Gino Washington - I'm A Coward

First performance: 25/02/1988


Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song 67 times and once as a snippet:
 
For his version, Bruce changed most of the lyrics to Gino Washington's 'I'm a Coward' (which is written by Ronald Davis) and completely rearranged the song. He performed it live throughout the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour in 1988. The song was played in a full-band horns-heavy arrangement.
 
  •  Snippet
during FOR YOU
 
2005-07-14 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
 
67 times during the Tunnel Of Love Tour

1988-08-03 Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
1988-08-02 Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain
1988-07-30 Weserstadion, Bremen, West Germany
1988-07-27 Valle Hovin Stadion, Oslo, Norway
1988-07-25 Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark
1988-07-22 Waldbühne, West Berlin, West Germany
1988-07-19 Radrennbahn Weissensee, East Berlin, East Germany
1988-07-17 Olympia-Reitstadion Riem, Munich, West Germany
1988-07-14 St. Jakob Stadion, Basel, Switzerland
1988-07-12 Waldstadion, Frankfurt, West Germany
1988-07-10 Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England
1988-07-09 Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England
1988-07-07 RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland
 
1988-07-03 Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
released on the Stockholm Stadion, Sweden 1988 official live download in 2017.

1988-07-02 Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
1988-06-29 Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1988-06-28 Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1988-06-25 Wembley Stadium, London, England
1988-06-22 Villa Park, Birmingham, England
1988-06-21 Villa Park, Birmingham, England
1988-06-19 Hippodrome De Vincennes, Paris, France
1988-06-16 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy
1988-06-15 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy
1988-06-11 Stadio Comunale, Turin, Italy
1988-05-23 Madison Square Garden, New York City
1988-05-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City
1988-05-19 Madison Square Garden, New York City
1988-05-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City
1988-05-16 Madison Square Garden, New York City
1988-05-13 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN
1988-05-10 Met Center, Bloomington, MN
1988-05-09 Met Center, Bloomington, MN
1988-05-06 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
1988-05-05 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
1988-05-03 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
1988-05-02 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
1988-04-28 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, LA
1988-04-27 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, LA
1988-04-25 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, LA
1988-04-23 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, LA
1988-04-22 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, LA
1988-04-20 McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO
1988-04-17 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO
1988-04-15 Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
1988-04-13 Summit (The), Houston, TX
1988-04-12 Summit (The), Houston, TX
1988-04-05 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
1988-04-04 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
1988-04-02 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
1988-04-01 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
1988-03-29 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
1988-03-28 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
1988-03-26 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

1988-03-23 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA
released on the LA Sports Arena, California 1988 official live download in 2015.

1988-03-22 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA
1988-03-20 Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
1988-03-17 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL
1988-03-16 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL
1988-03-14 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH
1988-03-13 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH
1988-03-09 Spectrum, Philadelphia
1988-03-08 Spectrum, Philadelphia
1988-03-04 Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, Chapel Hill, NC
1988-03-03 Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, Chapel Hill, NC
1988-02-29 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA
1988-02-28 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA

1988-02-25 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA 

 

Songinfo

' I'm a Coward ' is a song written by Ronald Davis and originally released by Gino Washington as a single in 1962 on the Detroit-based Correc-Tone label. He rerecorded the song and re-released it in 1964 on the SonBert label (a subsidiary of Correc-Tone). The 1964 version was retitled "Gino Is A Coward" and features a new arrangement that's a bit faster and lacking the horn section. Soon after the 1964 version was released nationally by the Ric-Tic label. 
 
 
 

Other cover versions

 
 

Bruce on the artist

02.08.88 Madrid, Spain, intro to 'I´m a Coward':
 
" Is there anybody alive out there tonight ? (cheers)….is there anybody that can feel the living, breathing spirit down in their souls in the audience tonight ? (cheers)….that´s good….. because I´ve got a question that I want to ask you…..do we have any brave, rough, tough Spanish men in the audience tonight ? (cheers)….do we have any macho men out there tonight ? (cheers)…because I’ve seen men that would swim rivers, climb mountains, wrestle with the beasts of the jungle….but there was one thing they was afraid of….there was one thing that scared ´em to death….do you want to know what that one thing was ?….I´ll tell you what that one thing was….I´m talking about L….U…V, I’m talking about love, love scared ´em to death, when they got next to love, they ran home to their mommies…now, do we have any brave, courageous Spanish women in the audience tonight ? (cheers)….do we have any sexy Spanish girls out there tonight ? (cheers)….let me hear you, girls (cheers)….because I’m talking to you too….I’ve known women that when they got next to love, they ran home to their loneliness and to their isolation…..now, I’m not down here tonight just pointing my finger….I´ve got a confession that I´ve got to make….what I want to say is that I have sinned !….that´s right….and I ain´t ashamed ´cause I´m a brave man if I don´t say so myself ….but what I wanna say is…..that I’m a coward when it comes to love…"

Lyrics

I got one muscle made of iron
One muscle made of steel
I never been afraid in my life
Of any man that lived
But I'm a coward
Yes I'm a coward when it comes to love
Yeah yeah yeah!

I spent a whole year in the jungle
Hunting wild game
I captured a gorilla barehanded
And beat him until he was tamed
But I'm a coward
Yes I'm a coward when it comes to love
Yeah yeah yeah!

Just the thought of it, just one little kiss
Make me shiver and shake
Oh girl get near to me and appear in me
Rocks, roll, shimmy, the shake
Whoa yeah!

I won a medal for bravery
Fought in three hard wars
And just for the trill and pleasure
I rode the back of a dinosaur
But I'm a coward
Yes I'm a coward when it comes to love

Oh tell me, tell me, tell me baby
What was that thing you call love
(Gino is a coward) You got me shaken up
(Gino is a coward)
(Gino is a coward) Yeah yeah yeah
[Fades out]