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

Song title: You can look (but you better not touch)


You can look (but you better not touch) - Album

Yesterday I went shopping buddy down to the mall
Looking for something pretty I could hang on my wall
I knocked over a lamp before it hit the floor I caught it
A salesman turned around said “Boy you break that thing you bought it”

You can look but you better not touch boy
You can look but you better not touch
Mess around and you’ll end up in dutch boy
You can look but you better not no you better not no you better not touch

Well I came home from work and I switched on channel 5
There was a pretty little girly lookin’ straight into my eyes
Well I watched as she wiggled back and forth across the screen
She didn’t get me excited she just made me feel mean

You can look...

Well I called up Dirty Annie on the telephone
I took her out to the drive-in just to get her alone
I found a lover’s rendezvous the music low set to park
I heard a tappin’ on the window and a voice in the dark

You can look…


You can look (but you better not touch) - Homdel demo 1979

Yesterday I went shopping buddy down to the mall
Looking for something pretty I could hang on my wall
I knocked over a lamp before it hit the floor I caught it
A salesman turned around said, "boy, you break it you bought it"

You can look but you better not touch boy
You can look but you better not touch
You keep messing around and you'll end up in dutch boy
You can look but you better not, no you better not, no you better not touch

I came home from work and I switched on Channel 5
There was a pretty little girly lookin' straight into my eyes
Well I watched as she wiggled back and forth across the screen
She didn't get me excited she just made me feel mean

You can look but you better not touch boy
You can look but you better not touch
You keep messing around and you'll end up in dutch boy
You can look but you better not, no you better not, no you better not touch

Anyway you can taste it
Only a man can't taste it
He'll be given a time
Keep a man on the short line
Keep a working man on a short line

I called up Dirty Annie on the telephone
I took her out to the drive-in just to get the girl alone
I found a lover's rendezvous the music low set to park
I heard a tappin' on the window and a voice in the dark
Hey you, out of the car

You can look but you better not touch boy
You can look but you better not touch
Keep messing around and you'll end up in dutch boy
You can look but you better not no you better not no you better not touch
You can look but you better not no you better not no you better not touch
You can look but you better not no you better not no you better not touch
You can look but you better not no you better not no you better not touch


You can look (but you better not touch) - Homdel demo 1980

Now I came home from work and I switched on Channel 5
There was a pretty little girly lookin' into the eye
I watched her as she wiggled back and forth across the screen
She did not get me excited, she just made me feel mean

Cause you can look, you can look but you better not touch
You can look, you can look but you better not touch
You can look, you can look but you better not touch
You can look, you can look but you better not touch
Alright

It's been the same... story
The old man came... man is left with what he can see
??? don't care much
??? boy you can look

You can look, you can look oh but you better not touch
You can look, you can look oh but you better not touch
You can look, you can look oh but you better not touch
You can look, you can look oh but you better not touch

I called up Dirty Annie on the telephone
I take her out to the drive-in just to get the her alone
??? set to park
I hear a tappin' on the window and a voice says in the dark
Hey you boy, get out of the car

You can look, you can look but you better not touch
You can look, you can look but you better not touch
Cause you can look, you can look but you better not touch
You can look, you can look oh but you better not touch
No, no no no no


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


Published on the following official releases:

First known live performance: 07/10/1980 Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland,OH ,USA
Last known live performance: 18/02/2017 Hope Estate Winery, Hunter Valley ,Australia

Song 'history':


Published on the double album THE RIVER, in 1980
Perfomed in a large number of shows (116) of the River tour
One only rendering for this song in the 1982-1984 period, during which Bruce played, with various small groups or guesting, in a number of bars and small clubs of the New Jersey area (15/08/1982 Stone Pony, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA)
The song (in live version) was then included in the 'LIVE 1975-85' box set
Played at the Bridge Benefit show, 13-Oct-1986.
Performed every night of the Tunnel of Love tour
In 1996 Sony released the BLOOD BROTHERS video (and mini-CD), which included also this song
Played only a couple of times in the whole Ghost of Tom Joad tour (18/05/1997 Acropolis, Nice ,France and 19/05/1997 Le Zenith-Omega, Toulon ,France)
Bruce inserted it 14 times in the setlists of the Reunion tour
It only saw the light less than a dozen times in the whole Rising tour
Scarcely used during the Devils and Dust tour, with 5 inclusions
Played during the rehearsals for the We shall overcome / The Seeger session tour, in Mar/Apr 2006.
Bruce 'forgot' it only 6 nights in the The Seeger Session tour
Just 3 shots during the Magic tour
Not much used during the Working on a Dream tour, deserving only 3 renderings
It only saw the light 5 times in the whole Wrecking Ball tour
Played only a couple of times in the whole High Hopes tour (26/02/2014 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane ,Australia and 18/05/2014 Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville,CT ,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
Published in live version in the DVD: 'Tempe 80' of 'THE TIES THAT BIND'
Widely used in the 2016 The River tour, as it was performed 60 times
Performed 2 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