Song title: If I were the priest
If I were the priest - Hammond demo
Well there's a light oh, on yonder mountain
And it's calling me to shine
There's a girl by the water fountain
And she's asking to be mine
Whoa and Jesus is standing in the doorway
With a buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, really fine
He says "We need you son, up in Dodge City
'Cause there's just too many outlaws
Tryin' to work the same line"
Well now if Jesus was the sheriff and I was the priest
If my lady was an heiress and my Mama was a thief
Oh and Papa rode shotgun for the Fargo line
There's still too many bad boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Now old sweet Virgin Mary
She runs the Holy Grail saloon
Where for a nickel they'll give you whiskey
And a personally blessed balloon
And the Holy Ghost, he's the host with the most
He runs the burlesque show
Where they let you in for free
But boy do they hit you when you go
And Mary serves Mass on Sunday
And she sells her body on Monday
To the bootlegger who will pay the highest price
But he don't know he got stuck with a loser
Mary's a stone junkie, what's more she's a boozer
And she's only been made once or twice
By some kind of magic
Well things ain't been the same in Heaven
Ever since big bad Bobby came to town
He's been known to down eleven
And then ask for another round
And me I've been, I've got scabs on my knees
I've been kneeling way too long
About time I played a man that took a stand where I belong
And you gotta forget about the old friends and the old times
Because there's just too many new boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Well now if Jesus was the sheriff, mama and I were the priest
If my lady was an heiress and my Mama was a thief
Oh and Papa rode shotgun for the Fargo line
There's still too many bad boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Now there's a light on yonder mountain
And it's calling me to shine
There's a girl over by the water fountain
And she's asking to be mine
Whoa and Jesus, he's standing in the doorway
With his six-guns drawn, and ready to fan
He says "Now we need you boy, in Dodge City"
But I told him I'm already overdue in Cheyenne Notes:
Hammond Demo version
If I were the priest - January-March 1971 version
Well there's a light on yonder mountain
And it's calling me to shine
There's a girl by the water fountain
And she's asking to be mine
And Jesus is standing in the doorway
In a buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, really fine
He says "We need you, we need you up in Dodge City
'Cause there's oh so many outlaws
Tryin' to work the same line"
Well if Jesus was the sheriff and I was a priest
If my lady was an heiress and my Mama was a thief
And Papa rode shotgun for the Fargo line
There's still too many bad boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Sweet Virgin Mary
She runs the Holy Grail saloon
Where for a nickel they'll give you whiskey
And a personally blessed balloon
Whoa the Holy Ghost, he's the host with the most
He runs the burlesque show
Where they let you in for free
But they hit you when you go
And Mary serves Mass on Sunday
And then she sells her body on Monday
To the bootlegger who paid the highest price
But he don't know he got stuck with a loser
Mary's a stone junkie, what's more she's a boozer
She's only been made once or twice
By some kind of magic
Well if Jesus was the sheriff, and I was the priest
If my lady was an heiress and my Mama was a thief
Oh and Papa rode shotgun for the Fargo line
There's still too many bad boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Well things ain't been the same in Heaven
Ever since big bad Bobby came to town
He's been known to down eleven
And then ask for another round
And me I've got scabs on my knees
I've been kneeling way too long
It's about time I played a man that took a stand where I belong
And forget about the old friends and the old times
Because there's just too many new boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Now there's a light on yonder mountain
And it's calling me to shine
There's a girl by the water fountain
And she's asking to be mine
Jesus, he stands in the doorway
With his six-guns drawn, and ready to fan
He says "You know we need you in Dodge City"
But I'm already overdue in Cheyenne Notes:
January-March 1971
If I were the priest - London publishing demo
Well there's a light on yonder mountain
And it's calling me to shine
There's a girl over by the water fountain
And she's asking to be mine
And ain't that Jesus, he's standing in the doorway
With a buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, so really fine
He says "We need you up in Dodge City, son
'Cause there's oh so many bad boys
Tryin' to work the same line"
Well now if Jesus was the sheriff and I was the priest
If my lady was an heiress and my Mama was a thief
Oh and Papa rode shotgun for the Fargo line
There's still too many bad boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Now old sweet Virgin Mary
She runs the Holy Grail saloon
Where for a nickel they'll give you whiskey
And a personally blessed balloon
And the Holy Ghost, he's the host with the most
He runs the burlesque show
Where they let you in for free
But oh hit you for your soul when you go
And Mary serves Mass on Sunday
And then she sells her body on Monday
To the bootlegger who will pay the highest price
But he don't know he got stuck with a loser
Mary's a stone junkie, what's more she's a boozer
And she's only been made once or twice
By some kind of magic
Well things ain't been the same in Heaven
Ever since big bad Bobby came to town
He's been known to down eleven
And then ask for another round
And me I got scabs on my knees
From kneeling way too long
I gotta take a stand, be the man, up where you belong
And forget about the old friends and the old times
Because there's just too many new boys
Tryin' to work the same line
Well now if Jesus was the sheriff and I were the priest
If my lady was an heiress and my Mama was a thief
Oh and Papa rode shotgun for the Fargo line
There's still too many outlaws
Tryin' to work the same line
Now there's a light on yonder mountain
And it's calling me to shine
There's a girl by the water fountain
And she's asking to be mine
And Jesus, he's standing in the doorway
With his six-guns drawn, and ready to fan
He says "We need you son, up in Dodge City"
But I'm already overdue in Cheyenne Notes:
London publishing demo
This song has never been published on any official release.
Very few performances of this songs are known (to me, at least!):
- 24/09/1971 Student Prince, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA during the BSB period
- 04/12/1971 Student Prince, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA during the BSB period
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database
First known live performance: 24/09/1971 Student Prince, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA
Last known live performance: 04/12/1971 Student Prince, Asbury Park,NJ ,USA
Song 'history':
During the early years (1965-1972), played live (at least) 2 time(s) with the Bruce Springsteen Band.
.
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 historical 'Hammond demos' in May 1972 and also for the Laurel Canyon / London Publishing demos
Data from the www.brucespringsteen.it database