You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks[1]
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay
Now with their hands held high,
They reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads
they’d ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay
Chorus:
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can’t walk away from the price you pay
Well some says forget the past,
and someone say they don’t look back,
But for every step you take, buddy you leave a track,
And though it don’t seems fair, for every smile in a place,
a tear must fall somewhere, oh the price you pay
Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay
So let the games start, you better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger
passing through put up a sign
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay,
And girl before the end of the day,
I’m gonna tear it down and throw it away.
And how come the little girl here never bothered anyone yet was so terribly misunderstood in all other songs?
I'm wondering which line kills you.... I'm completely done after the first two lines... This song is the closest thing to me being religious.
"The Price You Pay" is one of several reasons I'm so happy I decided to review the entire 2016 tour. A blessing to hear that over and over.
Sometimes I wake up in the morning and it cuts me like a knife
I come face-to-face with my longing for another world, another life
And a time that never was
Oh a time that never was
We drove on, fueled not by the future but by a past we could never touch
Forced to run head-on collisions till we vanished in the dust
Of a time that never was
Whoa whoa whoa, the time that never was.....
So kiss me once more baby, one more kiss baby you must
Don't ever let me forget, girl, a time that never was
A time that never was
Oh whoa whoa, the time that never was
Oh whoa whoa, the time that never was
I remember reading Dave Marsh's book Born To Run.
He describes all the songs on Side 4 of The River could indeed close a single version of the record. I am of the mind that when he expanded the River to 4 sides it was a master stroke of genius. I don't know the exact quote but the idea that needing to let "These things" into the River, life in all of it's good and bad, ups and downs...Just magic.
What's funny about that alternate second verse is that I seriously can't decide which one is better.
Literally, whichever one I've just listened to is the one I prefer. It's ridiculous. Play me the TTB box set version... that's it, it wins. Play me the River version... nope, that verse is better. I'm not surprised Bruce himself ended up hedging his bets on this to some degree.
One of my favorite songs.... The New Year's Eve version takes my breath away, it's my go to version. It's one of those songs where the pain and the hope so brilliantly intertwine... I'm glad you are doing better.
You came around Buddhabone!
Seems to me this may be the greatest Springsteen song of all time. It is in this moment.
After weeks of frustration over tickets, I am content today. The music is now my guide again. If you are disapointed with our hero thats ok if you listen to your favorite song it may help you. This did help me as well as reading Rick's post. I love this guy as much as I love this music. I hope to work up the nerve to call you soon.
I always think of my Mom when I hear this song. Her Birthday would have been on August 5th. She took me to my first Springsteen show. She took me on 11/1/1980 at the Sports Arena. She was an avid reader, and always encouraged me to read and dream. This music is a dream in a sense. A chance to reset things...
I imagine my Mother as the girl in the last verse, I see myself as the singer who is reassuring her to move forward in some way in a way she was unable to in her lifetime. What this music has done for today is a miracle and I appreciate you all here who support me.