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

Song title: Blinded by the light


Blinded by the light

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin’ kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin’ for the hot spot snappin’ his fingers clappin’ his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover’s knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throw his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-menot whispers daddy’s within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band

And she was blinded by the light. Cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she’ll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says: “Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that’s where they expect it least”
And some new-mown chaperone was standin’ in the corner all alone watchin’ the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin’ with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah he was blinded by the light. Cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he’s gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager’s mister told me I got what it takes
She said I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong if you play that song with the funky break
And go-cart Mozart was checkin’ out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin’ backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card, he
said, do what you like, but don’t do it here
Well I jumped up, spit in the air, fell on the ground, asked which was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep going straight until right, and then boy you’re on your own

And now in Zanzibar a shootin’ star was ridin’ in a side car hummin’ a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar, we’re
gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon
And some kidnapped handicap was complaining that he caught the clap from some
mousetrap he bought last night
Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but he’d figured he’d be all right

He was just blinded by the light. Cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that’s where the fun is

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

Published on the following official releases:

First known live performance: 01/12/1972 Kenny's Castaways, New York,NY ,USA
Last known live performance: 11/02/2017 Hanging Rock, Macedon ,Australia

Song 'history':

Played live 4 time(s) during the so-called 'Greetings Tour' and 12 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 GREETINGS....)
Two only renderings for this song in the Born to Run tour
In the Born in the U.S.A. tour, the song was only practiced (02/10/1985 Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles,CA ,USA, during the soundcheck.) but never played in the regular set.
One only rendering for this song in the Human Touch tour (26/06/1993 Madison Square Garden, New York,NY ,USA)
Not much used during the Ghost of Tom Joad tour, deserving only less than a dozen renderings
During the Reunion tour, the song was played 5 times
Played only a couple of times in the whole Rising tour (11/03/2003 Blue Cross Arena, Rochester,NY ,USA and 06/08/2003 PNC Park, Pittsburgh,PA ,USA)
Played during the 'Double Take' shows in 2002
The song was then included in the ESSENTIAL compilation, released in 2003.
Played during the rehearsals for the Devils and dust Tour, in Mar/Apr 2005.
Not much used during the Devils and Dust tour, deserving only less than a dozen renderings
During the The Seeger Session tour, the song was played less than a dozen times
It only saw the light 4 times in the whole Magic tour
Two only renderings for this song in the Working on a Dream tour (18/05/2009 Verizon Center, Washington,DC ,USA and 22/11/2009 HSBC Arena, Buffalo,NY ,USA)
Scarcely used during the Wrecking Ball tour, with 3 inclusions
Played once in the whole High Hopes tour (15/04/2014 Nationwide Arena, Columbus,OH ,USA)
Scarcely used during the 2016 The River tour, with 4 inclusions
Performed 1 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