Meeting Across the River Lyrics
And tonight can you get us a ride
Gotta make it through the tunnel
Got a meeting with a man on the other side
So if you want to come along
You gotta promise you won't say anything
'Cause this guy don't dance
And the word's been passed this is our last chance
'Cause man, we got ourselves out on that line
And if we blow this one
They ain't gonna be looking for just me this time
Here stuff this in your pocket
It'll look like you're carrying a friend
And remember, just don't smile
Change your shirt, 'cause tonight we got style
'Cause she found out I took her radio and hocked it
But Eddie, man, she don't understand
That two grand's practically sitting here in my pocket
And when I walk through that door
I'm just gonna throw that money on the bed
She'll see this time I wasn't just talking
Then I'm gonna go out walking
i'm pretty sure this is about a drug deal. they're prepping up, getting ready for the deal that will make them the cash they need.
simlest lyrics in the world, and yet this song still manages to be incredibly haunting. I think it's about standing at the edge of the ocean, metaphorically speaking, and having one last "last resort" to try and save your sorry neck before your whole life just slips away into oblivion. Something about the muted trumpet in this just sounds like someone's last threads of hope stretching thin and snapping, one by one...
The song emotes pure desparation. Bruce puts aside the rock and roll and uses a bluesy jazz soundtrack to tell the story of losers at the end of their rope, that will do anything they can, no matter how dangerous or criminal, to turn their luck around.
Eddie and the narrator are friends who are hard up for money... (mostly the narrator though)... they are meeting in nyc to make some quick money but they can't screw around cause "this guy don't dance"... he warns eddie of the risks "if we blow this one... they ain't gonna be lookin for just me this time"... you are right gmc... the "stuff this in your pocket" is a reference to a gun... along with "change your shirt" they want to look like professionals when they have their meeting... the song closes with how the meeting will work out... the narrator is very possitive about tonight's activities...
They dont actually have a gun........"Here stuff this in your pocket It'll LOOK like you're carrying a friend" they are acting like they have a gun.......not very relavant but thought id share
exactly. I was reading these people say they had a gun, and by that lyric it's pretty obvious they don't. These guys are desperate, they don't have any capital (beyond the money), so they're doing their best to cut an image (stuff in your pocket, don't smile, change your shirt) to get what they need.
exactly. I was reading these people say they had a gun, and by that lyric it's pretty obvious they don't. These guys are desperate, they don't have any capital (beyond the money), so they're doing their best to cut an image (stuff in your pocket, don't smile, change your shirt) to get what they need.
Smalltime Jersey mobsters trying to get out of a jam are getting mixed up with characters who are bigger, more professional, tougher, and meaner than themselves. The guys in the song don't even have guns, but they need to present the appearance that they.
I believe the relationship backstory is simply part of the character sketch. If you look at the songs on Born To Run as vignettes telling stories of various people in New Jersey on a summer weekend, then it all fits in. I've always seen the two guys in this song passing The Rat from Jungleland in the tunnel as they head toward their rendezvous and Rat to meet the Barefoot Girl. The horns are the segue...the trumpet (it might be a sax on the record, but I saw it on trumpet last week live) to the intro of Jungleland and Clarence's solo.
On a personal note, growing up in New Jersey in the 80s...the horns on this song just remind me of everything I thought looking at the NYC skyline -- the mystery, possibilities, sophistication.
I've seen a book of short stories all inspired by this song.
What was the book titled?
What was the book titled?
The last verse of this song really tells the story. A small time loser with big dreams. His girlfriend is ready to dump him because he hocked her radio, but he'll show her that at long last he is going to succeed at something ("she'll see this time I wasn't just talking, then I'm going to go out walking") even if that something is some small time criminal act. But alas, even this is doomed to fail. Eddie's friend doesn't even have a way to get to this meeting, the last words of our hero "Hey Eddie, can you get us a ride?" just show his hopelessness.
I believe that this song is about a broke guy who is going across the river to rob a drug dealer. He is trying to get his friend to help him
the place 'across the river' being NYC (across the Hudson from Jersey)...and the guy he's meeting is obviously some sort of mobster
yeah, and the plot is concluded in Jungleland, the final song on the album