For a long time, Springsteen’s followers have argued about whether he sings “sways” or “waves” in the first line of “Thunder Road,” which has caused confusion among many of them.
According to some sources, Springsteen said “the screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways”, as opposed to other sources, “the screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves”.
On Monday, November 15, Springsteen appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss the line in an effort to put the controversy to rest.
“This record is almost 50 years old,” holding a genuine copy of the album, Springsteen made the statement. “I was insane about every single detail that had anything to do with music, my album, my album cover, my lyrics. I went over everything with a fine-tooth comb so everything would be perfect and completely accurate. The lyrics to ‘Thunder Road’ are in this album. The correct lyrics.”
He continues by reading the song’s lyrics, which are written as “waves,” before making a joke about how the lyrics were misprinted.
“This is wrong, this is wrong. I’m telling you this is wrong – how did that happen?” he joked. He also confessed to singing “‘sways’ for almost 50 years”.
Keep going for the video below: