Song title: Santa Ana
Santa Ana - Tracks take
From the tin rooftop the little boy did watch
The procession down through town
Through the museum where Daniel whupped the Devil
With them boys from the underground
Where the Giants of Science fight for tight control
Over the wildlands of New Mexico
Sam Houston’s ghost’s in Texas fighting for his soul
And the townsfolk rest uneasy beneath the guns of Kid Colt
And the kid says “Hey, where’s Santa Ana?”
He who could romance the dumb into talking
Take a chance with me tonight, my contessa
If it don’t work out I ain’t lame, I can walk
Now some folks think cancer’s taken to the streets of this town
Well Sandy eats her candy and then lays her money down
Them cats are in from the canyons to strut their stuff in town
But there’s only secret sinners here
Lord, there’s only secret thieves
Only a fool would try to save
What the desert chose to leave
And hey there senorita
With your playboys in their Spanish bandanas
French cream won’t soften those boots, baby
French kisses will not break your heart[1]
Oh painted night set free with light
Glows outside the Rainbow Saloon
Matching braces with a Spanish lady
‘Neath a graduation moon
No more colleges, no more coronations
Some punk’s idea of a teenage nation
Has forced Santa Ana to change his station
From soldier to cartoon
And the Giants of Science spend their days and nights
Not with wives, not with lovers, but searchin’ for the lights
They spotted in the desert on their helicopter flights
Just to be lost in the dust and the night
Hey my contessa, in your juke joint rags you always bring candy for the kids
Come waltz with me tonight senorita
‘Cause only fools are alone on a night like this Notes:
This is the Hammond Demo version, as published on “Tracks” (3/5/1972)
[1] These verses will later appear in She's the one
Santa Ana - Early studio version
From a tin rooftop the little boy did watch
The procession down through town
Through the museum where Daniel walked the Devil
With them boys from the underground
Where the giants of science fight for tight control
Over the wild kids in North Mexico
Sam Houston’s still in Texas fighting for his soul
And the towns rest so uneasy under the strains of revolt
Crying, Hey Santa Ana, you could romance the dumb into talking
Take a chance with me, Contessa
If it don’t work out, I ain’t lame, I’m good at walking
Now some folks they can’t just take it
To the streets of this dusty little town
But Sam easy can and he lays the money down
Then the cats come in from the Canyon and strut their stuff in town
But there’s only secret sinners here
Lord, there’s only secret thieves
Only a fool would try to save
What the desert chose to leave
And I said, Hey, hey lady
With your negroes in their Spanish bandanas
French cream ain’t gonna soften her boots
And French kisses ain’t gonna break her heart [1]
Now painted night set free with light
Glows outside the Rainbow Saloon
I match embraces with a Spanish lady ‘neath a graduation moon
No more colleges no more coronations
Some punk’s idea of a teenage nation
Has forced Santa Ana to change his station from soldier to cartoon
And the giants of science spend their days and nights
Not with wives, not with lovers, but searching for the lights
That they spotted in the desert on their helicopter flights
But they were lost in the dust and the night
They cried, Hey Santa Ana
In his juke joint rides he always brings candy for the kids
Waltz with me tonight senorita
‘Cos only fools are alone in a night like this Notes:
Played live sometimes in 1973, this come from the 1973 studio sessions.
[1] These verses will later appear in She's the one
Santa Ana - Late live version
From the tin rooftop the little boy did watch
The procession down through town
Through the museum where Daniel whupped the devil
With them boys from the underground
Where the Giants of Science fight for tight control
Over the wild kids in North Mexico
Sam Houston's still in Texas fighting for his soul
And the townsfolk rest uneasy under the strains of revolt
Crying "Hey, where's Santa Ana?"
You could romance the dumb into talking
Take a chance with me contessa
If it don't work out I ain't lame, I'm good at walking
Hey!
Now some folks say cancer's taken to the streets of this dusty little town
Well Sandy eats her candy and then lays her money down
Them cats come in from the canyons to strut their stuff in town
But there's only secret sinners here
Lord, there's only secret thieves
Only a fool would try to save
What the desert chose to leave
And I said hey, hey lady
With your negros in their Spanish bandanas
French cream won't soften her boots
French kisses ain't gonna break her heart[1]
Oh!
Oh painted night set free with light
Glows outside the Rainbow Saloon
Matching braces with a Spanish lady
'Neath a graduation moon
No colleges, no coronations
Some punk's idea of a teenage nation
Has forced Santa Ana to change his station
From soldier to cartoon
And the Giants of Science spend their days and nights
Not with wives, not with lovers, but searchin' for the lights
They spotted in the desert on their helicopter flights
But they were lost in the dust and the night
They cried
Hey Santa Ana, in his juke joint rags you always bring candy for the kids
Come waltz with me tonight senorita
'Cause only fools are alone on a night like this
Hey ohhhhhhhhhhh ya ya ya ya ya ya
Ohhhhh your callin' come on darlin' Notes:
Played live sometimes in 1973, this come from the 1973 live performances
[1] These verses will later appear in She's the one
Published on the following official releases:
Very few performances of this songs are known (to me, at least!):
- 24/04/1973 The Main Point, Bryn Mawr,PA ,USA during the Greetings Tour
- 31/05/1973 Coliseum, Richmond,VA ,USA during the Greetings Tour
- 18/12/2000 Convention Hall, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA during the Convention Hall Shows 2000, during the soundcheck.
- 09/11/2005 Wachovia Center, Philadelphia,PA ,USA during the Devils and Dust tour
- 13/11/2005 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City,NJ ,USA during the Devils and Dust tour
- 16/11/2005 Continental Arena, E.Rutherford,NJ ,USA during the Devils and Dust tour
- 19/11/2005 Seminole rock live arena, St.Petersburg,FL ,USA during the Devils and Dust tour
- 21/11/2005 Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton,NJ ,USA during the Devils and Dust tour
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database
First known live performance: 24/04/1973 The Main Point, Bryn Mawr,PA ,USA
Last known live performance: 21/11/2005 Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton,NJ ,USA
Song 'history':
Played live 2 time(s) during the so-called 'Greetings 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
The TRACKS studio out-take collection included for the first (official) time this song.
Scarcely used during the Devils and Dust tour, with 5 inclusions
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database