Bruce Springsteen

Released: November 22, 1982

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

I bought a scooter and I rented a shack
Out in the sun, by the railroad track
I got a job and I'm a-breakin' my back
Workin' and workin' for the big payback

I keep a puttin' and a puttin' out
I keep a sweatin' like all get out
I work so long that i"m a losin' track
Waitin', waitin' on the big payback

Well, it's a wham, bam, thank you ma'am, god damn, look out Sam
It's a gone dead train rumblin' down this track
They got your neck in the noose, you're draggin' long in back
Chasin' and chasin' the big payback

Oh what my foreman does well I don't know
He just throws me a shovel and yells "Go, Bobby, Go"
Oh well - a all day long he's just a diddy wack wack
While I'm sweatin' and sweatin' the big payback

Well, it's a wham, bam, thank you ma'am, god damn, look out Sam
It's a gone dead train rumblin' down this track
They got your neck in the noose, you're hands are tied up in back
Chasin' and chasin' the big payback

I quit that job, and Mister I ain't goin' back
Got me a knife and she's a long and black
I'll tell you how I make my piece at night Mac
Down in the alley of the big payback

I go a wham, bam, thank you ma'am, god damn, c'mon man
You're a gone dead train rumblin' down this track
I got your neck in the noose and I don't give a damn, Jack
I'm on that long lost highway of the big payback
I'm on that long lost highway of the big payback

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.

more tracks from the album

The Essential Bruce Springsteen

From the album

The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003)

Bruce Springsteen popular songs

The Big PaybackBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

The Essential Bruce Springsteen