Bruce Springsteen lyrics -- Bruce Springsteen shows -- Bruce Springsteen records

Song title: 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)


4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) - Album version

Sandy the fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Forcin’ a light into all those stoned-out faces
left stranded on this Fourth of July
Down in town the circuit’s full
with switchblade lovers so fast so shiny so sharp
And the wizards play down on Pinball Way
on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open
like Latin lovers along the shore
Chasin’ all them silly New York girls

Sandy the aurora is risin’ behind us, the pier lights our carnival life forever
Love me tonight for I may never see you again, hey Sandy girl

Now the greasers they tramp the streets or get busted
for trying to sleep on the beach all night
Them boys in their spiked high heels
ah Sandy their skins are so white
And me I just got tired of hangin’ in them dusty arcades
bangin’ them pleasure machines
Chasin’ the factory girls underneath the boardwalk
where they promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl way
down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And that Joey kept me spinnin’
I didn’t think I’d ever get off

Oh Sandy the aurora is risin’ behind us
The pier lights our carnival life on the water
Runnin’ down the beach at night with my boss’s daughter
Well he ain’t my boss no more Sandy
Sandy, that waitress I was seeing lost her desire for me
I spoke with her last night, she said she won't set themselves on fire for me anymore
She worked that joint under the boardwalk, she was always the girl you saw
boppin' down on the beach with the radio
The kids say last night she was dressed like a star in one of them cheap
little seaside bars, and I saw her parked with Loverboy out on the Kokomo
Sandy the angels have lost their desire for us
Well the cops finally busted Madame Marie, for tellin’ fortunes better than they do
This boardwalk life for me is through
You know you ought to quit this scene too

Sandy the aurora’s rising behind us, the pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh love me tonight and I promise I’ll love you forever

Notes: This is the album version, whose central verses were pratically never played live.
Also an instrumental version exists.

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) - Live 1975-85 version

Sandy the fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight
Forcin’ a light into all those stoned-out faces
left stranded on this Fourth of July
Down in town the circuit’s full
with switchblade lovers so fast so shiny so sharp
And the wizards play down on Pinball Way
on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open
like Latin lovers along the shore
Chasin’ all them silly New York girls

Sandy the aurora is risin’ behind us, the pier lights our carnival life forever
Love me tonight for I may never see you again, hey Sandy girl

Now the greasers they tramp the streets or get busted
for trying to sleep on the beach all night
Them boys in their spiked high heels
ah Sandy their skins are so white
And me I just got tired of hangin’ in them dusty arcades
bangin’ them pleasure machines
Chasin’ the factory girls underneath the boardwalk
where they promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl way
down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And that Joey kept me spinnin’
I didn’t think I’d ever get off

Oh Sandy the aurora is risin’ behind us
The pier lights our carnival life on the water
Runnin’ down the beach at night with my boss’s daughter
Well he ain’t my boss no more Sandy
Sandy the angels have lost their desire for us
I spoke to `em just last night and they said they won’t set themselves on fire for us anymore
Every summer when the weather gets hot
They ride that road down from heaven on their Harleys they come and they go
And you can see `em dressed like stars in all the cheap little seashore bars
Parked making love with their babies out on the Kokomo
Well the cops finally busted Madame Marie, for tellin’ fortunes better than they do
This boardwalk life for me is through
You know you ought to quit this scene too

Sandy the aurora’s rising behind us, the pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh love me tonight and I promise I’ll love you forever

Notes: This is the most used live version, with different central verses.
Also an instrumental version exists.

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) - "Bandit in the sky" version

Sandy the fireworks are hailin' over Little Eden tonight
Sparkin' an empty light in all those lonely faces reachin' up like bandits in the sky
Down in town the circuits full with switchblade lovers so fast, so shiny, so sharp
As the wizards play down on Pinball Way on the boardwalk way past dark
And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers on the shore
Chasin' all them silly New York virgins by the score

Sandy the aurora is risin' behind us, this pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh love me tonight for I may never see you again, hey Sandy girl
Now now baby

Now the greasers, ahh they tramp the streets or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night
Them boys in their high heels, ah Sandy their skins are so white
And me I just got tired of hangin' in them dusty arcades, bangin' them pleasure machines
Chasin' the factory girls underneath the boardwalk where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And they kept me spinnin' baby, they didn't think I'd ever get off

Oh Sandy the aurora is risin' behind us
This pier lights our carnival life on the water
Runnin' laughin' 'neath the boardwalk with the boss's daughter
I remember Sandy girl
Na na na na baby

Sandy them Northern angels lost their desire for us
I spoke with them last night, they won't set themselves on fire for us anymore
Still when the weather gets hot they ride that crazy road down from heaven
on their Harleys every season they come and they go
Dressed like stars in all them cheap little seaside bars parked with their babies out on the Kokomo
And the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do
Just goes to show baby
This boardwalk life is through

Oh Sandy the aurora's rising behind us
Oh the pier life it drags on and on forever
Oh love me tonight girl I promise I'll love you forever
Hey Sandy girl, na na na na baby
Oh Sandy girl, na na baby

Notes: These lyrics refer to the early take played in the first months.

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) - 18-Jul-1973 version

Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over little Eden tonight
Sparkin' a light in all those empty faces staring up on this warm July
Down in town the streets are full of switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, so sharp
Them wizards play down on pinball way on the boardwalk way past dark
And them Casino boys dance with their shirts open down upon the shore
Ah, catching all them silly New York girls by the score

So Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us
The pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh love me tonight, I promise I'll love you forever

Well now the greasers, they tramp the streets or get busted for sleeping on the beach at night
And them boys in their high heels, oh Sandy, their skins are so white
And me I'm tired working in this dusty old arcade and fixin' these machines
Chasin' them factory girls under the boardwalk where they unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
That Joey kept me spinnin'
No, he wouldn't let me off

So, Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh love me tonight, I promise I'll love you forever

Well now Sandy, them north side angels lost their desire for us
I talked with them last night and they said they won't set themselves on fire for us anymore
But the weather gets hot and every season, oh they still come and they go
Oh parkin' with their honeys way down south on the Kokomo
Did you hear the cops they busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do
Guess it don't matter much any more girl, pretty soon summer will be through

Oh Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us
This beach life, oh it cannot go on forever
Oh love me tonight, I promise I'll love you forever
Sandy

Notes: These are the lyrics of the 18-Jul-1973 performance.

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) - 31-Jul-1973 version

Sandy, the fireworks are hailin' over little Eden tonight
Sparkin' a light in all those lonesome faces staring up on this warm July
Down in town the streets are full of switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, so sharp
And them wizards play down on pinball way on the boardwalk way past dark
And those boys from the Casino dance with their shirts open like bandits on the shore
Ah, catching all them silly New York girls by the score

So Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh love me tonight and I promise I'll love you forever

Well the greasers, they tramp the streets or get busted for sleeping on the beach all night
It's like a sidewalk burlesque, those boys in their high heels, oh Sandy, their skins are so white
Oh and me I got tired, oh so damn tired of working in that dusty old arcade and fixin' their machines
Chasin' them factory girls underneath the boardwalk where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
Oh that Joey kept me spinnin'
Oh, he would not let me off

So, Sandy, this aurora is risin' behind us
Oh this pier lights our carnival life 'cross the water
Oh runnin' laughing 'neath the boardwalk with Rollie Joe's daughter
Hmmm mmmm..

Well now Sandy, them north side angels, they lost their desire for us
I spoke with 'em last night, they said they won't set themselves on fire for us anymore
Oh, but the weather gets hot, and every season you can still see 'em come and go
Oh, dressed like stars in that cheap little bars and parked with their baby down on the Kokomo
Did you hear the cops they busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do
It don't matter much any more, girl, summer's gonna be through

And Sandy, the aurora is risin' behind us
This pier lights our carnival life forever
Oh love me tonight and I promise I'll love you forever
Sandy Girl
La La la
Sandy girl
Oh la la ya ya

Notes: These are the lyrics of the 31-Jul-1973 performance.

Statistics from the KILLING FLOOR (www.brucespringsteen.it) database

Published on the following official releases:

First known live performance: 18/07/1973 Max's Kansas City, New York,NY ,USA
Last known live performance: 14/09/2016 Gilette Stadium, Foxborough, MA ,USA

Song 'history':

Played live 2 time(s) during the so-called 'Greetings Tour' and 36 time(s) during the gigs preceeding the official Born To Run Tour.
Keep in mind that only a small amount of the setlists of these years has surfaced, so it may have been played a lot more.
Apart from the above live performances, the song was recorded during the Greetings / Wild sessions in 1972-73 (and released on THE WILD....)
A discrete number of performances (98) was given during the Born to Run tour
28 perfomances were given during the Darkness tour
Played during the River tour (36 times)
The song (in live version) was then included in the 'LIVE 1975-85' box set
Just 3 shots during the Human Touch tour
It only saw the light 4 times in the whole Ghost of Tom Joad tour
Two only renderings for this song in the Reunion tour (11/08/1999 Continental Arena, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA and 23/06/2000 Madison Square Garden, New York,NY ,USA)
It only saw the light 3 times in the whole Rising tour
The song was then included in the ESSENTIAL compilation, released in 2003.
Not much used during the Devils and Dust tour, deserving only 5 renderings
12 perfomances were given during the Magic tour
Scarcely used during the Working on a Dream tour, with 3 inclusions
Played only a couple of times in the whole Wrecking Ball tour (04/07/2012 Bercy, Paris ,France and 01/11/2012 Bryce Jordan Center, State College,PA ,USA)
Played only a couple of times in the whole High Hopes tour (23/02/2014 Hope Estate Winery, Hunter Valley ,Australia and 26/02/2014 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane ,Australia)
Scarcely used during the 2016 The River tour, with 4 inclusions

The song was also played in informal happenings or off-tour appearances
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database