Bruce Springsteen – It's My Life lyrics

Album: The Wild, the Innocent and The E-street shuffle

'Cause I remember in the summertime, me and this friend of mine used to get... used to get his old man's car and we used to, at night, take off down toward the shore, because I lived about twenty miles inland off a beach, and ah... We'd take off down this... this highway, route 33, heading down towards the beach and they... At the time, they wouldn't let us in the bars because we wasn't old enough, we used to... used to park outside on the street, sit on the hood of the car, get the cats to leave the doors open so we could hear the bands blasting out from inside, coming down from the city to play along the shore in the summertime.
And we'd stay there all night until around four o'clock and I'd head home. And I'd get out of the car, and my old man used to lock up the front door so I couldn't come in the front. He used to be sitting in kitchen all night long with the lights out, smoke a cigarette, drinking beer, waiting for me and my sister to come home.
So, I'd make it up on the porch. At first, I'd stand there in the driveway for a while and I'd... didn't have the guts to go in and I could look through the screen door and see the light of his cigarette butt at the table. Finally, I'd slick my hair back real tight and I'd try to make it up to my room. He'd always be calling me to come back and sit down with him in the dark in the kitchen, he'd always be sitting there telling me... asking me what I was doing with myself. And I remember this went on... He used to sit in that kitchen at night as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little kid, with my mom sitting in the front room just... with the TV on, watching TV 'til she fell asleep, got up to go to work the next morning. We'd sit there in the dark talking, and I could always hear his voice. I'd be squinting real hard and I could... I could never make out his face. We'd start talking, just about how things was going in general at first. And then... Pretty soon, he'd get around to asking me where I was getting my money from, what I thought I was doing with myself and how my whole life was turning into a waste. And we'd always end up screaming at each other at around four in the morning. My mother'd end up run... waking up, running in from the front room and try to keep us from fighting with each other. And I'd always end up running out the back door, back out in the street, telling him, screaming at him, telling him how he was going to have to learn to live with it pretty soon, because it was my life and I was going to do what I wanted to do...
It's a hard world to get a break in
Seems like the good things have all been taken
But now I know there's ways to make certain these days
Though I come dressed in rags, I will wear sable someday
Hear what I say
Now I'm gonna ride the serpent
Gonna be no more time spent sweating rent
Hear my command, I'm breaking loose
Though it ain't no use
we're holding me down
For just hanging around
Cause baby (baby)
Remember (remember)

It's my life and I'll do what I want

I know... Know I will someday

Now there were women and their fortunes
And they just want to mother orphans
Are you going to cry when I'm bleeding them dry
taking all I can get with no regrets
When I openly lie and live only money
'Cause you can believe me honey, that there's money out there
And you can believe, you can't be no saint and complain
I'm going to go on out now, and I'm going to take what's mine
Cause baby (baby)
Remember (remember)

It's my life and I'll do what I want
It's my mind and I'll think what I want
Show me I'm wrong
Hurt me sometime
But someday I'll treat you real fine

(It's my life and I'll do what I want)
It's my life
(It's my mind and I'll think what I want)
It's my life
(It's my life and I'll do what I want)
It's my life
(It's my life and I'll think what I want)

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It's My Life (April 7, 1976, Runners in the Night)

I used to live in a small town -- it was about ten thousand people, and uh... I used to live in this two-family house and at night, my father used to lock up the front door. So me and my sister, we used to come in around through the kitchen. And uh, he'd sit in the kitchen all night with all of the lights out, smoke a cigarette, drink some beer. My mother'd sit in the front room, watch the TV, you know.. If you came in, if you came in around ten or eleven, or even by midnight, it wasn't too bad. But if you came in around.. around two or three, he'd always stop me, want me to sit in the kitchen with him and talk to him about something. He'd start talking to me about what I was doing in school... or if I was looking for a job or something. Pretty soon we'd be arguing and screaming at each other, my mother'd be running in from the front room, try to keep us from fighting with each other and I'd be... I'd end up running back outside the house, running out the door telling him how it was my life, I could do what I want...
It's a hard world to get a break in
All the good things have been taken
But I know there's ways to make certain these days
Though I'm dressed in these rags, I will wear sable someday

Hear what I say I'm going to make for certain
That's there's no more time spent sweatin' rent
Hear my command, I'm breaking loose
There ain't no use in holding me down
Or sticking around
Now, baby (baby)
Remember (remember)