun in my hand

Well your honor I do believe I'd be better off dead
So if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head
Then sit back in that chair and think it over judge one more time
And let `em shave off my hair and put me on that killin' line

 

[fox69]

JUNGLELAND

JUNGLELAND


The Rangers had a homecoming
In Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine
Over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town, rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance
And disappear down Flamingo Lane

Well the Maximum Lawmen run down Flamingo
Chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids 'round there live just like shadows
Always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails
Tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand
Down in Jungleland

The midnight gang's assembled
And picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign
That brings this fair city light
Man there's an opera out on the turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops
Cherry tops
Rips this holy night
The street's alive
As secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they vanish unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switchblades
Hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted
Explode into rock and roll bands
That face off against each other in the street
Down in Jungleland

In the parking lot the visionaries
Dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing
To the records that the DJ plays
Lonely-hearted lovers
Struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on
Just one look and a whisper
And they're gone
Beneath the city two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender
In a bedroom locked
In whispers of soft refusal
And then surrender
In the tunnels uptown
The Rat's own dream guns him down
As shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light

Outside the street's on fire
In a real death waltz
Between what's flesh and what's fantasy
And the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all
They just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of a knife
They reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand
But they wind up wounded
Not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland

 

[fox69]

KITTY'S BACK

KITTY'S BACK


Catlong sighs holdin' Kitty's black tooth,
She left to marry some top cat, ain't it the cold truth,
And there hasn't been a tally since Sally left the alley,
Since Kitty left with Big Pretty things have got pretty thin,
It's tight on this fence since them young dudes are musclin' in.
Jack Knife cries cause Baby's in a bundle,
She goes runnin' nightly, lightly through the jungle,
And them tin cans are explodin' out of the ninety degree heat,
Cat somehow lost his baby down on Bleeker Street,
It's sad but it sure is true
Cat shrugs his shoulders, sits back and sighs.
Catlong lies back bent on a trash can,
Flashin' lights cut the night, dude in the white says he's the man,
Well you better move fast when you're young or you're not long around,
Cat somehow lost his Kitty in the city pound,
So get right, get tight, get down.
Who's that down at the end of the alley, she's been gone so long,
Here she comes, here she comes, here she comes, here she comes,
Kitty's back in town, here she comes now, Kitty's back in town,
Cat knows Kitty's been untrue and that she left him for a city dude,
Well she's so soft, she's so blue,
When he looks into her eyes he just sits back and sighs,
OOh what can I do, ooh what can I do?
OOh what can I do, ohh what can I do? Alright.
OOh alright, ooh alright, ooh alright, ooh alright.

 

[fox69]

LADY & THE DOCTOR

LADY & THE DOCTOR


The lady keeps the doctor in a place inside her pocket
The circle made her circle like a wheel
The doctor gives a strange love, but the lady she don't knock it
She's glad to get a piece of anything
Because the lady needs the medicine ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Doctor needs the lady to see
The doctor keeps the lady in a page in a book
On the history of communicable diseases
The lady's been to school, she lets the doctor play it cool.
He writes the script, she follows his lead.
'cause the doctor writes love story so fine
The lady's learned to read between the lines
Sometime
The doctor, he takes housecalls where he visits the animals
In their stalls, shoots them full of juice and then goes home.
The lady hits the supermarket where she rides the aisles in a shopping cart
'till she feels she's played enough of the part to set by ooh,
The lady feels it's enough to just be good.
But the doctor has his need to be understood.
The doctor feels he's so abused and the lady feels she's so unused
And demands the doctor tends her daily parts.
Ooh, but the doctor just can't do it because so long ago the lady
Blew it, they're too old now to make another start.
The lady feels the doctor's made of stone.
The doctor' heart, it just ain't fond of ? home?

 

[fox69]

LAND OF HOPE & DREAMS

LAND OF HOPE & DREAMS


Grab your ticket and your suitcase
Thunder’s rollin’ down this track
Well, you don’t know where you’re goin’ now
But you know you won’t be back
Well, darlin’ if you’re weary
Lay your head upon my chest
We’ll take what we can carry
Yeah, and we’ll leave the rest

Big wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

Well, I will provide for you
And I’ll stand by your side
You’ll need a good companion now
For this part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine
And all this darkness past

Big wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams

This train...
Carries saints and sinners
This train...
Carries losers and winners
This train...
Carries whores and gamblers
This train...
Carries lost souls

I said this train...
Dreams will not be thwarted
This train...
Faith will be rewarded

 

[fox69]

LAST TO DIE

LAST TO DIE


We took the highway till the road went black
We marked Truth Or Consequences on our map*
A voice drifted up from the radio
We saw the voice from long ago

Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake

The kids asleep in the backseat
We're just countin' the miles you and me
We don't measure the blood we've drawn anymore
We just stack the bodies outside the door

Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die for a mistake

The wise men were all fools
What to do

The sun sets in flames as the city burns
Another day gone down as the night turns
And I hold you here in my heart
As things fall apart

A downtown window flushed with light
Faces of the dead at five (faces of the dead at five)
A martyr's silent eyes
Petition the drivers as we pass by

Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break
Who'll be the last to die

Who'll be the last to die for a mistake
The last to die for a mistake
Darlin' will tyrants and kings fall to the same fate
Strung up at your city gates
And you're the last to die for a mistake

 

[fox69]

LEAH

LEAH


I wanna build me a house, on higher ground
I wanna find me a world, where love's the only sound
High above this road, filled with shadow and doubt
I want to shoulder my load, and figure it all out
With Leah

I walk this road, with a hammer and a fiery lantern
With this hand I've built, and with this I've burned
I wanna live in the same house, beneath the same roof
Sleep in the same bed, search for the same proof
As Leah

I got somethin' in my heart, I been waitin' to give
I got a life I wanna start, one I been waitin' to live
No more waitin', tonight I feel the light I say the prayer
I open the door, I climb the stairs...

 

[fox69]

LEAP OF FAITH

LEAP OF FAITH


All over the world the rain was pourin
I was scratchin where it itched
Oh heartbreak and despair got nothing but boring
So I grabbed you baby like a wild pitch

It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust

Now your legs were heaven your breasts were the altar
Your body was the holy land
You shouted jump but my heart faltered
You laughed and said baby don't you understand?

It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust

Now you were the red sea I was moses
I kissed you and slipped into a bed of roses
The waters parted and love rushed inside
I was jesus son sanctified

Tonight the moons looking young but Im feelin younger
Neath a veil of dreams sweet blessings rain
Honey I can feel the first breeze of summer
And in your love Im born again

It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust

 

[fox69]

LEAVIN' TRAIN

LEAVIN' TRAIN


When I asked you if everything is alright
You whisper "Don't worry" and you shut out the light
Now black is black in this bed we're laying
And I wanna believe the words that you're saying

CHORUS
But your eyes look like a leavin' train
They keep on dragging me down
Your eyes look like a leavin' train
They keep on draggin'
They keep on draggin'
They keep on draggin' me down

Well I did anything just to try to get close to you
I took it step by step like a man's supposed to
Tell me now, is this my
Is this my contrition
To have the love that I longed for fill me with suspicion

CHORUS

Now it's tellin' time, oh my little sister
Now can I believe the words, the words of love you whisper
Is my train in vain, has my soul gone to waste
Am I just a victim of, a victim of my lost faith