Lost in the Flood
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Lost in the Flood Lyrics
The ragamuffin gunner is returnin' home like a hungry runaway
He walks through town all alone
"He must be from the fort," he hears the high school girls say
This countryside's burnin' with wolfmen fairies dressed in drag for homicide
They hit and run, plead sanctuary, 'neath the holy stone they hide
They're breakin' beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
[Chorus]
And I said, "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand
That's quicksand that ain't mud"
Have you thrown your senses to the war
Or did you lose them in the flood?
[Verse 2]
That pure American brother, dull-eyed and empty-faced
Races Sundays in Jersey in a Chevy stock super eight
He rides her low on the hip, on the side he's got Bound For Glory in red, white and blue flash paint
He leans on the hood telling racin' stories, the kids call him Jimmy The Saint
Well that blaze and noise boy, he's gunnin' that bitch loaded to blastin' point
He rides headfirst into a hurricane and disappears into a point
And there's nothin' left but some blood where the body fell
That is, nothin' left that you could sell
Just junk all across the horizon, a real highwayman's farewell
And I said, "Hey kid, d'you think that's oil?
Man, that ain't oil, that's blood"
I wonder what he was thinking when he hit that storm
Or was he just lost in the flood?
[Verse 3]
Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts whisper in the air
Some storefront incarnation of Maria, she's puttin' on me the stare
And Bronx's best apostle stands with his hand on his own hardware
Everything stops, you hear five quick shots, the cops come up for air
And now the whiz-bang gang from uptown, they're shootin' up the street
Whoa, that cat from the Bronx starts lettin' loose, but he gets blown right off his feet
Oh, and some kid comes blastin' round the corner, but a cop puts him right away
He lays on the street holding his leg screaming something in Spanish
Still breathing when I walked away
[Chorus]
And somebody said, "Hey man, did you see that?
His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud"
I wonder what the dude was sayin'
Or was he just lost in the flood?
Well, hey man, did you see that?
Lord, those poor cats are sure messed up
I wonder what they were gettin' into
Or were they all just lost in the flood?
Were they lost, oh, tell me, tell me, man
Were they lost?
About
The first of Springsteen’s emotional epics, Lost in the Flood tells the story of a Vietnam War veteran returning home, and the erosion of the post-war America. The extended parable foreshadows themes despair, grief, and small glimpses of hope, emotions he would further explore in his later albums.
The treatment of veterans is a recurring theme in Springsteen’s lyrics, climaxing with Born in the USA. Telling the crowd during the 2004 Vote for Change, he spoke how he was “trying to get a feeling for … the forces that affected my parents’ lives … the whole thing of the wasted life.”
An interesting fact about the song, it marked Steve Van Zandt’s first appearance on a Springsteen album, supplying the opening sound-effects (rather than his usual guitar).
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 2.Growin’ Up
- 5.Lost in the Flood
- 6.The Angel
- 7.For You
