High Sierra

Album: Tracks II: The Lost Albums (2025)
Play Video
  • I was down on my luck
    So down on my luck
    Packed my bags and left
    The big city and the trouble I'd seen
    Took the highway north
    Tryin' to find some place where the air felt clean
    I came upon that little cafe in the early spring
    Where as you came through the door
    Above a little bell would ring

    She was waiting there in the High Sierras
    Flower in her long black hair in the High Sierras
    And I'd been down on my luck
    So down on my luck

    It was laughter and wine
    And warm endless nights
    In that little motel
    I could have stayed there the rest of my life
    Found a job at the filling station
    She worked at the luncheonette
    In the evening she'd set the table
    As I washed off the dirt and sweat
    Then it was good as it gets
    Just as good as it gets

    And we were happy there in the High Sierras
    Oh, so happy there in the High Sierras
    And I'd been down on my luck
    And she lifted me up

    One day a man came through town
    Someone I used to know
    Reminded me of something I'd done
    A long time ago
    I told him I'd changed
    He said, "We owe what we owe"
    That evening I boarded the train
    Into the big city
    I told her I'd be back again
    Soon from the big city
    It's just old business that had to be done
    As the train left the station, they gave me my gun

    The day smelled of ash
    The sky was hard and blue
    All I remember was my shirt
    With the blood seeping through

    At dusk she'd set the silverware
    For the morning shift
    She'd sit on the motel porch with a beer and cigarette
    As the summer nights would drift
    Seasons passed, the winter snow
    Melted and come the early spring
    At the luncheonette she'd look up from the counter
    Each time that little bell would ring

    We were happy there in the High Sierras
    Oh, so happy there in the High Sierras
    When I was down on my luck
    She lifted me up Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."