Bruce Springsteen Forum

HITCH HIKIN'
Thumb stuck out as I go
I'm just travelin' up the road
Maps don't do much for me, friend
I follow the weather and the wind

I'm hitch hikin' all day long
Got what I can carry and my song
I'm a rolling stone just rolling on
Catch me now 'cause tomorrow I'll be gone

Family man gives me a ride
Got his pregnant Sally at his side
Yes indeed, sir, children are a gift
Thank you kindly for the lift

I'm hitch hikin' all day long

Trucker gears his engine down
Says, "Climb on up, son, I'm highway bound"
Dashboard picture of a pretty girl
I'm ridin' high on top of the world

I'm hitch hikin' all day long

Gearhead in a souped-up '72
Wants to show a kid just what this thing'11 do
Telephone poles and trees go whizzin' by
Thank you pal, she sure can fly

I'm hitch hikin' all day long


THE WAYFARER
Same sad story, love and glory goin' 'round and 'round
Same old cliché, a wanderer on his way, slippin' from town to town
Some find peace here on the sweet streets, the sweet streets of home
Where kindness falls and your heart calls for a permanent place of your own

I'm a wayfarer, baby, I drift from town to town
When everyone's asleep and the midnight bells sound
My wheels are hissin' up Ike highway, spinning 'round and 'round

You start out slow in a sweet little bungalow, something two can call home
Then rain comes fallin', the blues come calling, and you're left with a heart of stone
Some folks are inspired silting by the fire, slippers lucked under the bed
But when I go to sleep I can't count sheep for the white lines in my head

I'm a wayfarer, baby, I roam from town to town
When everyone's asleep and the midnight bells sound
My wheels are hissin' up the highway, spinning 'round and 'rourd

Where are you now, where are you now
Where are you now...

I'm a wayfarer, baby, I roam from town to town
When everyone's asleep and the midnight bells sound
My wheels are hissin' up the highway, spinning 'round and 'round

I'm a wayfarer, baby, I'm a wayfarer, baby


TUCSON TRAIN
I got so down and out in 'Frisco
Tired of the pills and the rain
I picked up, headed for the sunshine
I left a good thing behind
Seemed all of our love was in vain
My baby's coming in on the Tucson train

I come here looking for a new life
One I wouldn't have to explain
To that voice that keeps me awake at night
When a little peace would make everything right
If I could just turn off my brain
Now my baby's coming in on the Tucson train

We fought hard over nothing
We fought till nothing remained
I've carried that nothing for a long time
Now I carry my operator's license
And spend my days just running this crane
My baby's coming in on the Tucson train

Hard work'll clear your mind and body
The hard sun will burn out the pain
If they're looking for me, tell 'em buddy
I'm wailing down at the station
Just praying to the five-fifteen
I'll wait all God's creation
Just to show her a man can change
Now my baby's coming in on the Tucson train

On the Tucson train
On the Tucson train
Waiting on the five-fifteen
Here she comes


WESTERN STARS
I wake up in the morning, just glad my boots are on
Instead of empty in the whispering grasses
Down the Five at Forest Lawn
On the set, the makeup girl brings me two raw eggs and a shot of gin
Then I give it all up for that little blue pill
That promises to bring it all back to you again

Ride me down easy, ride me down easy, friend
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again

Here in the canyons above Sunset, the desert don't give up the fight
A coyote with someone's Chihuahua in its teeth skitters 'cross my veranda in the night
Some lost sheep from Oklahoma sips her Mojito down at the Whiskey Bar
Smiles and says she thinks she remembers me from that commercial with the credit card

Hell, these days there ain't no more, now there's just again
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again

Sundays I take my El Camino, throw my saddle in and go
East to the desert where the charros, they still ride and rope
Our American brothers cross the wire and bring the old ways with them
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again

Once I was shot by John Wayne, yeah, it was towards the end
That one scene's bought me a thousand drinks, set me up and tell it for you, friend

Here's to the cowboys, and the riders in the whirlwind
Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
And the western stars are shining bright again

Tonight the riders on Sunset are smothered in the Santa Ana winds
The western stars are shining bright again
C'mon and ride me down easy, ride me down easy, friend
'Cause tonight the western stars are shining bright again

I woke up this morning just glad my boots were on


SLEEPY JOE'S CAFE
There's a place out on the highway 'cross the San Bernardino line
Where the truckers and the bikers gather every night at the same time
At seven the band comes in and locals dance the night away
At Sleepy Joe's Café

I drive on down from the big town Friday when the clock strikes five
As the red sun sets in the ocean, I start to come alive
Summer girls in the parking lot slap on their makeup and they flirt the night away
At Sleepy Joe's Café

Joe came home in '45 and took out a G.I. loan
On a sleepy little spot and Army cook could call his own
He married May, the highway come in and they woke up to find
They were sitting on top of a pretty little gold mine

Saturday night the lights are bright as the folks pour in from town
Joe keeps the blues playin', at the bar May lays the beers down
I come through the door and feel the workweek slip away
See you out on the floor and Monday morning's a million miles away

At Sleepy Joe's Café


DRIVE FAST (THE STUNTMAN)
I got two pins in my ankle and a busted collarbone
A steel rod in my leg, but it walks me home
At nine, I climbed high into the boughs of our neighborhood's tallest tree
I don't remember the fear, just the breeze

Drive fast, fall hard, I'll keep you in my heart
Don't worry about tomorrow, don't mind the scars
Just drive fast, fall hard

At nineteen, I was the king of the dirt down at the Remington draw
I liked the pedal and I didn't mind the wall
'Midst the roar of the metal I never heard a sound
I was looking for anything, any kind of drug to lift me up off this ground

Drive fast, fall hard, I'll keep you in my heart
Don't worry about tomorrow, don't mind the scars
Just drive fast, fall hard

We met on the set of this B picture that she made
She liked her guys a little greasy and 'neath her pay grade
We headed down to Baja in the desert, we made our stand of it
Figured maybe together we could get the broken pieces to fit

Drive fast, fall hard, keep me in your heart
Don't worry about tomorrow, don't mind the scars
Just drive fast, fall hard
I'll keep you in my heart
Don't worry about tomorrow, don't mind the scar
Just drive fast, fall hard

I got two pins in my ankle and a busted collarbone
A steel rod in my leg, but it walks me home


CHASIN' WILD HORSES
Guess it was somethin' I shouldn't have done
Guess I regret it now
Ever since I was a kid
Tryin' to keep my temper down is like
Chasin' wild horses, chasin' wild horses
Chasin' wild horses

Left my home, left my friends
I didn't say goodbye
I contract out to the BLM
Up on the Montana line
Chasin' wild horses, chasin' wild horses

We're out before sunup
In after sundown
There's two men in the chopper
Two under saddle on the ground
In the evenings we'd hop in the pickup
Head into town for a drink
I make sure I work till I'm so damn tired
Way too tired to think

You lose track of time
It's all just storms blowin' through
You come rollin' 'cross my mind
Your hair flashin' in the blue
Like wild horses, just like wild horses
Just like wild horses

A fingernail moon in a twilight sky
I'm ridin' in the high grass of the switchback
I shout your name into the canyon
The echo throws it back

The winter snow whiles out the plains
Till it can turn you blind
The only thing up here I've found
Is tryin' to get you off mind
Is like chasin' wild horses, chasin' wild horses
Chasin' wild horses, chasin' wild horses


SUNDOWN
I'm twenty-five hundred miles from where I wanna be
It feels like a hundred years since you've been near to me
I guess what goes around, baby, comes around
Just wishing you were here with me, in Sundown

Sundown ain't the kind of place you want to be on your own
It's all long, hot, endless days and cold nights all alone
I drift from bar to bar, here in lonely town
Just wishing you were here with me, come sundown

In Sundown the cafés are filled with lovers passing time
In Sundown all I've got's trouble on my mind

So I work all day out here on the county line
I tell myself it's all just gonna work out in time
When summer's through, you'll come around
That little voice in my head's all that keeps me from sinking down
Come Sundown

When summer's through, you'll come around
That little voice in my head's all that keeps me from sinking down
Come Sundown


SOMEWHERE NORTH OF NASHVILLE
Came into town with a pocketful of songs
I made the rounds
But I didn't last long
Now I'm out on this highway
With a bone-cold chill
Somewhere north of Nashville

I lie awake in the middle of the night
Makin' a list of things that I didn't do right
With you at the top of a long page filled
Here, somewhere north of Nashville

For the deal I made, the price was strong
I traded you for this song
We woke each morning with hearts filled
Bluebird of love on the windowsill
Now the heart's unsteady, and the night is still
And all I've got's this melody, and time to kill
Here, somewhere north of Nashville


STONES
I woke up this morning with stones in my mouth
You said those were only the lies you've told me
Those are only the lies you've told me

I pulled my collar to the wind and spit them on the ground
You said those are only the lies you've told me
Those are only the lies you've told me

Sat on the edge of our bed in the sun
I fell them gather on my tongue

I woke up this morning with stones in my mouth
You said those are only the lies you've told me
Those are only the lies you've told me

The dirt-brown winter field, a thousand black crows cover the ground
You say those are only the lies you've told me
Those are only the lies you've told me

The autumn wind blows through the trees
As the dark leaves come tumbling down
You say those are only the lies you've told me
Those are only the lies you've told me

I walk a highway washed in sun
I feel weight gather on my tongue

I woke up this morning with stones in my mouth
You said those are only the lies you've told me
Those are only the lies you've told me

Those are only the lies you've told me
(Only the lies you've told me)
Those are only the lies you've told me
(Only the lies you've told me)
Those are only the lies you've told me
(Only the lies you've told me)
Those are only the lies you've told me

I woke up this morning with stones in my mouth


THERE GOES MY MIRACLE
Sunrise, sundown
The streets gone golden brown
Auburn skies above
I'm searching for my love, searching for my love

There goes my miracle
Walking away, walking away
There goes my miracle
Walking away, walking away

Moonlight, moon bright
Where's my lucky star tonight
Streets lost in lamp light
Suddenly in sight, suddenly in sight

There goes my miracle
Walking away, walking away
There goes my miracle
Walking away, walking away

Look what you've done
Look what you've done
Look what you've done

Heartache, heartbreak
Love gives, love takes
The book of love holds its rules
Disobeyed by fools, disobeyed by fools

There goes my miracle
Walking away, walking away
There goes my miracle
Walking away, walking away
Walking away, walking away

There goes my miracle
Sunrise, sundown


HELLO SUNSHINE
Had enough of heartbreak and pain
I had a little sweet spot for the rain
For the rain and skies of gray
Hello sunshine, won't you stay

You know I always liked my walking shoes
But you can get a little too fond of the blues
You walk too far, you walk away
Hello sunshine, won't you stay

You know I always loved a lonely town
Those empty streets, no one around
You fall in love with lonely, you end up that way
Hello sunshine, won't you stay

You know I always liked that empty road
No place to be and miles to go
But miles to go is miles away

Hello sunshine, won't you stay
And miles to go is miles away

Hello sunshine, won't you stay
Hello sunshine


MOONLIGHT MOTEL
There's a place on a blank stretch of road where
Nobody travels and nobody goes and the Deskman says these days 'round here
Two young folks could probably up and disappear into
Rustlin' sheets, a sleepy corner room
Into the musty smell
Of wilted flowers and
Lazy afternoon hours
At the Moonlight Motel

Now the pool's filled with empty, eight-foot deep
Got dandelions growin' up through the cracks in the concrete
Chain-link fence half-rusted away
Got a sign says "Children be careful how you play"
Your lipstick taste and your whispered secret I promised I'd never tell
A hall-drunk beer and your breath in my ear
At the Moonlight Motel

Well then it's bills and kids and kids and bills and the ringing of the bell
Across the valley floor through the dusty screen door
Of the Moonlight Motel

Last night I dreamed of you, my lover
And the wind blew through the window and blew off the covers
Of my lonely bed, I woke to something you said
That it's better to have loved, yeah it's better to have loved
As I drove, there was a chill in the breeze
And leaves tumbled from the sky and fell
Onto a road so black as I backtracked
To the Moonlight Motel

She was boarded up and gone like an old summer song
Nothing but an empty shell
I pulled in and stopped into my old spot

I pulled a bottle of Jack out of a paper bag
Poured one for me and one for you as well
Then it was one more shot poured out onto the parking lot
To the Moonlight Motel