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Working on the Highway
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics

Friday night's pay night, guys fresh out of work
Talking about the weekend, scrubbing off the dirt
Some heading home to their families, some looking to get hurt
Some going down to Stovell wearing trouble on their shirts

I work for the county out on ninety five
All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by
In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss
Someday, mister, I'm gonna lead a better life than this

Working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway

I met her at a dance down at the union hall
She was standing with her brothers, back up against the wall
Sometimes we'd go walking down the Union tracks
One day I looked straight at her and she looked straight back
So I'm

Working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway, woo

I saved up my money and I put it all away
I went to see her daddy but we didn't have much to say
"Son, can't you see that she's just a little girl
She don't know nothing about this cruel, cruel world"

We lit out down to Florida, we got along all right
One day her brothers came and got her and they took me in a black-and-white
The prosecutor kept the promise that he made on that day
And the judge got mad and he put me straight away
I wake up every morning to the work bell clang
Me and the warden go swinging on the Charlotte County road gang
I'm

Working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway

Working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway, ooo ooo ooo

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

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"Working on the Highway" is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was released on the album Born in the U.S.A. and has remained a popular concert song for Springsteen and the E Street Band.

As with some of the other songs on the Born in the U.S.A. album, including Downbound Train and the title track, "Working on the Highway" was originally recorded in a solo acoustic version on the demo that eventually became the Nebraska album. Read Full Bio"Working on the Highway" is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was released on the album Born in the U.S.A. and has remained a popular concert song for Springsteen and the E Street Band.

As with some of the other songs on the Born in the U.S.A. album, including Downbound Train and the title track, "Working on the Highway" was originally recorded in a solo acoustic version on the demo that eventually became the Nebraska album. The acoustic version of the song had a working title of Child Bride and did not include the rock melody or the catchy title refrain that is a memorable part of the ultimate effort. The version of the song that was released on the album was recorded in March and April of 1982 at the Power Station in one of the early Born in the U.S.A. recording sessions.

Although "Working on the Highway" was not one of the seven Born in the U.S.A. songs to be released as a single, it remained popular in concert, with 271 performances through 2008. A famous performance of the song occurred on July 26, 1992 when Bruce's mother came out and danced with her son towards the end of the song, prompting Bruce to say "A boy's best friend is his mother," referencing a line from the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.