Album: Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)

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• Crazy Janey and her mission man
  Were back in the alley tradin' hands
  'Long came Wild Billy with his friend G-Man
  All duded up for Saturday night
  Well, Billy slammed on his coaster brakes
  And said, "Anybody want to go on up to Greasy Lake?
  It's about a mile down on the dark side of Route 88
  I got a bottle of rose so let's try it
  We'll pick up Hazy Davy and Killer Joe
  And I'll take you all out to where the gypsy angels go
  They're built like light
  Ooh, and they dance like spirits in the night (all night)
  In the night (all night)
  Oh, you don't know what they can do to you
  Spirits in the night (all night)
  Oh, in the night (all night)
  Stand right up now and let it shoot through you
  
  Well now, Wild Billy was a crazy cat
  And he shook some dust out of his coonskin cap
  He said, "Trust some of this, it'll show you where you're at
  Or at least it'll help you really feel it"
  By the time we made it up to Greasy Lake
  I had my head out the window and Janey's fingers were in the cake
  I think I really dug her 'cause I was too loose to fake
  I said, I'm hurt, she said, honey, let me heal it
  And we danced all night to a soul fairy band
  And she kissed me just right, like only a lonely angel can
  She felt so nice
  Just as soft as a spirit in the night (all night)
  In the night (all night)
  Oh, Janey don't know what she do to you
  Like a spirit in the night (all night)
  All night (all night)
  I stand right up and I let her shoot through me
  
  (Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
  (Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
  
  (Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
  (Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
  
  Now, the night was bright and the stars threw light
  On Billy and Davy dancin' in the moonlight
  They were down near the water in a stone mud fight
  Killer Joe gone passed out on the lawn
  Well now, Hazy Davy got really hurt
  He ran into the lake in just his socks and his shirt
  Me and Crazy Janey was makin' love in the dirt
  Singin' our birthday songs
  Janey said it was time to go
  So we closed our eyes and said goodbye to Gypsy Angel Row
  Felt so right
  Together we moved like spirits in the night (all night)
  In the night (all night)
  
  Oh, you don't know what they can do to you
  Them spirits in the night (all night)
  All night (all night)
  Oh, stand right up and let her shoot through you
  Like a spirit in the night (all night)
  All night (all night)
  All night (all night)
  All night (all night)
  All night (all night)
  All night (all night)
  All night
  Be-da-ba the night
  All night
  In the night
  In the night Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 12

• Walrit from SquanRt88 runs East/West terminating at Route 9.
  Greasy lake is South of Route 88.
  “Dark side” refers to the area of Lakewood South of 88 is where the population is predominantly black.
• John from Los AngelesThis song reminds me of being out late in a park with friends in high school. Not any particular night. Every night like that. You KNOW you have to go home at some point, but you wish you could stay all night. "Janey said it was time to go, so we closed our eyes and said goodbye to Gypsy Angel Row."
• Rene from Horseheads, NyI received an early Christmas present from my husband, tickets to see Bruce perform in Buffalo, NY (the last WOAD concert). When I saw that Bruce would be performing the entire album "Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ" I was thrilled. "Spirit In The Night" was one of my favorites from that album.
• Ekristheh from Halath, United StatesThis got a fair amount of airplay when it came out, usually late at night on local stations. I felt it was a crazy beautiful song and I loved his passion. I used to think it was about twice as long as it really was because I never heard it all the way through - I kept catching it in the middle. I hadn't heard it in many years, but they played it on KSWD the other night and it brought it all back.
• Bill from Martinsville, NjThe "Dark side of Route 88" is the west end of the road after it crosses Route 9. Route 88 runs east-west, Route 9 runs north-south.
• Rich from Bellevue, WaGene: My reading is that the singer is the mission man. After all, he's with Janey at the start of the song, and he's making love to her at the lake, they seem to be together throughout the song. I don't pretend to know what "mission man" means, but as it's used here, it seems more a description than a name.
• Gene from San Diego, CaGreat song, but I don't understand where he comes into the song. In the first verse, only Janey, the mission-man, g-man, Davey, and Joe were present. Then in the second verse, he just appears in the car.
• Brandon from Bloomington, IlI think Carlos means that October 16th 2002 was the first time Bruce performed the piano solo on this, I'm sure he knows it's from '73.
• Bill from Philadelphia, Pa"First performed in Barcelona, 2002"? What are you people talking about? Sorry, I saw Bruce do this in 1974, in Newtown, PA USA. It was great, even if it was 28 years before your version.
• Shawna from Cornwall, Canadahey people,
  does anyone know who the original singer to the song pieces by sum*41,or what song does it sound like?
• Kyle from Belleville, Canada"This song was first performed with bruce playing the piano solo in Barcelona, October 16th 2002"
  
  I have that DVD and he messes up the lyrics and what becomes a hilarious mess.
• Carlos from Albacete, SpainThis song was first performed with bruce playing the piano solo in Barcelona, October 16th 2002

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