I remember buying Patti Scialfa’s second album, 2004’s 23rd Street Lullaby, after reading rave reviews.
Scialfa, longtime E-Street Band member and wife of Bruce Springsteen, had put her solo career on hold for 11 years after the release of her debut album, and 23rd Street Lullaby was celebrated not just for its music but for the fact that it put the spotlight on somebody perennially relegated to the background.
I listened to the album once or twice at the time, and enjoyed it, but this is probably the first time I’ve heard it since. Thank you, Random iTunes Fairy.
What strikes me about today’s SOTD is how much the lyrics resemble a Springsteen song, both in their subject matter and the style of the language. I guess working alongside The Boss all those years made an impression.
It’s interesting that, despite a four-decade professional and personal relationship, Scialfa and Springsteen have never written a song together (at least not one that’s been released).
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la
Sha la la la la
Sha la la la
[Verse 1]
Rose was a waitress for twenty years or more
Bringing in the change, she was heaven sent
She taught me to balance trays when I didn’t know what to do
And I learned to turn tables to make my rent
She said keep your eye on the work clock
Keep a dollar in the jukebox
And there’s a bottle of whiskey behind the coffee machine
Don’t talk to the boss, he’s just trouble you don’t want to cross
He’s the walking definition of what it is to be mean
[Chorus]
Well, I’m going out tonight on the streets of the city
Don’t you spend my money tonight
I’m going out on the streets of the city
Rose, you’re pushing fifty, but you sure look all right
[Post-Chorus]
(Sha la la la la)
Yes, you do
(Sha la la la)
You know, alright
(Sha la la la la)
Yes, you do
(Sha la la la)
Alright
[Verse 2]
Well there’s this guy who speaks no English, and he does the dishes by hand
You know his pace it never slacks
I said “Rose, he must be one of God’s good children”
She just laughs and says “Yeah, God’s got him doing the dishes all night in the back”
But he keeps smiling and those plates keep piling up so high (Up so high)
Seems he can’t make a dent
Me I’m just bitchin’ by the service station
So tired of waiting on all these jokers for a lousy ten percent
[Chorus]
Well I’m going out on the streets of the city
Don’t you spend my money tonight
I’m going out on the streets of the city
Rose, you’re pushing fifty, but you sure look all right, yeah
[Post-Chorus]
(Sha la la la la)
Sure look alright
(Sha la la la)
Ooh, yes, you do
(Sha la la la la)
You sure look alright
Yeah, you do, you do, you do, you do (Sha la la la)
Alright
[Verse 3]
Now listen, I traveled once with this rock and roll band
And my baby was a hero at every small town bar
And I watched that summer of ’88 pass through the rearview mirror of this rented car
But don’t you learn real young and fast
That the good times, they ain’t meant to last
And that sweet love, ain’t it the first to disappear
Rose, sometimes, you know, I get so frightened
I don’t want to spend the rest of my life
Working on the graveyard shift here
[Chorus]
Well I’m going out on the streets of the city
Going to spend my money tonight
I’m going out on the streets of the city
Rose, you’re pushing fifty, but you sure look all right
[Post-Chorus]
(Sha la la la la)
Sure look alright
(Sha la la la)
Ooh, yes, you do
(Sha la la la la)
You sure look alright
Yeah, you do, you do, you do, you do (Sha la la la)
Alright
Meet Me In Montauk 
This definitely has a Springsteen vibe. Maybe he did some ghost writing, or co-writing behind the scenes.