Song title: From small things big things come
From small things big things come
At sixteen she quit high school
To make a fortune in the Promised Land
She got a job behind the counter
In an all-night hamburger stand
She rode faithfully home to Mama
Now, Mama don’t you worry none
From small things, Mama, big things one day come
It was late one Friday
He pulled in out of the dark
He was tall and handsome
First she took his order, then she took his heart
They bought a house up on the hillside
Where little feet soon would run
From small things, Mama, big things one day come
Oh, but love is bleeding
It’s sad but it’s true
When your heart is beating
You don’t want to hear the news
She packed her bags
And with a Wyoming County Interstate map
She drove down to Tampa
In an Eldorado Grand
She wrote back, Dear Mama
Life is just heaven in the sun
From small things, Mama, big things one day come
Well, she shot him dead on a sunny Florida road
When they caught her all she said
Was she couldn’t stand the way he drove
Back home lonesome Johnny waits for his baby’s parole
He waits high on the hillside
Where the Wyoming rivers roll
And his seed have almost grown now
To a daughter and a handsome son
From small things, Mama, big things one day come.
Published on the following official releases:
- THE ESSENTIAL BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (Album,2003)
- THE TIES THAT BIND : RIVER OUTTAKES (Album,2015)
First known live performance: 27/06/1982 Stone Pony, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA
Last known live performance: 09/09/2016 Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia,PA ,USA
Song 'history':
Studio recordings have surfaced from the THE RIVER sessions, but the song was not used for that album.
Played during the 1982-1984 period, during which Bruce played, with various small groups or guesting, in a number of bars and small clubs of the New Jersey area (14 times)
Played during the 'Summer '89 bar tour', which is the name under which I group the 1989 shows Bruce played with various small bands, or guesting, between March and September 1989
Played only a couple of times in the whole Rising tour (11/08/2003 Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia,PA ,USA and 28/08/2003 Giants Stadium, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA)
Played during the Conventional Hall shows in 2003
The song made its first official apparition being included, as inedit track, in the bonus CD of the ESSENTIAL compilation, released in 2003.
Two only performances during the Magic tour (14/06/2008 Millenium Stadium, Cardiff ,GB and 08/07/2008 Vallehovin Stadium, Oslo ,Norway)
One only rendering for this song in the Working on a Dream tour (30/05/2009 Pinkpop Festival, Landgraaf ,Netherlands)
Bruce gave this song only two shots through the Wrecking Ball tour (21/09/2012 MetLife Stadium, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA and 07/05/2013 HK Arena, Turku ,Finland)
Two only performances during the High Hopes tour (19/04/2014 Time Warner Arena, Charlotte,NC ,USA and 01/05/2014 MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa,FL ,USA)
The song was then included in the THE TIES THAT BIND Anniversary Box, released in 2015.
Bruce gave this song only two shots through the 2016 The River tour (14/06/2016 Malieveld, The Hague ,Netherlands and 09/09/2016 Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia,PA ,USA)
The song was also played in informal happenings or off-tour appearances
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database