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

Song title: Rosalita (Come out tonight)


Rosalita (Come out tonight)

Spread out now Rosie doctor come cut loose her mama’s reins
You know playin’ blind man’s bluff is a little baby’s game
You pick up Little Dynamite I’m gonna pick up Little Gun
And together we’re gonna go out tonight and make that highway run
You don’t have to call me lieutenant Rosie and I don’t want to be your son
The only lover I’m ever gonna need’s your soft sweet little girl’s tongue and

Rosie you’re the one
Dynamite’s in the belfry playin’ with the bats
Little Gun’s downtown in front of Woolworth’s
tryin’ out his attitude on all the cats
Papa’s on the corner waitin’ for the bus
Mama she’s home in the window waitin’ up for us
She’ll be there in that chair when they wrestle her upstairs
‘cause you know we ain’t gonna come
I ain’t here for business, I’m only here for fun

Rosalita jump a little lighter, senorita come sit by my fire
I just want to be your lover ain’t no liar, Rosalita you’re my stone desire

Jack the Rabbit and Weak Knees Willie you know they’re gonna be there
Ah sloppy Sue and Big Bones Billie they’ll be comin’ up for air
We’re gonna play some pool skip some school act real cool
Stay out all night it’s gonna feel alright
Rosie come out tonight, Rosie come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters chimneys for the poor
Closets are for hangers winners use the door

Rosalita jump a little...

Now I know your mama she don’t like me `cause I play in a rock and roll band
And I know your daddy he don’t dig me but he never did understand
Papa lowered the boom he locked you in your room
I’m comin’ to lend a hand
I’m comin’ to liberate you confiscate you I want to be your man
Someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny
But now you’re sad your mama’s mad
And your papa says he knows that I don’t have any money
Tell him this is last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance
Because a record company Rosie just gave me a big advance

My tires were slashed and I almost crashed but the Lord had mercy
My machine she’s a dud out stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Hold on tight stay up all night `cause Rosie I’m comin’ on strong
By the time we meet the morning light I will hold you in my arms
I know a pretty little place in Southern California down San Diego way
There’s a little cafe where they play guitars all night and day
You can hear them in the back room strummin’
So hold tight baby `cause don’t you know daddy’s comin’

Rosalita jump a little…

Notes: Performed live at every show from late 1973 to 19-Oct-1984 Tacoma, Washinington DC, where it was surprisingly dropped. From that moment, some appearances during the BITUSA tour and TOL tour. In both the HT tour and first leg Reunion tour it was played just once, at the closing night of the Meadowlands shows series, upon request of the fans. Live version don't differs too much from the original, a part from the fact that Bruce enjoys changing the '…big advance' verse with some different phrases from time to time (..'tell your mama I ain't no freak 'cos I got my picture on time and newsweek' is an example from 1977-78)

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

Published on the following official releases:

First known live performance: 01/02/1973 Max's Kansas City, New York,NY ,USA
Last known live performance: 25/02/2017 Mt. Smart Stadium, Auckland ,New Zealand

Song 'history':

Played live 4 time(s) during the so-called 'Greetings Tour' and 50 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....)
Perfomed in a large number of shows (134) of the Born to Run tour
Perfomed in a large number of shows (97) of the Darkness tour
Performed during the M.U.S.E. shows, in 1979
A stable inclusion in quite each River tour show, with only two absences
A frequent number (81 apparitions) of renderings during the Born in the U.S.A. tour
The song (in live version) was then included in the 'LIVE 1975-85' box set
A frequent number (38 apparitions) of renderings during the Tunnel of Love tour
One only performance during the Human Touch tour (10/08/1992 Meadowlands Arena, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA)
During the Ghost of Tom Joad tour, the song was played 3 times
One only performance during the Reunion tour (12/08/1999 Continental Arena, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA)
Played during the Conventional Hall shows in 2000 and 2001
Played during the Rising tour (35 times)
The song was then included in the ESSENTIAL compilation, released in 2003.
The Magic tour counted 30 apparitions of this song
Often played during the Working on a Dream tour (44 times)
Another version of the song also appears on the 'The Promise' Album, released in November 2010, in the Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978 DVD volume
Published in live version in the 3rd DVD: House Cut 'Houston '78 of 'The Promise'
Bruce inserted it 31 times in the setlists of the Wrecking Ball tour
It only saw the light less than a dozen times in the whole High Hopes tour
Published in live version in the DVD: 'Tempe 80' of 'THE TIES THAT BIND'
A frequent number (49 apparitions) of renderings during the 2016 The River tour
Performed 10 times during the 2017 Summer tour

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