Roll of the Dice: Lonely Night in the Park

When Sirius first announced its E Street Radio station, fans wondered if it would feature any rare or unheard songs, or if it would stick to released tracks and more mainstream bootleg recordings. We didn’t have to wait long to find out: shortly after the station debuted in 2005, this well-documented but never-heard (by me, at least!) song entered the rotation with absolutely no fanfare. To call me surprised is to put it mildly.

I’d long wondered what this song sounded like. I knew it was an outtake from the Born to Run sessions, and while there aren’t many of them, the few that exist are genuine gems, lush and romantic songs like “Linda, Let Me Be the One” and “”So Young and in Love.” So once I realized what I was listening to and got over my dumbfoundedness, I paid close attention, and…

Well, let’s just say there’s a lot going on here.

Maybe too much, in fact:

First, that introduction–it sounds like it’s lifted straight from John Mellencamp’s “I Need a Lover.” (Although that song was released three years after “Lonely Night in the Park” was recorded, so it’s either coincidence or a lift from rather than by Bruce.)

The the lyrics kick in, and the scene is set at a topless bar:

Johnny got an angel dancing topless at night down in Toyland

And then comes one of the strangest vocals (not the lyrics, just his delivery of them) that I’ve ever heard Bruce sing:

Where the blondies and the supergirls offer a sad look and soft hands

That’s just weird. And strangely addictive. It’s my favorite part of the song, and I have no idea why.

Anyway, after that the song settles into a pretty catchy BTR-era hook:

And if you’re looking for someone to steal your heart
Someone tough enough to take it
Someone to keep it or to tear it apart
Someone to love you, someone to fake it

Okay, now we’re cooking! Here comes the chorus, though:

Lonely night in the park
Oh lonely night in the park
Oh lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night in the park

Okay, that’s a pretty silly and pointless chorus. And yet I haven’t been able to get that “lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely night” to stop looping in my head all morning, so, yeah.

What’s next? Ooh, there’s a mini-bridge on the piano, and it sounds maddeningly familiar. Where have I heard that before?

Oh yeah, here:

That song came out four years prior, so who knows if that was intentional not?

Anyway, back to the strip club:

Well there’s some dudes at the door giving talk
There’s a lady at the bar, that’s right

That must be funny, because Bruce laughs here.

Slip off your stool and you step through the rubble
This is your chance, you’re going to take it
If she can dance, you can make it

Wow, that sounds familiar too! Remember this classic?

Knowing Bruce’s fondness for that song and its setlist appearances that year, I’m definitely chalking that up as a deliberate homage.

She takes off her shoes and runs down the beach
Oh she’s as soft as the night
You fall and she crawls within your reach
Let her drag you down on the sand
And try to make it all right, ohhh

…and then we’re back to the “lonely lonely” chorus again, but I thought we were at the beach? Now we’re back in the park? (There are notes indicating this song was at one point called “Lonely Night at the Beach,” so it’s possible Bruce never fully reconciled the change of setting. Or perhaps this is just a work in progress.)

We’ve got a bridge now, and it’s a mouthful:

And the boardwalk is so quiet at three in the morning
The lonely wind breathes life into a Ferris wheel
Somehow tonight this street seems so boring
Raped and ravaged, with no secrets to reveal
Ohhh watch yourself now!

That melody change is abrupt, isn’t it? And the lyrics don’t really fit the meter, although Bruce does his level best to force it. And that “raped and ravaged” line kind of comes out of nowhere–it’s a jarring metaphor against such a serene backdrop, and what’s the deal with Bruce’s vocals again? If the bridge went one line longer, at the rate Bruce’s voice was dropping he’d be Barry White.

Hey, the “I Need a Lover” riff is back now!

Well the bars close down and the lonesome armies they run for cover
The lost boys and their pick ups, man they hate each other

Huh. I guess that vocal delivery in the first verse was deliberate, ’cause it’s back.

Ah and you’re drinking ‘neath the pier with Kid Blue
And Kid gets sick and throws up on your shoes

Bruce is really painting quite picture with this song, isn’t he? Take us home, Bruce!

And you’re thinking of making it home
Oh but your mom can’t see you like this all alone
Yeah you’re walking down the street and no one knows your name
Standing on the corner looking for the light to change
Sitting on the picket, light by light, line by line
They got nothing left but time

Lonely night in the park
Lonely night in the park
Lonely night in the park
Lonely lonely night

And then out of the blue:

Hey little stranger, whatcha doing tonight?

I don’t know where that came from, but I like it!

Lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night
Lonely lonely lonely lonely night

Whenever I write one of these posts, I listen to the song 4 or 5 times in a row first to properly immerse myself in it. So now, I’m walking around my house singing “lonely lonely lonely lonely night” over and over punctuated by an occasional “Hey little stranger, whatcha doing tonight?”

I think it’s stuck.

Seriously: this song is an absolute mess, but I love it. I can’t explain why such a mishmash appeals to me so much. It just does.

Lonely lonely lonely night…

Lonely Night in the Park
Recorded: Feb-Apr, 1975
Never Released
Never Performed

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