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Song title: Up on cripple creek

by The Band

Up on cripple creek

When I get off of this mountain
You know where I want to go
Straight down the Mississippi river
To the Gulf of Mexico
To Lake George, Louisiana
Little Bessie, girl that I once knew
And she told me just to come on by
If there's anything she could do
Chorus:
Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one
Good luck had just stung me
To the race track I did go
She bet on one horse to win
And I bet on another to show
Odds were in my favor
I had him five to one
When that nag came around the track
Sure enough he had won

I took up all of my winnings
And I gave my little Bessie half
And she tore it up and blew it in my face
Just for a lauge
Now there's one thing in the whole wide world
I sure would like to see
That's when that little love of mine
Dips her doughnut in my tea

Now me and my mate were back at the shack
We had Spike Jones on the box
She said, "I can't take the way he sings
But I love to hear him talk"
Now that just gave my heart a fall
To the bottom of my feet
And I swore and I took another pull
My Bessie can't be beat

Now, it's hot in California
And up north it's pretty cold
And this living off the road
Is getting pretty old
So I guess I'll call up my big mama
Tell her I'll be rolling in
Bet you know, deep down, I'm kinda tempted
To see my sweet Bessie again


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


This song has never been published on any official release.

Very few performances of this songs are known (to me, at least!):
 - 22/08/1987 Stone Pony, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA during the 1987 "Bar tour"
 - 28/04/2017 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA

Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database
First known live performance: 22/08/1987 Stone Pony, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA
Last known live performance: 28/04/2017 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA

Song 'history':


Played during the '1987 bar tour', which is the name under which I group the 1987 shows Bruce played with various small bands, or guesting, in small NJ clubs.

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