Song title: Tokyo
Tokyo - Generic live version
The moon hung like a shadow on a rung over Shangai
Them soldier boys were returning home screaming “Banzai”
And the kids are still playing their games
Gettin hustled and rustled out in the rain
As I sat inside listening to the broadcast
Oh save my soul sweet rock’n’roll ‘cause I’m sinkin’ fast
And then the band played
Out of nowhere, it was alright
Well now the legendary chaplain of the fightin’ 51st was gettin’ ready to go
I said: Padre, do you know a cheap virgin who like to tango?
He said: You can try Linda Lee,
Around the corner and across the sea
Oh word is out word is out she’s fast
Oh blow me down Linda ‘cause I’m sinkin’ fast
Yes and them cats are sure getting fat
down in the train yard
And the sandman brings them dreams
to ship out in boxcars
The union says hold, break out the dice, break out the gold
It’s lunchtime at last
And old Big Mama said: “Georges Raft’s tonight on the late show”
She sits straddlin’ a kitchen chair, really gung-ho
She shivers with chills, wet with her slot-card thrills
Hypnotically lost in the glass
And we all sigh with the sunrise
As we watch the credits pass
And the little blue dot went away
And then the morning cloak fell down
like a hoax over Sleepytown
Them garbage truck vigilantes outmaking their last rounds
The inheritor he sipped his beer
And poked fun at the queer
And threatened to kick his ass
And the bell rings, a horn blows
And he’s outside pumpin’ gas
But the things were movin’ so slow tonight
So the kid goes back inside the station
And turns on his radio to his local AM station
And then the band played
Right on the radio, it was alright
And the boys in the band sung
And the band played, everybody Notes:
a.k.a."And the band played".
This is one of the many live versions.
Tokyo - Studio take 1
The moon hook like a shadow on a rung over Shanghai
The firemen were returning home screaming Banzai
And the reindeeers played games
And got hurt in the rain
As I sat inside listening to the broadcast
Now blow me down, Tokyo
Cause I’m sinkin’ fast
And then the band played, out of nowhere, it was alright
Well now the legendary chaplin of the fightin’ 51st
Was gettin’ ready to go
I said: “Padre, do you know a cheap virgin who likes to tango ?”
He said “You can try Rosalie, around the corner and across the sea
Oh word is out, word is out she’s fast
Oh bust me down now Rosie
Cause I’m sinkin’ fast
Yes and them cats are sure gettin’ fat down in the train yard
And the Sandman brings ‘em dreams to ship out in boxcars
The union says hold, break out the dice, and break the gold
It’s lunchtime at last
And old Stage Mama said : “George Raft’s tonight on the late show”
She sits straddlin’ a kitchen chair, really gung-ho
She shivers with chills, wet with her slot-card thrills
Hypnotically lost in the glass
And the sun rises and we all sigh
And we watch the credits pass
And the little blue dot went away
And then the morning cloak fell down like a hoax over Sleepytown
Them garbage truck vigilantes were out making their last rounds
The inheritor he sipped his beer and poked fun at the queer
And the bell rings
A horn blows
And he’s outside pumpin’ gas
But things were moving so slow tonight
So the kid goes back inside the station
And turns on his radio
To his local AM station
And the band played, on the radio, it was alright Notes:
A.k.a. "And the band played" London Publishing Demos 1972 and live those years. These are the lyrics of the studio take of 1972
Tokyo - Studio take 2
The hook hung like a shadow on a rung over Shanghai
The Firemen were returning home screaming "Banzai"
And the reindeers played games
And got hurt in the rain
As I listened to the broadcast
Oh blow me down, now Tokyo cause I'm sinkin' fast
The legendary chaplain of the fightin' 51st was gettin' ready to go
I said "Padre, do you know a cheap virgin who likes to tango?"
He said "You can try Rosa Lee"
Around the corner and across the sea
Ohhhhhh word's out that she's fast
Well then bust me down now Rosie 'cause I'm sinkin' fast
And the cats are sure getting fat
Down in the train yard
Sandman brings them dreams
To ship out in boxcars
The union says hold, break out the dice, and the gold
It's lunchtime at last
Whoa Stage Mama said "George's raft tonight on the late show"
She sits straddlin' a kitchen chair, really gung-ho
She shivers with chills, wet with her slot car thrills
Hypnotically lost in the glass
And the sunrise
And we all sigh
As we watch the credits pass
And the morning cloak fell down
Like a hoax over Sleepytown
Them garbage truck vigilantes were out making their last rounds
The inheritor sipped beer
And made fun of the queer
Threatenin' to kick his ass
But the bell rings, a horn blows
Pump that gas
Ohhhhh pumping gas Notes:
A.k.a. "And the band played" London Publishing Demos 1972 and live those years. These are the lyrics of the studio take of 1972
Tokyo - 24-Apr-1973
Well the moon hung like a shadow on a rung over Shanghai
Them soldier boys were returning home screaming Banzai
And the kids are still playing their games
Gettin' hustled and rustled out in the rain
As I sat inside listening to the broadcast
Oh save my soul sweet rock & roll 'cause I'm sinkin' fast
And then the band played
Out of nowhere
It was alright
Well now the legendary chaplain of the fightin' 51st was gettin' ready to go
I said "Padre, do you know a cheap virgin who likes to tango?"
He said "You can try Linda Lee"
Around the corner and across the sea
Oh word is out, word is out she's fast
Well blow me down now Linda 'cause I'm sinkin' fast
And them cats are sure getting fat
Down in the train yard
And the sandman brings them dreams
To ship out in the boxcars
Well the union says hold, break out the dice, breakout the gold
It's lunchtime at last
And Big Mama said "George Raft's tonight on the late show"
She sits straddlin' a kitchen chair, really gung-ho
She shivers with chills, wet with slot card thrills
Hypnotically lost in the glass
And we all sigh with the sunrise
As we watch the credits pass
And then the morning cloak fell down
Like a hoax over Sleepytown
Them garbage truck vigilantes are out making the last rounds
The inheritor he sipped his beer
And he poked cute fun of the queer
And threatened to kick his ass
And the bell rings, the horn blew
And I was outside pumpin' gas
But things were moving so slow tonight
So the kid goes back inside the station and turns on his radio
To his local AM station
And the band played
On the radio
It was alright
It's on the radio
And he listened to the bass line
And the boys in the band sang
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(They're so excited about it)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(Everybody alright)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(And the band played)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(And the band played)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(Everybody)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo Notes:
A.k.a. "And the band played" London Publishing Demos 1972 and live those years. These are the lyrics of one of the live takes.
Tokyo - 04-Jun-1973
Well the moon hung like a shadow on a rung over Sleepytown
The midnight shift was returning home with their pants down
And the kids were still playing the games
Gettin' busted dancin' out in the rain
And I sat inside listening to the broadcast
Well save my soul sweet rock & roll 'cause I'm sinkin' fast
And then the band played
Everybody, all night long
Well now the legendary chaplain of the fightin' 51st was gettin' ready to go
I said "Padre, do you know a cheap virgin who likes to tango?"
He said "You can try Rosa Lee"
Around the corner and across the sea
Oh word is out, word is out she's fast
Well blow me down now Rosie 'cause I'm sinkin' fast
Oh one time
And them cats are sure getting fat
Down in the train yard
And the sandman brings them dreams
To ship out in the boxcars
Well the union says hold, break out the dice and the gold
It's lunchtime, baby its lunchtime at last
Whoa stage Mama said "George's raft tonight on the late show"
She sits straddlin' a kitchen chair, really gung-ho
She shivers with chills, wet with her slot card thrills
Hypnotically lost in the past
And we all sigh with the sunrise
And we watch the credits pass
And then the morning cloak fell down
Like a hoax over Sleepytown
Them garbage truck vigilantes were out shaking and smashing them cows around
The inheritor he sipped his beer
And he poked cute fun at the queer
And threatened, threatened to kick his ass
And the bell rings, the horn blew
And I was outside pumpin' gas
What am I gonna do? Notes:
A.k.a. "And the band played" London Publishing Demos 1972 and live those years. These are the lyrics of one of the live takes.
This song has never been published on any official release.
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
- 01/05/1973 Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles,CA ,USA
- 31/05/1973 Coliseum, Richmond,VA ,USA during the Greetings Tour
- 25/02/1974 The Main Point, Bryn Mawr,PA ,USA during the Pre-BTR gigs
- 03/06/1974 The Agora, Cleveland,OH ,USA during the Pre-BTR gigs
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: 03/06/1974 The Agora, Cleveland,OH ,USA
Song 'history':
Played live 2 time(s) during the so-called 'Greetings Tour'
and 2 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 for the Laurel Canyon / London Publishing demos
The song was also played in informal happenings or off-tour appearances
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database