Songwriter: Traditional

[Audience in bold]

Well I thought I heard the captain say
Pay me my money down
Tomorrow is our sailing day
Pay me my money down

Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down

Soon as that boat was clear of the bar
Pay me money down
He knocked me down with a spar
Pay me my money down

Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down

Well, if I'd been a rich man's son
Pay me my money down
I'd sit on the river and watch her run
Pay me my money down

Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down

Come on, Charlie!

One, two

Wish I was Mr. Gates
Pay me my money down
They'd haul my money in in crates
Pay me my money down

Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down

All right, Charles!
Ready over here?
Is everybody ready way in the back?
Pay me my money down
Go ahead, Sam!
Pay me, that's right! Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail (One, two)
Pay me my money down

One, two

Well, forty days and nights at sea
(Pay me my money down)
Captain worked every last dollar out of me
(Pay me my money down)

Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
(Pay me my money down)

Pay me, (Pay me
Pay me my money down)
Pay me or go to jail
(Pay me my money down)

Come on, let's hear ya!

(Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down)

(Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down)

(Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down)

Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down

Pay me, pay me
Pay me my money down
Pay me or go to jail
Pay me my money down

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen is a rock ‘n’ roll icon from the great state of New Jersey. Nicknamed “The Boss,” he’s known for spirited sax-powered anthems about working-class people making their way in the world. Backed by the trusty E Street Band, he’s sold more than 120 million records, won numerous awards (including 20 Grammys and an Oscar), sold out stadiums around the globe, and earned a place alongside his teenage heroes in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Although he’s a living legend who ranks among the most important artists in rock history, Springsteen wasn’t an overnight success. Around the time of his first album, 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., he was dismissed as just another “new Dylan"—some scruffy folk singer with a decent vocabulary looking to follow in Bob’s footsteps. In the decade that followed, Springsteen proved himself to be much more.

His breakthrough came with his third album, 1975’s Born to Run. The record hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and landed the singer-songwriter on the cover of both Time and Newsweek. Bruce nabbed his first chart-topping album five years later with The River, and in 1984, he went global with Born in the U.S.A., a critical and commercial smash that produced seven Top 10 singles.