Song title: Working on the highway
Working on the highway
Friday night’s pay night guys fresh out of work
Talking about the weekend scrubbing off the dirt
Some heading home to their families some looking to get hurt
Some going down to Stovell wearing trouble on their shirts
I work for the county out on 95
All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by
In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss
Someday mister I’m gonna lead a better life than this
Working on the highway laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway all day long I don’t stop
Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway
I met her at a dance down at the union hall
She was standing with her brothers back up against the wall
Sometimes we’d go walking down the union tracks
One day I looked straight at her and she looked straight back
Working on the highway...
I saved up my money and I put it all away
I went to see her daddy but we didn’t have much to say
“Son can’t you see that she’s just a little girl
She don’t know nothing about this cruel cruel world”
We lit out down to Florida we got along all right
One day her brothers came and got her and they took me in a black and white
The prosecutor kept the promise that he made on that day
And the judge got mad and he put me straight away
I wake up every morning to the work bell clang
Me and the warden go swinging on the Charlotte County road gang
Working on the highway… Notes:
A very interesting early, Nebraska-time version is Child bride
Published on the following official releases:
- DANCING IN THE DARK / WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY (7 in.,1984)
- BORN IN THE USA (Album,1984)
- LIVE 1975-1985 (Album,1986)
- LIVE COLLECTION II - BORN TO RUN (12 in.,1987)
First known live performance: 29/06/1984 Civic Center, Saint Paul,MN ,USA
Last known live performance: 30/09/2017 Air Canada Centre, Toronto ,Canada
Song 'history':
Published on BORN IN THE USA, in 1984
A frequent number (59 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
Bruce gave this song only two shots through the Tunnel of Love tour (30/07/1988 Weserstadion, Bremen ,Germany and 03/08/1988 Nou Camp, Barcelona ,Spain)
Performed 2 times during the 1988 Amnesty International tour
Often played during the Human Touch tour (68 times)
Bruce inserted it 16 times in the setlists of the Ghost of Tom Joad tour
A discrete number of performances (83) was given during the Reunion tour
Played during the Rising tour (12 times)
29 perfomances were given during the Magic tour
Played during the Working on a Dream tour (16 times)
A discrete number of performances (52) was given during the Wrecking Ball tour
Not much used during the High Hopes tour, deserving only less than a dozen renderings
Often played during the 2016 The River tour (25 times)
Performed 7 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