[Verse 2] Now those E Street brats in twilight dual flashlight phantoms in full star stream Down fire trails on silver nights with blonde girls pledged sweet 16 The newsboys say the heat's been bad since Power 13 gave a trooper all he had in a summer scuffle And Power's girl, Little Angel, has been on the corner keepin' those crazy boys out of trouble Little Angel steps the shuffle like she ain't got no brains She's deaf in combat down on Lover's Lane She drives all them local boys insane
[Bridge] Little Angel says, "Oh, everybody form a line Oh, everybody form a line"
[Verse 3] Sparks fly on E Street when the boy- prophets walk it, handsome and hot All the little girls' souls grow weak when the man-child gives them a double shot Little Angel hangs out at Easy Joe's, it's a club where all the riot squad goes when they're cashin' in for a cheap hustle But them boys are still on the corner, loose and doin' that lazy E Street Shuffle As them sweet summer nights turn into summer dreams Little Angel picks up Power and he slips on his jeans as they move on out down to the scene All the kids are dancing
Bruce kicks off his second album with this groovy party music, partly to thwart labels that he’s merely another musician trying to follow in Bob Dylan’s footsteps. Unlike his first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, that focused mostly on him as a folky soloist, he wanted to use The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle to show his more beloved work as the leader of a bar band in New Jersey.
Bruce says the accompanying groove is inspired by this 1963 song, Major Lance singing “Monkey Time”:
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