Open All Night

Album: Nebraska (1982)
Play Video
  • Well, I had the carburetor, baby, cleaned and checked
    With her line blown out she's hummin' like a turbojet
    Propped her up in the backyard on concrete blocks
    For a new clutch plate and a new set of shocks
    Took her down to the carwash, check the plugs and points
    Well, I'm goin' out tonight, I'm gonna rock that joint

    Early north Jersey industrial skyline
    I'm a all-set cobra jet creepin' through the nighttime
    Gotta find a gas station, gotta find a pay phone
    This turnpike sure is spooky at night when you're all alone
    Gotta hit the gas, baby, I'm running late
    This New Jersey in the mornin' like a lunar landscape

    Now the boss don't dig me, so he put me on the night shift
    It takes me two hours to get back to where my baby lives
    In the wee wee hours your mind gets hazy
    Radio relays towers, won't you lead me to my baby?
    Underneath the overpass, trooper hits his party light switch
    Good night, good luck, one, two power shift

    I met Wanda when she was employed
    Behind the counter at the Route 60 Bob's Big Boy
    Fried chicken on the front seat, she's sitting in my lap
    We're wiping our fingers on a Texaco road map
    I remember Wanda up on scrap metal hill
    With them big brown eyes that make your heart stand still

    Woo-hoo, woo!
    Ha!
    C'mon now, hey

    Well at five A.M. oil pressure's sinking fast
    I make a pit stop, wipe the windshield, check the gas
    Gotta call my baby on the telephone
    Let her know that her daddy's coming on home
    Sit tight, little mama, I'm a-coming 'round
    I got a-three more hours but I'm covering ground

    Your eyes get itchy in the wee wee hours
    Sun's just a red ball rising over them refinery towers
    Radio's jammed up with gospel stations
    Lost souls calling long distance salvation
    Hey mister deejay won't you hear my last prayer?
    Hey ho rock 'n roll deliver me from nowhere

    Hey da da di da, di da da
    Oh hey da da di da, di da da
    Oh hey da da di da, di da da
    Oh hey da da Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 7

  • Jay from Central, New JerseyThis is a great song and one of my all time Springsteen favorites. But how does "It takes me two hours to get back to where my baby lives" then "I got a three more hours but I'm covering ground" work?
  • Jim from Long Beach, CaThis is my favorite from Nebraska. Gotta love the lyrics and imagery The Boss puts to it..
  • Steve from Ithaca, NyGreat song...I grew up in North Jersey..loved Springsteen.. first time I saw him was in 1977 at the Palidium (NYC) what a show..Patti Smith came out and did Becuase the Night with the boss it was unreal!! I drove a 70 442...that I used to work on all time...never lost a race ..and one of my friends said this song was "about me."
    Most my friends were to spoiled to work on cars
    but not me....miss those Glory Days!
  • Scott from Detroit, MiI often play this song to people who claim to Hate Springsteen...they always say "This song is awesome...who is that"
  • Wanda from Orlando, FlI was in college in NJ when I heard Asbury Park, his first album, and I was in awe. I went to a concert in PA at another college and while standing in line suffered a mild heatstroke. They let me wait in the air conditioned corridor. Someone came up to me and said , "Bruce saw you sitting out here and he wants to meet you." So I went backstage and met him and Clarence and the E Street Band and gave him a poem I had written about him and a personal gift. He said he would give it back someday so when I heard Nebraska I thought it might be me. Wish I knew? Maybe I don't because I will always have my dream that it was me.
  • Jim from Jersey City, Njhe describes North Jersey perfictly
  • Fred from Abilene, TxMan, I love this song. I used to have a a girlfiend in New Jersey, and driving home to Connecticut after seeing her--it really is like a "lunar landscape." The image of the speaker and Wanda wiping [their] greasy chicken fingers on a Texaco road map is just perfect.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal Tap

The 10 Bands Most Like Spinal TapSong Writing

Based on criteria like girlfriend tension, stage mishaps and drummer turnover, these are the 10 bands most like Spinal Tap.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Joe Jackson

Joe JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Boy Bands

Boy BandsFact or Fiction

From NKOTB to 1D, how well do you know your boy bands?

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.