Bruce Springsteen - Jungleland Lyrics






The Rangers had a homecoming
In Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine
Over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance
And disappear down Flamingo Lane

Well the Maximum Lawmen run down Flamingo
Chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids round here look just like shadows
Always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails
Tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand
Down in Jungleland

The midnight gang's assembled
And picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign
That brings this fair city light
Man there's an opera out on the Turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops
Cherry Tops

Rips this holy night
The street's alive
As secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they vanish unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades
Hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted
Explode into rock'n'roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street
Down in Jungleland

In the parking lot the visionaries
Dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing
To the records that the DJ plays
Lonely-hearted lovers
Struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on
Just one look
And a whisper, and they're gone

Beneath the city two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender
In a bedroom locked
In whispers of soft refusal
And then surrender
In the tunnels uptown
The Rat's own dream guns him down
As shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light
Outside the street's on fire
In a real death waltz
Between what's flesh and what's fantasy
And the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all
They just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night
They reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand
But they wind up wounded
Not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland





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Bruce Springsteen Jungleland Comments
  1. B.... H....

    Lot of emotions tide in with this song.Just great!

  2. A.... M....

    That sax solo is like ice cream for the soul.

  3. N.... ....

    3:54 engage sax solo

  4. e.... b....

    Bruce wrote this song cuz he had to- it was in him- he had to write it. I became a kinda musician in large part because of Bruce. That's the way of this world- people do things- and others get deeply affected. Way of the world. And- 'barefoot girl...' is the most beautiful image ever in a song.

  5. B.... F....

    Big Man nailed it

  6. w.... ....

    when I was 16 Bruce came to my town... Cleveland Oh. He was there for 2 nights.. I bought tickets for both nights. The night before the first concert my parents grounded me... I told them nothing was stopping me from seeing Bruce Springsteen. They kicked me out... I went to both concerts... and I never regretted it. Never lived at home again...

  7. S.... D....

    Favorite Springsteen song.

  8. R.... M....

    Made Maggie Simpson listen to this sax solo...she is now Lisa Simpson.

  9. f.... p....

    I love Springsteen. But this is the corniest lyrics he's written. Tho musically a masterpiece.

  10. B.... N....

    RIP Mama....I will miss you And love you forever! Till we meet again...oh mother...40+ years without you is gonna be the toughest time of my life ever...

  11. B.... Y....

    God I love this man and his music

  12. g.... ....

    there has to be away to turn album into a Broadway show or movie. It's almost New Jersey's answer to "Westside Story"

  13. L.... x....

    I'm back at the meadowlands the lights come on when the big man starts his solo,I'm young again,thanks Bruce for all the memories

  14. F.... s....

    best song bruce springsteen ever wrote

  15. a.... d....

    Dio ti abbia in gloria grandissimo Clarence!!!!😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇

  16. w.... ....

    This song still gives me chills!

  17. w.... ....

    The Rangers had a homecoming
    In Harlem late last night
    And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine
    Over the Jersey state line
    Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
    Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
    The Rat pulls into town, rolls up his pants
    Together they take a stab at romance
    And disappear down Flamingo Lane
    Well, the Maximum Lawmen run down Flamingo
    Chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
    And the kids 'round there live just like shadows
    Always quiet, holding hands
    From the churches to the jails
    Tonight all is silence in the world
    As we take our stand
    Down in Jungleland
    The midnight gang's assembled
    And picked a rendezvous for the night
    They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign
    That brings this fair city light
    Man, there's an opera out on the Turnpike
    There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
    Until the local cops, Cherry-Tops, rips this holy night
    The street's alive as secret debts are paid
    Contacts made, they flash unseen
    Kids flash guitars just like switchblades
    Hustling for the record machine
    The hungry and the hunted
    Explode into rock 'n' roll bands
    That face off against each other out in the street
    Down in Jungleland
    In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
    Inside the backstreet girls are dancing
    To the records that the DJ plays
    Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
    Desperate as the night moves on
    Just one look and a whisper, and they're gone
    Beneath the city, two hearts beat
    Soul engines running through a night so tender
    In a bedroom locked in whispers
    Of soft refusal and then surrender
    In the tunnels uptown, the Rat's own dream guns him down
    As shots echo down them hallways in the night
    No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
    Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light
    Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
    Between what's flesh and what's fantasy
    And the poets down here don't write nothing at all
    They just stand back and let it all be
    And in the quick of a knife, they reach for their moment
    And try to make an honest stand
    But they wind up wounded, not even dead
    Tonight in Jungleland

  18. j.... ....

    Just one of Mr Springsteen's many masterpieces

  19. D.... M....

    Read Bruce's autobiography, Born to Run. Witty, funny and laced with a self-deprecating humour. His account of meeting Clarence Clemons is utterly fascinating.

  20. K.... P....

    Between what's flesh and fantasy....

    Best song ever

    K.... P....

    And I know a thing or two about barefoot girls sitting on the hood of a Dodge drinkin warm beer.

    Bruce sang my life

    K.... P....

    And I know a thing or two about barefoot girls sitting on the hood of a Dodge drinkin warm beer.

    Bruce sang my life

  21. T.... N....

    I did not realize when I bought this record 1975 in Stockholm, that it would follow me, as a friend. And my absolute favourite Jungle land!

  22. P.... C....

    sitting here a couple of hours before midnight, new year's eve 2019/2020 and for some odd reason, just had to hear this song. takes me back to my youth. i love you bruce. happy new year.

    P.... C....

    Pat Coats Same here!

  23. B.... G....

    Hate to say it
    Dylan would be proud x

  24. J.... S....

    How could anyone dislike this song??

    J.... S....

    They are fools

  25. a.... d....

    Non trovo le parole per commentare questo capolavoro!!posso solo dire che è fantastico!!!!😌😌😌😍😍😍😘😘💘💕💞🎅

  26. r.... ....

    wish i could say how good this is

  27. J.... ....

    Bruce is the BOSS! --Love, Maddog

  28. F.... D....

    This is almost as good as Benny Mardones.

  29. C.... H....

    "And the poets down here don't write nothing at all, they just sit back and let it all be."


    Most underrated lyric of all time

    C.... H....

    And in the quick of the knife they wind up wounded, not even dead...

  30. A.... ....

    A masterpiece no one can question. I will not bore you with the first time where, when or who I was with when I saw Springsteen in concert or lisented to this album for the first time. I, like most of you who are here were in our 20's, young, strong, vibrant and ready to change the world. Life was lived like the sun would always rise. If it didn't get done today, then tomorrow. Now we more resemble George Hamilton's "Dirty Old Man" ( I like Valdy's cover better). Old, tired, bent & busted. Each morning is a blessing counted. We all have our memories & stories. Hold on to them dearly.
    You & I will die soon and those who knew us will also die. In another generation no one will know us let alone remember us. But at least someone might say, Springsteen, oh, ya, I remember him. Did that kill your buzz? Sorry. Peace out.

  31. I.... ....

    16 years old, cutting our grass wearing a Walkman and listening to this.

  32. E.... L....

    I still struggle to get through the Big Man’s solo

  33. t.... ....

    a masterpiece

  34. A.... M....

    One of my biggest screw ups in life was not ever going to see Clarence play his sax. God bless him.

  35. K.... K....

    I will never get over that sax solo.

  36. 1.... ....

    the big man

  37. A.... T....

    The ending of this song truly makes you feel like you just finished watching a movie...

  38. P.... H....

    This song, like most of his early early songs didn't make a lot of sense to me... singing about jersey and nyc and big city stuff. He got really big when he pretended to sympathize with the midwestern people of America, and made multi millions of dollars doing so with his albums from the mid-80s. Now, bruce Springsteen shuns and hates the people who made him rich.

  39. K.... K....

    That sax is the '70's to me. The intro sax to Saturday Night Live. A better time in America.

  40. C.... J....

    The sax solo!! But piano is also epic

  41. L.... X....

    Rock Was so Much more MUSICAL in the 70s when MUSIC was by way of Many MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS and MUSICIANS that gave MUSIC a HUMAN FACTOR an EMOTIONAL FACTOR UNLIKE TODAY where MOST is GENERATED and SYNCED to the LIP SYNCHNG STAR on STAGE !!!

  42. p.... s....

    9:37 minutes long. Written for himself, not the radio!

  43. t.... l....

    this is awful

  44. J.... W....

    Chasing "Meeting Across the River!" Hell yeah!!! Lethal combination

  45. r.... ....

    Crazy good poetry!

  46. R.... J....

    Boss time

  47. G.... S....

    Spine tingling bit when “from the churches to the jails” section is awesome

  48. R.... C....

    Nothing like hearing this live on a hot Summer night in New Jersey 🎤🎸🥁👍

  49. T.... S....

    December 2010, the first and only time I cried over a girl after a 4 year relationship came to an end. This song from 4.36-8.41 used to break me again and again and again.

  50. G.... A....

    This sets the bar way too high for existing or wanna be songwriters

  51. G.... L....

    Sitting in my hotel room crying. Best sax solo in the history of music gets me every time

  52. a.... ....

    I COULD NOT live with out him❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

  53. J.... Y....

    One of among many of Masterpieces in R&R

  54. e.... m....

    RIP Rock and Roll!!.......To any of you Milliennials with any brain cells left....( that pot you've been smoking is probably tainted with god only knows what) All can say to you....you should have been there!! god bless and good night..PEACE BROTHER!!!

    e.... m....

    As a millennial that grew up on Bruce, I think you have a bit of unnecessary bitterness. You ok, buddy?

  55. C.... N....

    0:42 A lovestruck Romeo sang the streets of serenade... WAIT, WHAT?

  56. M.... W....

    This ... is ....just .....awesome in every way ! Wow

  57. p.... s....

    23 and change when he made this. He was the visionary in the parking lot.... How does someone so young feel this other than brilliance? He did not just stand back and let it all be....

  58. K.... G....

    I can see why Stephen King quoted this song... it's so haunting

  59. H.... ....

    This song goes out to Tony Norman Stewart, Class of 1983, Frankfort Senior High School, R.I.P. Buddy.

  60. D.... S....

    My favorite Bruce song. Stephen king provides a verse from thos song in The Stand. Awesome reference in my favorite book.

  61. t.... t....

    No sadness, not drunk or high and definitely not crying!!

  62. C.... D....

    Had many "jungle nights" but not with my true love...I miss him.

  63. C.... D....

    God, I was 16 when I firist heard this song....

  64. T.... J....

    A true warrior poet

  65. E.... P....

    Some of the best lyric writing, saxophone playing, and guitar riffs ever.

  66. D.... P....

    Oh dang

  67. s.... ....

    Whoever gave this song a thumbs down, clearly has no real taste in music.

  68. J.... I....

    Happy 70th birthday Bruce Springsteen!

  69. S.... B....

    This song is the Mona Lisa of Rock music

  70. C.... B....

    Amazing so many wonderful ways! We love Bruce!

  71. M.... J....

    you are so fcking dumb you don't even know what jingoism and you make fun of people who went to Columbia and Harvard your education envy is strong --- you are the anti-intellectual you are WORSE much WORSE then the SJWS only person worse then SJWs are you

    M.... J....

    did you miss some medication? Just askin

  72. D.... !....

    Gorgeous

  73. D.... L....

    There are good songs, there are great songs, and there are the ones that take their place in music history as epics. Thank you Bruce and The E. Street Band. RIP Clarence Clemons. 👼

  74. m.... d....

    tonight in jungleland, of course and undeniable. our lives dont flash before but flicker and you witness while Bruce makes it, maybe others, three or four - and you get it, oh you get it - do you grow, and grow?

  75. C.... A....

    Such a great song. I’m a kid from jersey. The son of a bus driver. Bruce was everything growing up. Miss you dad.

  76. M.... R....

    I am glove this song and this album since the 1st time I heard it in 1974 but the best memory of it was in 1990 at Ft. Carson Co. My wife had just put our two daughters to bed and I was playing this album and I caught her on the stairs just as the sax solo started and kiss her, we stayed holding and kissing each other for whole solo , when it was over we were out of breath and had stars in our eyes. Best kiss ever. forty years together and still in love.
    Thanks Bruce for everything.

    M.... R....

    Sorry should read I love this song.

  77. V.... ....

    That introduction is fantastic!!! All of it is fabulous. I always hear new things that I can appreciate with joy. Bruce, you are a treasure to us. Thank you so much. Come and play at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, please. We can hang out. My heart bursts with love of your music!

  78. t.... k....

    still cry

  79. E.... ....

    Lots of praise and respect for the sax solo, but for me, the piano is the best part of this song...just had to mention that cuz I'm not seeing much attention paid to it in these comments

  80. J.... B....

    Jere's the thing. This album has 4 (FOUR) absolute epics. Thunder Road,Backstreets,Born to run and of course Jungleland. I've never known any other album by anyone have so many BIG songs on it. As for the sax solo,probably the greatest solo played on any instrument in the history of rock.

  81. J.... Y....

    Way to go with the solo it's like u make the Sax make love u are the best and truly loved and missed but your Spirit Big Man lives on

  82. J.... H....

    greatest rock and roll song of all time

  83. F.... P....

    Still relevant, still rockin', thank you ....

  84. b.... ....

    i can remember laying down with a girlfriend in 1982 listening to this and whispering the words to her ,it was the first time she had heard this song, she made me put it on again and sing it to her,we eventually went our seperate ways,but i always think of her when i hear Jungleland,

  85. B.... C....

    this song gives me goosebumps ... for over 9 minutes

  86. A.... S....

    The best Springsteen song of all time. Saw him perform this at the Paladium in 1976

  87. C.... R....

    Please listen to this,
    after we're meeting across the river.

  88. N.... U....

    8:55 sounds like he stubbed his toe in an empty hockey arena.

  89. A.... ....

    I wish Jungleland played on my local radio so i could pull over and cry more

  90. R.... P....

    HUUUUUUUUOOOAAH

  91. R.... B....

    The sax is sick amazing!😎🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷

  92. W.... B....

    occasionally an LP comes along that just clicks,, not a bad cut on them, and nothing is ever the same , there are a few.... the Who's Live at Leeds,, All Things Must Pass,, Gimme Shelter,, and Born to Run,, soundtracks to my youth

  93. D.... S....

    be sure to see the moive Blinded by the light. Fabulous. The best. On theater screen the visuals and the sound are absolutely great. Loved the story, words and more. For all folk to see. YEAAH.

  94. M.... B....

    this song goes through you........the notes become your heart beat.......life

  95. A.... D....

    Gets better and better with each new listening.

  96. c.... C....

    His best song on his best album without a doubt !

  97. c.... C....

    Best song Springsteen ever made. It's up there with all the best songs for sure !

  98. C.... S....

    Masterpiece !!!!!!!