Racing in the Street
In Racing in the Street, Springsteen again uses the car and the working life to frame a search for meaning in the life of the average man. You can die "little by little, piece by piece," or you can home from work and "go racing in the street."
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I got a sixty-nine Chevy with a 396
Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor
She's waiting tonight down in the parking lot
Outside the Seven-Eleven store
Me and my partner Sonny
Built her straight out of scratch
And he rides with me from town to town
We only run for the money
Got no strings attached
We shut 'em up and then we shut 'em down
Tonight, tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em off in my first heat
Summer's here and the time is right
For racin' in the street
We take all the action we can meet
And we cover all the northeast state
When the strip shuts down
We run 'em in the street
From the fire roads to the interstate
Now some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little, piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
And go racin' in the street
Tonight, tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em all right out of their seats
Calling out around the world,
We're going racin' in the street
I met her on the strip three years ago
In a Camaro with this dude from L.A.
I blew that Camaro off my back
And drove that little girl away
But now there's wrinkles round my baby's eyes
And she cries herself to sleep at night
When I come home the house is dark
She sighs "Baby did you make it all right"
She sits on the porch of her daddy's house
But all her pretty dreams are torn
She stares off alone into the night
With the eyes of one who hates for just being born
For all the shut down strangers and hot rod angels
Rumbling through this promised land
Tonight my baby and me we're gonna ride to the sea
And wash these sins off our hands
Tonight tonight the highway's bright
Out of our way mister you best keep
'Cause summer's here and the time is right
For racin' in the street
