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IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY

Tracks version

Well I had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra
I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova
Well I walked like Brando right into the sun
And danced just like a Casanova
Well with my blackjack and jacket and hair slicked sweet
Silver star studs on my duds like a Harley in heat
When I bop down the street I can hear its heartbeat
And all the women fell back and said "Don't that man look pretty?"
The cripple on the corner cries out "Nickels for your pity"
And the gasoline boys downtown sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

Well I was the king of the alley, I could talk trash
I was the prince of the paupers, crowned downtown at the beggar's bash
I was the pimp's main prophet but I kept everything cool
Just a backstreet gambler with the luck to lose
And when the heat came down it was left on the ground
The devil appeared like Jesus through the steam in the street
Showing me a hand I knew even the cops couldn't beat
I felt his hot breath on my neck as I dove into the heat
It's so hard to be a saint when you're just a boy out on the street

And the sages of the subway sit just like the living dead
As the tracks clack out the rhythm, their eyes fixed straight ahead
They ride the line of balance and hold on by just a thread
It's too hot in these tunnels, you can get hit up by the heat
I get up to get out at the next stop but they push me down in the seat
My heart starts beatin' faster as I struggle to my feet
And I get out of that hole and I'm back up on the street
Now the southside sisters sure look pretty
The cripple on the corner knows I don't pay for no pity
And them gasoline boys, they sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

Published on Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, massively played until the end of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town tour, two appearances in The River tour, in September 1981, resurrected 17 years later on 25 November 1996 (The Ghost Of Tom Joad tour) in the Asbury Park shows and then on. Two renderings in the Reunion Tour. This is the Tracks version that was recorded on 03 March 1972 at the CBS Studios, New York City. Check also the album's version, alternative version 1, and alternative version 2.

Bruce's streetwise, edge of society backround oozes through the lyrics of this track. This song announces his arrival, and confirms the reasons for why he belongs in the rock world.

Available on:

  1. Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (track 9)
  2. Live 1975-85 (disc 1- track 8)
  3. Tracks (disc 1- track 2)
  4. Tribute 1997: One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen (disc 2- track 5), performed by David Bowie

Liner notes from the One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen tribute booklet:

Springsteen came down to hear what we were doing with his stuff. He was very shy. I remember sitting in the corridor with him, talking about his lifestyle, which was a very Dylanesque - you know, moving from town to town with a guitar on his back, all that kind of thing. Anyway, he didn't like what we were doing, I remember that. At least, he didn't express much enthusiasm. I guess he must have thought it was all kind of odd. I was in another universe at the time. I've got this extraordinarily strange photograph of us all - I look like I'm made out of wax.

-David Bowie