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Song title: Stolen car


Stolen car - "The river" version

I met a little girl and I settled down
In a little house out on the edge of town
We got married, and swore we’d never part
Then little by little we drifted from each other’s heart

At first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
In the end it was something more I guess
That tore us apart and made us weep

And I’m driving a stolen car
Down on Eldridge Avenue
Each night I wait to get caught
But I never do

She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel one hundred years old

And I’m driving a stolen car
On a pitch black night
And I’m telling myself I’m gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
That in this darkness I will disappear

Notes: Early take exists, known as "Son you may kiss the bride". One of the was published on Tracks with the Stolen car name.


Stolen car - Son you may kiss the bride

Well I found me a girl and I settled down
In a pretty little house in a pretty little town
We got married and promised never to part
Then little by little we drifted from each other’s hearts
Now I’m drivin’ a stolen car on a pitch-black night
And I’m doin’ my best to make it through

Well I’m just sittin’ down here at the Stanton light
I wanna get caught but I never do
At first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
But in the end it was something more, I guess
That tore us apart and made us weep
And I’m drivin’ a stolen car waitin’ on that little red light
I keep tellin’ myself everything’s gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
That in this darkness I might just disappear
She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and we were bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel a hundred years old

There’s a river runs by that little town
Down into the sea
It was there in the shade I lay my body down
As she flowed on so effortlessly
Now there’s a party tonight out at County Line
There’ll be dancing down at Seven Trees
From these banks I can see those party lights shine
Maybe she’s there, maybe she’s looking for me

Last night I dreamed I made the call
I swore to return and stay forevermore
Once again we stood on the wedding steps at Victory Hall
And walked arm in arm through the chapel door
I can remember how good I felt inside
When the preacher said “Son, you may kiss the bride”
But as I leaned over to touch her pretty lips
I felt it all slip away through my fingertips
And I’m drivin’ a stolen car through a pitch-black night
I keep tellin’ myself everything’s gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
No matter what I do or where I drive
Nobody ever sees me when I ride by

Notes: This is the ‘Tracks’ take, often refferred as “Son you may kiss the bride”, which is a bit earlier take. Both takes are to evolved in the River's Stolen Car. Recorded at the Record Plant 26/7/79


Stolen car - "Victim to a hungry heart"

Well I found me a little girl and I settled down
In a pretty little house in a pretty little town
We got married and promised never to part
Then I fell a victim to a hungry heart
And I feel like I'm driving a stolen car
On a pitch-black night and I'm doing my best
To make it through, and I feel like I'm driving a stolen car
Sitting down at the First street lights
I want to get caught but I never do

At first I thought it was just restlessness
The kind you figured would fade as time goes by
And love grows deep
But in the end it was something more I guess
That made my baby weak
And I feel like I'm driving a stolen car
Running on borrowed time
I'm doing my best to make it through
I keep telling myself everything's gonna work out fine
I don't know why they never do

She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and and we were bold
Well last night I read those letters
And they made me feel 100 years old
There's a river that runs by that little town
Down into the sea
It was there in the shade I laid my body down
As she flowed by so effortlessly
There's a party out on County Line
And there'll be dancing down at Seven Trees
And from these banks I can see those party lights shine
Maybe she's there, maybe she's waiting for me

Last night I dreamed I made the call
I promised to come home forever more
Once again we stood on the wedding steps at Victory Hall
And walked arm in arm through the chapel door
I remember how good I felt inside
When the preacher said "Son, you may kiss the bride"
But as I leaned over to touch those pretty lips
I felt it all slip away through my fingertips
And I'm driving a stolen car
Running on borrowed time
And I don't even know why
Just driving a stolen car through the pitch-black night
No one sees me as I ride by
Nobody even sees me as I ride by

Notes: "Son you may kiss…" style, but different. Recorded 21-Jun-1979


Stolen car - "Stanton Lake"

Well I found me a little girl and I settled down
In a pretty little house on the edge of town
We got married and promised never to part
And little by little we drifted from each others hearts
At first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
But in the end it was something more I guess
That tore us apart and made us weak

I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
And I'm doing my best to make it through

Well I found me a little girl and I settled down
In a pretty little house on the edge of town
We got married and swore we'd never to part
And little by little we drifted from each others hearts
At first I thought it's just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
But in the end it was something more I guess
That tore us apart and made us weak

And I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
And I'm doing my best to make it through
I'm just sitting down here near Stanton Lake
I want to get caught but I never do

You asked me if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and we were bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel a hundred years old

And I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
I ride by night and I travel in fear
And I tell myself it's gonna be alright
And in this darkness I might just disappear

Notes: "Stolen…" style, but different. Recorded 16-Jan-1980


Stolen car - "Bar at night"

Well I found me a little girl and I settled down
In a pretty little house on the edge of town
We got married and promised never to part
And little by little we drifted from each other's hearts
Now at first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
But in the end it was something more I guess
That tore us apart and made us weak

And I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
And I'm doing my best to make it through
I'm just sitting down here at the Stanton Lake
I want to get caught but I never do

You asked me if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and and bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel a hundred years old

And I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
And I tell myself it's gonna be alright
And I drive by night and I travel in fear
And in this darkness I disappear

And there's a river that runs by that little town
It runs down into the sea
It's there in the shade I lay my body
As she flows on so effortlessly

There's a bar at night, there's a bar down on County line
Where the girls down there dance ???
From these banks I can see these party light shines
I wonder if she's there waiting for me

Last night I dreamed I made the call
To come home and to return forever
We stood on the wedding steps at Victory Hall
And marched arm in arm through the chapel door

I remember how I .....
Marched arm in arm through the chapel door
I remember how I felt inside
I remember how good I felt inside
When the preacher said ???
??? kissed her pretty lips
Somehow it slipped away, slipped away

And I'm driving a stolen car on a pitch-black night
???
???
???

Notes: "Son you may…" style, but different. Recorded 16-Jan-1980


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


Published on the following official releases:

First known live performance: 03/10/1980 Chrysler Arena, Ann Arbor,MI ,USA
Last known live performance: 28/07/2016 Frogner Park, Oslo ,Norway

Song 'history':


Published on the double album THE RIVER, in 1980
Played during the River tour (46 times)
Not much used during the Born in the U.S.A. tour, deserving only 5 renderings
In the Tunnel of Love tour, the song was only practiced (09/03/1988 The Spectrum, Philadelphia,PA ,USA, during the soundcheck.) but never played in the regular set.
The TRACKS studio out-take collection included an alternate version of the song.
In the Reunion tour, the song was only practiced (28/10/1999 Oakland Arena, Oakland,CA ,USA, during the soundcheck.) but never played in the regular set.
Played during the 'Double Take' shows in 2002
Played only a couple of times in the whole Devils and Dust tour (15/05/2005 CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland,OH ,USA and 09/10/2005 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale,NY ,USA)
One only performance during the Working on a Dream tour (08/11/2009 Madison Square Garden, New York,NY ,USA)
One only rendering for this song in the Wrecking Ball tour (12/11/2012 Xcel Energy center, Saint Paul,MN ,USA)
This song was due to be included, in 1980, in the THE RIVER single album projects, and has been later released on the THE TIES THAT BIND Anniversary Box
Often played during the 2016 The River tour (40 times)
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database