Despite my disappointment in pricing for his upcoming Tour, I am and always will be ‘the biggest Bruce Springsteen fan in Texas.’ The journey started 44 years ago this month… and The Boss is always there to inspire, uplift, challenge me – or just to rock out on a Friday afternoon.
Over the next several months, I’ll share my Top 100 songs. Some are legendary. Some you may not know. All of them touched me.
Thanks to www.springsteenlyrics.com for the deep compilation of Bruce’s writings.
First up, 10 that just missed the list:
Night – One of the oft overlooked songs on Born to Run – the similarities to the title track are clear: blue collar guys, pretty women, fast cars. “You get to work late and the boss man’s giving you hell / Till you’re out on a midnight run / Losing your heart to a beautiful one / And it feels right” These, of course, will be explored much more a few years later with Darkness on the Edge of Town.
Stand on It – Yet another song about cars and guys (imagine!). The pounding drums, guitar solo and Roy Bittan’s piano make for a lot of fun. “Well if you’ve lost control of the situation at hand / Go grab a girl and see a rock and roll band / And stand on it, come on man, stand on it” It’s a good reminder to put your head down and keep going. Recorded in 1985, it was released as the B-side of Glory Days.
Liner Note: Max Weinberg to Rolling Stone (1989): “I remember one night when we were completely packed up to go home and Bruce was off in the corner playing his acoustic guitar. Suddenly the bug hit him, and he started writing these rockabilly songs… That’s when we got Pink Cadillac, Stand on It, and a song called TV Movie. Bruce got on a roll, and when that happens, you just hold on for dear life.”
The E Street Shuffle – Based on character-types encountered in Asbury Park, Springsteen created a dance without any actual steps for the opening track of The Wild, The Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle. “Oh, Little Angel hangs out at Easy Joe’s, it’s a club where all the riot squad goes when they’re cashin’ in for a cheap hustle / But them boys are still on the corner loose and doin’ that lazy E Street Shuffle” The rock and soul sound of the early band – which included Vini Lopez and David Sancious – comes through clearly.
State Trooper – The acoustic guitar and haunting vocal draws a listener to the agony of the protagonist on a late-night drive. “License, registration, I ain’t got none / But I got a clear conscience ’bout the things that I done / Mister state trooper, please don’t stop me” Nebraska was made as a demo in a spare room of Springsteen’s house with a 4-track cassette recorder. Eventually, the E Street Band re-recorded all the songs, yet he felt that only made them sound worse, so the original version was released.
Further on (up the Road) – The Rising was Bruce’s tribute to the heroes of 9/11. Like My City of Ruins and Waitin’ on a Sunny Day, this track was written prior to that devastating attack, yet became incredibly appropriate. “Got on my dead man’s suit and my smiling skull ring / My lucky graveyard boots and a song to sing / I got a song to sing to keep me out of the cold / And I’ll meet you further on up the road” Springsteen noted his inspiration for the album came a few days afterward, when a stranger pulled up next to his car and said: “We need you now.”
Spare Parts – Springsteen’s eighth studio album, Tunnel of Love, came out toward the end of his marriage to actress Julianne Phillips. It’s filled with bleak stories, including this one about an abandoned mother who contemplated drowning her young son, then changed her mind. “As he lay sleeping in her bed Janey took a look around at everything / Went to a drawer in her bureau and got out her old engagement ring / Took out her wedding dress tied that ring up in its sash / Went straight down to the pawn shop man and walked out with some good cold cash”
Western Stars – Bruce’s first studio album in five years was originally recorded in 2010, updated in 2014, re-recorded in 2018, and released in the summer of 2019. Of course, during much of that time he was busy promoting his autobiography and Broadway show. “This record is a return to my solo recordings featuring character driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements,” Springsteen said. “It’s a jewel box of a record.” The title track is about a Cowboy movie extra coming to grips with aging. “Once I was shot by John Wayne, yeah it was towards the end / That one scene’s bought me a thousand drinks, set me up and I’ll tell it for you, friend”
This Land is Your Land (Live) – The first time I heard this version – likely on the Live/1975-85 box set – I thought it was a great cover of Woody Guthrie’s original, which was an answer song to Kate Smith’s God Bless America. Don’t think I knew there was a second verse. “Now the sun came shining and I was strolling / Oh the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling / And a voice was sounding as the fog was lifting / It said this land was made for you and me”
This Hard Land (Live) – Springsteen wrote in his book Songs: “‘This Hard Land’ traces the search for ‘home’ against the restlessness and isolation that is at the heart of the American character. It’s about friendship and survival and ends the album with a shot of idealism.” Recorded in 1982, it was released 16 years later on Tracks. “Well now even the rain it don’t come around, don’t come around here no more / And the only sound at night’s the wind slamming that back porch door / Yeah it stirs you up like it wants to just blow you down, twisting and churning up the sand / Leaving all them scarecrows lying face down into the dirt of this hard land.” Seems spot-on during this difficult summer of extreme heat and drought.
