I’m 22, and just recently got into Bruce Springsteen. I love Thunder Road, I play it over and over, belting out the words I’ve picked up and humming the tune. Today I decided to see if there was an acoustic version, and now after hearing this...I’m at a loss for words. I finally, truly heard these words. I don’t think I can unhear this one now.
This is the protest version of Thunder Road. To me, this is the most brutally honest version of this song. Every time I listen to this I feel as though I was touched by a true artistic genius.
I come back to this song at least once a week. I lived in the town I was born for 30 years, finally got the guts to move to the other side of the world and start a fresh, this song reminds me I made the right choice
Wow. It's hard to know what to say. It's so different. The tweaks he made took this song to greatness. I'm constantly being astonished by what I didn't about him as an artist/songwriter of late. These out takes show how much he refined his vision, and how powerfully right his instincts were in the end. Born to Run didn't just happen. It was meticulously crafted. As it turned out he was right on all counts in the end...except in that he thought it sucked when he finished it. Thanks for all these great early pre 1977 cuts. I've been searching out what was it that affected me so much in his early work, since it informed so much of my musical formation. All this helps fill in the pieces of the puzzle.
cannot believe how beautiful this already beautiful song sounds in this outtake. the simplicity and clarity of the lyrics, given depth and such feeling by that voice. Moved in so many ways by this.
I've been looking for this version for years. Heard it once back on the day when Napster ruled. Thanks for posting it. This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful, brutal version of Springsteen melodrama. Love it!
Thank you, a million times, thank you. What gifts these songs are! His music is more than mere entertainment for me, always was. It's something necessary and after over 40 years I still can't articulate just why that is, what he provides in such deep and nurturing ways only that he does and I need that. So to you, the human soul behind the name WorkingClassBoss, you have my enduring appreciation.
While I thoroughly enjoy this song to begin with ... for its grand lyrics and storytelling power ... I particular dig this acoustic/stripped down version. The simple guitar adds to the gripping and mesmerizing storyline. Bruce really shines with his voice here, and he takes full command of it from start to finish. I can listen to it over and over. Thanks a great deal for posting it. This is very rare, but a special find. A+ Best wishes to all the "Boss" fans out there.
the first time that I heard this version was when I bought the Born To Run cd outtakes in 1989.....Born In The Studio.....what was the record that you heard it on? this version is so dark, intense.....its just amazing
At 1:15 when it "opens-up"...I get kind of dizzy. It's just too beautiful...the song really saved my life, it really did! Whenever I feel closed-in or if it feels like I'm losing my hope, I turn on the Born to Run album and just lay in my bed, soakin everything in. For me, it's the greatest album I've ever heard, because it helped me out of great depression and,being a musician, the inspiration and power to go out and chase the dream!I thank the boss, hopefully in person one day, for every word!
I heard this version about 20 years ago the first time. It is far superior to the original version. Sometimes it is difficult to understand the choices Springsteen made. Because there are many songs which are also superior to the ones he used on his albums. It proofs how talented he is to be able to throw away all these great songs.
so true...the version of Stolen Car on ""The Ties That Bind" the album that was supposed to be before it was changed to The River, to me is a better version of Stolen Car that is on The River...
Cette version hantée et sombre est tout simplement magnifique de beauté, laissant peu d'espoir au narrateur de fuir sa misère, contrairement à la version rock. La voix, l'echo reverb, les silences et les cassures de tempo font de cette chanson un véritable chef d'oeuvre.
This is stunning. One of the greatest alternative versions of a Springsteen tune of all time. This has to be released officially at some point in the future. Again, not as good as the electric version, but this is stunning.
The mournfulness that lies at the heart of a song as rousing as “Thunder Road” has its roots in “Thunder Road Acoustic,” or “Thunder Road ‘Unplugged,’” as it were: Bruce in the studio in the spring of '75, solo on acoustic guitar, and singing in a stark, somber voice that, in its haunting, echoey distance and timeless tone, forecasts all of Bruce’s future acoustic work-especially his ‘82 solo masterpiece, Nebraska, which did not come as a surprise to those of us lucky enough to have heard this first. Once you’ve heard it, you too will ask yourself the question, “Will the real ‘Thunder Road’ please stand up?”
This summer I will be praying for you to see the morning sunshine filter into your window and to know that God is sending that warm ray of sunshine just for you. I pray that the scent of flowers in bloom will remind you that the seeds that were placed into the ground took root and were strong and brought forth beauty. I pray that the grass is soft under your feet, and that the trees cover you with shade and that clear clean water flows in your creek. I pray for love to caress your heart &soul
My wife Carol asked me if there was one song I could listen to for the rest of my life what would that song be, The answer was easy. This is one of the greatest songs I have ever had the pleasure to hear.
Seeing him sing this acoustically only a handful of times, one stands out that I remember him saying how the song had changed over the last 13 yrs "at that point" and listening to this~ First time' I heard him call her; Grayce & not Mary... And pauses, causes etc. in the arrangement answers my question of eveolution' or I guess perfecting your own music' "In Public!" Thanks 4 posting. . Boils down to real people n you see what you get' right? ;)
where? I certainly have never heard one. I also certainly might even vote this as his best song, best version, anywhere. It is the perfect expression of his voice from an intimate standpoint. Not too many artists songs have done that. Most follow formulas or producer's desires of a hit. This nails the emotion to the words better than any I have ever heard.
Thanks for posting this obscure BL of "Wings For Wheels". I learned to play it from a BL from a friend.. I recorded it in the bathroom (for the acoustics). Great song...
Agreed, without a doubt. I recently acquired the box set on vinyl and found that it skipped about 45 seconds into TR. Needless to say I am wary of buying vinyl on eBay from now on. Luckily I found another copy and was more than willing to pay the $30+ I did just to have a clean copy of the song.
I remember reading that in its very earliest forms, the BTR album was supposed to be a day in the lives of these Jersey Shore characters. BTR was supposed to open w/the acoustic "Thunder Road" and then close w/the full band version in a reprise. Obviously, those plans were scrapped.
500 characters remaining wonder wheel makes me feel so graced. Spit 'n spittle, vinegar and lace, I'm glad we danced up such a storm, boy, in the 1st place. YOU AIN'T NO TOY! No trace, they they'd warn "not a trace, not a trace". They said "erase, eerase, erase". Hey just in case they didn't notice . . . we didn't fuck it up in the 1st place.
I really like this version, but I'm going to have to agree with you. The piano outro on that live version is amazing. It's kind of funny how there have been so many different iterations of Thunder Road that we can debate on the best version. :)
There is just something about this...I have heard this version or or something extremely close in a movie. I don't know when. Sometime over the last 38 years......
fav version becuase it changes the context and accetuates the lyrics.. how different does "there were Ghosts in the eyes of the boys she sent away" sound? scary
Some may say that rock and roll is just about sex and drugs. To me rock and roll is about freedom. Born to Run is definately an album that has that. One of my favorites.
I have been in two devastating car crashes in my life, one of which I should have not wound up in good shape at all. In both instances this was playing. It is a baptism by the Boss. What saved me should have killed me. I'm glad that it didn't.
Thunder Road è, in assoluto, la canzone di Bruce Springsteen che preferisco. Questa versione non mi piace particolarmente, anche se mette in evidenza il testo (che è bellissimo), rispetto alla vivace, possente e rabbiosa interpretazione classica
A legitimate version. Sounds more like the Tom Joad thing. But the album version, and especially the live acoustic versions based on the album version, is more powerful and haunting.
One of the best rock songs ever writen.this song spoke to me directly in my twenties
I’m 22, and just recently got into Bruce Springsteen. I love Thunder Road, I play it over and over, belting out the words I’ve picked up and humming the tune. Today I decided to see if there was an acoustic version, and now after hearing this...I’m at a loss for words. I finally, truly heard these words.
I don’t think I can unhear this one now.
Welcome to the greatest world ever.
I took a crack at it - Im a big Bruce fan. th-cam.com/video/5JQ-gyTESug/w-d-xo.html
No kidding right. This version is incredible. Bruce is incredible
Carolina Grey - Welcome to the Springsteen Club... you have great taste in music - there is hope for the youth of USA yet thanks to you!
This is the protest version of Thunder Road. To me, this is the most brutally honest version of this song. Every time I listen to this I feel as though I was touched by a true artistic genius.
I come back to this song at least once a week. I lived in the town I was born for 30 years, finally got the guts to move to the other side of the world and start a fresh, this song reminds me I made the right choice
Wow. It's hard to know what to say. It's so different. The tweaks he made took this song to greatness. I'm constantly being astonished by what I didn't about him as an artist/songwriter of late. These out takes show how much he refined his vision, and how powerfully right his instincts were in the end. Born to Run didn't just happen. It was meticulously crafted. As it turned out he was right on all counts in the end...except in that he thought it sucked when he finished it. Thanks for all these great early pre 1977 cuts. I've been searching out what was it that affected me so much in his early work, since it informed so much of my musical formation. All this helps fill in the pieces of the puzzle.
Haunting version of a classic song. I shed a tear everytime I listen to this outtake. Simply amazing !
The turning of phrase and vocal intonations are sublime.
Yes defintly
cannot believe how beautiful this already beautiful song sounds in this outtake. the simplicity and clarity of the lyrics, given depth and such feeling by that voice. Moved in so many ways by this.
I've been looking for this version for years. Heard it once back on the day when Napster ruled. Thanks for posting it. This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful, brutal version of Springsteen melodrama. Love it!
Not trying to spam - but I also love this version, so I took a crack at it. th-cam.com/video/5JQ-gyTESug/w-d-xo.html
"Door's open but the ride, it ain't free"
An open invitation with a price to pay. A price well worth it!
So grateful for all iterations of this masterpiece of a song. This version just hits so different.
Thank you, a million times, thank you. What gifts these songs are! His music is more than mere entertainment for me, always was. It's something necessary and after over 40 years I still can't articulate just why that is, what he provides in such deep and nurturing ways only that he does and I need that. So to you, the human soul behind the name WorkingClassBoss, you have my enduring appreciation.
Just beautiful
While I thoroughly enjoy this song to begin with ... for its grand lyrics and storytelling power ... I particular dig this acoustic/stripped down version. The simple guitar adds to the gripping and mesmerizing storyline. Bruce really shines with his voice here, and he takes full command of it from start to finish. I can listen to it over and over. Thanks a great deal for posting it. This is very rare, but a special find. A+ Best wishes to all the "Boss" fans out there.
" it's a town full of losers and i'm pullin' outta' here to win..." Gives me goosebumps.
bionikball75 Apparently the original lyric was "... And baby I was born to win." I prefer it.
Every time
@@asperjack That was in Wings For Wheels, like at The Main Point
Never heard this magnificent version of the masterpiece which is Thunder Road before...quite awesome.
I still remember the first time I heard this version 36 years ago in a used record store...stunning.
the first time that I heard this version was when I bought the Born To Run cd outtakes in 1989.....Born In The Studio.....what was the record that you heard it on? this version is so dark, intense.....its just amazing
It was a bootleg called "E Ticket" with the "outside the 7-11 store" photo on the cover.
yep same here e ticket
At 1:15 when it "opens-up"...I get kind of dizzy. It's just too beautiful...the song really saved my life, it really did! Whenever I feel closed-in or if it feels like I'm losing my hope, I turn on the Born to Run album and just lay in my bed, soakin everything in. For me, it's the greatest album I've ever heard, because it helped me out of great depression and,being a musician, the inspiration and power to go out and chase the dream!I thank the boss, hopefully in person one day, for every word!
CD1 of the album "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street BAnd Live 1975- '85". First Song. Best Version.
If America would be a song, it'd sound like this
In fantasy land sure
One of the greatest comments that I have ever read!
Any outtake of Bruce would be a number 1 hit for someone else
Pretty amazing - why in the world did this not rate being on "Tracks"?
I know, that's crazy!
This recording is my favourite piece of music ever.
The beauty of this song is like the Monarch Butterfly fluttering as it descends softly upon the swaying flower.
If Thunder Road was on Nebraska
That's an amazing way to look at it!
killer version never heard this before cant stop listtining to all these outakesthey are so cool its like a brand new album
The oldest version of Thunder Road where "Christine Dress Sways"....Great Music on CD.
I heard this version about 20 years ago the first time. It is far superior to the original version. Sometimes it is difficult to understand the choices Springsteen made. Because there are many songs which are also superior to the ones he used on his albums. It proofs how talented he is to be able to throw away all these great songs.
so true...the version of Stolen Car on ""The Ties That Bind" the album that was supposed to be before it was changed to The River, to me is a better version of Stolen Car that is on The River...
Cette version hantée et sombre est tout simplement magnifique de beauté, laissant peu d'espoir au narrateur de fuir sa misère, contrairement à la version rock. La voix, l'echo reverb, les silences et les cassures de tempo font de cette chanson un véritable chef d'oeuvre.
Čoveće boli glava zbog tvog glasa. Volim te. 💖💖💖💖💖.
The best version of an outstanding tune.
This I think is the most purest version of Thunder Road. It makes me feel emotions that I cannot describe.
This is stunning. One of the greatest alternative versions of a Springsteen tune of all time. This has to be released officially at some point in the future. Again, not as good as the electric version, but this is stunning.
"We can make it if we run....."
Rarely comes a talent like The Boss a amazing lyricslist who writes from life and experience.
The mournfulness that lies at the heart of a song as rousing as “Thunder Road” has its roots in “Thunder Road Acoustic,” or “Thunder Road ‘Unplugged,’” as it were: Bruce in the studio in the spring of '75, solo on acoustic guitar, and singing in a stark, somber voice that, in its haunting, echoey distance and timeless tone, forecasts all of Bruce’s future acoustic work-especially his ‘82 solo masterpiece, Nebraska, which did not come as a surprise to those of us lucky enough to have heard this first. Once you’ve heard it, you too will ask yourself the question, “Will the real ‘Thunder Road’ please stand up?”
arlen schumer Well written
so well written and so true.....
This summer I will be praying for you to see the morning sunshine filter into your window and to know that God is sending that warm ray of sunshine just for you. I pray that the scent of flowers in bloom will remind you that the seeds that were placed into the ground took root and were strong and brought forth beauty. I pray that the grass is soft under your feet, and that the trees cover you with shade and that clear clean water flows in your creek. I pray for love to caress your heart &soul
Still here after my first post 3 years ago, still crying
My wife Carol asked me if there was one song I could listen to for the rest of my life what would that song be, The answer was easy. This is one of the greatest songs I have ever had the pleasure to hear.
A great alternate rendition of a great treasure.
there is no other version of this song once you've heard this one. Thunder Road was defined for me in 1984 when I heard this bootleg
John Armbruster Exactly
Majestic and Haunting.
God, this song is perfect in every version..
As to me, the most beautiful moment is from "so Chrissy climb in" to the end...
I still hear Mary.
I really love Bruce Springsteen.
Hauntingly beautiful, no more need be said.
My favorite version
Seeing him sing this acoustically only a handful of times, one stands out that I remember him saying how the song had changed over the last 13 yrs "at that point" and listening to this~ First time' I heard him call her; Grayce & not Mary... And pauses, causes etc. in the arrangement answers my question of eveolution' or I guess perfecting your own music' "In Public!" Thanks 4 posting. . Boils down to real people n you see what you get' right? ;)
These lyrics say everything to me ❤️ 🎼
where? I certainly have never heard one. I also certainly might even vote this as his best song, best version, anywhere. It is the perfect expression of his voice from an intimate standpoint. Not too many artists songs have done that. Most follow formulas or producer's desires of a hit. This nails the emotion to the words better than any I have ever heard.
Thanks for posting this obscure BL of "Wings For Wheels". I learned to play it from a BL from a friend.. I recorded it in the bathroom (for the acoustics). Great song...
The original version is wonderful but this version makes you hunk and listen to the lyrics.Breathtaking.
what an amazing version.
Beautiful!
I've heard TR .....probably...5000 times, I never get sick of it. Never.
Just wow
Magic
This is awesome
Who writes lyrics and music like this at 24....incredible!
Amazing.
BEYOND BRILLIANT!!!
My favorite Thunderroad version.
Agreed, without a doubt. I recently acquired the box set on vinyl and found that it skipped about 45 seconds into TR. Needless to say I am wary of buying vinyl on eBay from now on. Luckily I found another copy and was more than willing to pay the $30+ I did just to have a clean copy of the song.
I remember reading that in its very earliest forms, the BTR album was supposed to be a day in the lives of these Jersey Shore characters. BTR was supposed to open w/the acoustic "Thunder Road" and then close w/the full band version in a reprise. Obviously, those plans were scrapped.
Haunting.
wonderful"!
Favorite version
Interesting version. I like it.
Grazie di esistere Bruce ❤
Unreal
The boss pierces inner light.
500 characters remaining wonder wheel makes me feel so graced. Spit 'n spittle, vinegar and lace, I'm glad we danced up such a storm, boy, in the 1st place. YOU AIN'T NO TOY! No trace, they they'd warn "not a trace, not a trace". They said "erase, eerase, erase". Hey just in case they didn't notice . . . we didn't fuck it up in the 1st place.
I like this version much more than the studio track.
I like this version better than the album...it's more lonesome and pained.
Un effing believable lol Amazing!!
Agree with butlerlacrosse 22...great 15 second segment from 2:21
I really like this version, but I'm going to have to agree with you. The piano outro on that live version is amazing.
It's kind of funny how there have been so many different iterations of Thunder Road that we can debate on the best version. :)
zacna piesn!!!
an older version of Thunder Road concludes: "it's a town full of losers, and baby I was born to win".
I love this version. Is it available anywhere?
AMO
It is.
There is just something about this...I have heard this version or or something extremely close in a movie. I don't know when. Sometime over the last 38 years......
this one or maybe Something in the Night or Racing in the Streets are choices of mine.
@ponchominenna No. Wings for Wheels is the documentary. This is nowhere on that disc.
Goddamn this is amazing!
fav version becuase it changes the context and accetuates the lyrics.. how different does "there were Ghosts in the eyes of the boys she sent away" sound? scary
the real dream is listen to it
I wish that I could get this on a cd.
you can, I have it, its called Born In the Studio....Born To Run Outtakes...i bought it in 1989....
anyone know where I can find the chords to this version?
Some may say that rock and roll is just about sex and drugs. To me rock and roll is about freedom. Born to Run is definately an album that has that. One of my favorites.
I have been in two devastating car crashes in my life, one of which I should have not wound up in good shape at all. In both instances this was playing. It is a baptism by the Boss. What saved me should have killed me. I'm glad that it didn't.
Best version of the song out there. Is there an LP that this could be found on?
Bruce Springsteen - "E" ticket. A bootleg album from 1976, containing studio outtakes
Any idea where I can get this other than TH-cam?
Does anyone know when/where this version of the song was played?
Could not have put it any better.
where can I get a copy of this version?
Never been released. It was on a 70s bootleg called "E Ticket" back in the day.
The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside, darling, you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alright
Oh, and that's alright with me
You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets
Well now, I ain't no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey, what else can we do now?
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Well, the night's busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, heaven's waiting on down the tracks
Oh oh, come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh oh oh, Thunder Road
Oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey, I know it's late, we can make it if we run
Oh oh oh oh, Thunder Road
Sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road
Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride ain't free
And I know you're lonely for words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free, all the promises'll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines rolling on
But when you get to the porch, they're gone on the wind
So Mary, climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win
Songwriters: Don Raye / Robert Mitchum
Thunder Road lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Thunder Road è, in assoluto, la canzone di Bruce Springsteen che preferisco. Questa versione non mi piace particolarmente, anche se mette in evidenza il testo (che è bellissimo), rispetto alla vivace, possente e rabbiosa interpretazione classica
A legitimate version.
Sounds more like the Tom Joad thing.
But the album version,
and especially the live acoustic versions based on the album version,
is more powerful and haunting.
Chrissie's Song.