and since I see no other posts about it, I thought someone should take the time to acknowledge this singers songwriter and all around good guy who has been on the seen for what may seem like forever, but who still speaks to the condition of our nation.
For example, his performance at the Grammies of his Oscar winning song, Streets of Philadelphia:
Let me wish him a happy birthday in a particular way.
And then ask that you do the same.
Let me explain
Pick one or more Springsteen songs that matters a great deal to you. Post a link to the video and/or the lyrics (which you can get from this official site and explain why.
I will start.
First would be a very early song, Thunder Road, for which I can offer an embed of a live performance in 1976:
Let me offer the first verse (complete lyric can be found here):
The screen door slams
Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside
darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me
It was when I first heard this song that I realized that Springsteen spoke to and for a large swatch of America that too many ignored, that in his words and music he embraced broadly the ordinary, hardworking people who so often are overlooked.
It still remains among my all-time Bruce faves
I remember when Reagan was trying to use - without permission - Springsteen's music to support his candidacy, that the Boss reacted powerfully. And if one listens to, or simply reads the lyrics of, Born in the USA, one would never say "It's morning again in America" because too many people were being left out.
Think of the start:
Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
or of this verse:
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go
Or look and listen:
A song that speaks about a kind of desperation, and yet honors the dignity that may exist even in harsh condition. Let me quote from the last verse of Jungleland:
Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between flesh and what's fantasy and the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand but they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland
. And listen to it, in a truly great performance, by one of the greatest performers of our time, or any time:
There are so many songs, so much one could say. I offer this as my birthday honoring of a man, an artist I greatly admire.
I hope you will offer him some more tribute.
Meanwhile, I hope you have enjoyed what, in a brief break in my teaching day, I could offer him - and you.
Peace.