1
Well, I stood stone-like at midnight
Suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair, it was just right
And commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain
And I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone
And came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd
But when they said, "Sit down" I stood up
Ooh, growin' up
The flag of piracy flew from my mast
My sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for a first mate
She couldn't sail but she sure could sing
And I pushed B-52 and bombed them with the blues
With my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school
Never once gave thought to landing
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd
But when they said, "Come down" I threw up
Ooh, growin' up
Work it back now
I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere
And you know it's really hard to hold your breath
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared
I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
But my feet they finally took root in the earth
But I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe
In the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the mother breast of the crowd
When they said, "Pull down" I pulled up
Ooh, growin' up
Ooh, growin' up
Suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair, it was just right
And commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain
And I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone
And came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd
But when they said, "Sit down" I stood up
Ooh, growin' up
The flag of piracy flew from my mast
My sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for a first mate
She couldn't sail but she sure could sing
And I pushed B-52 and bombed them with the blues
With my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school
Never once gave thought to landing
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd
But when they said, "Come down" I threw up
Ooh, growin' up
Work it back now
I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere
And you know it's really hard to hold your breath
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared
I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
But my feet they finally took root in the earth
But I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe
In the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the mother breast of the crowd
When they said, "Pull down" I pulled up
Ooh, growin' up
Ooh, growin' up
Lyrics submitted by fearofmusic
Growin' Up Lyrics as written by Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I believe the line actually says
"I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd but when they said, "Calm down," I threw up"
@Image In Nation I came here (and resurrected my SongMeanings login) to say that. The lyrics above have two errors, substituting "wrath" for "warmth" and "come down" for "calm down".<br /> <br /> Hearing "come down" for "calm down" is understandable. The sounds are very similar, and he was just talking about flying an airplane and strafing his school. But it ruins the poetry of the line, which is about being an adolescent rebel without a clue who makes life tough and unpleasant for himself by doing the opposite of what he's told.<br /> <br /> This is the critical point of each verse, where the tension of both the words and the music maxes out (before the title line brings it all home). In each case, "they" tell the first-person narrator one thing and he does the opposite. It's clearer but more prosaic in the other verses. This requires a little more thought, but you get a bigger payoff in exchange.<br /> <br /> Swapping "wrath" for "warmth" is less big a deal, but also a dumber mistake. It's easy to hear the word if you listen instead of assuming he'll repeat himself.