In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
One soft infested summer, me and Terry became friends
Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in
Catching rides to the outskirts, tying faith between our teeth
Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house, getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat
Running for our lives at night on them backstreets
Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing
Where desperate lovers park, we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings
Huddled in our cars, waiting for the bells that ring
In the deep heart of the night they set us loose of everything
To go running on the backstreets
Running on the backstreets
Terry, you swore we'd live forever
Taking it on them backstreets together
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where famous dancers scraped the tears up off the street, dressed down in rags
Running into the darkness, some hurt bad, some really dying
At night sometimes it seemed you could hear the whole damn city crying
Blame it on the lies that killed us, blame it on the truth that ran us down
You can blame it all on me, Terry, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight, there was nothing to say
But I hated him, and I hated you when you went away
Laying here in the dark, you're like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see
Trying to learn to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be
And after all this time, to find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Where we swore forever friends
On the backstreets until the end
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Was all right, we're all
Hiding on the backstreets tonight
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in
Catching rides to the outskirts, tying faith between our teeth
Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house, getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat
Running for our lives at night on them backstreets
Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing
Where desperate lovers park, we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings
Huddled in our cars, waiting for the bells that ring
In the deep heart of the night they set us loose of everything
To go running on the backstreets
Running on the backstreets
Terry, you swore we'd live forever
Taking it on them backstreets together
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag
Where famous dancers scraped the tears up off the street, dressed down in rags
Running into the darkness, some hurt bad, some really dying
At night sometimes it seemed you could hear the whole damn city crying
Blame it on the lies that killed us, blame it on the truth that ran us down
You can blame it all on me, Terry, it don't matter to me now
When the breakdown hit at midnight, there was nothing to say
But I hated him, and I hated you when you went away
Laying here in the dark, you're like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see
Trying to learn to walk like the heroes we thought we had to be
And after all this time, to find we're just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Where we swore forever friends
On the backstreets until the end
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Was all right, we're all
Hiding on the backstreets tonight
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
Hiding on the backstreets
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Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
I think the line "I hated him and I hated you when you went away" says its a girl, I mean, isn't that saying she ran off with another guy?
I can see the ambiguity in this song, but I don't believe it was initially written about a male friendship. Bruce may use a bit of revisionist history today when discussing the song, but even he has said his songs take on new and different meanings as they age. The reasons I think the song is about a relationship with a woman is because while it may be questionable in the finished version we have here, the genesis of the song was clearly about a relationship with a woman.
During the early days of the Born to Run sessions, Bruce was singing a longer more drawn out version of Shes the One, which contained the early seeds of what would become Backstreets. Bruce was streamlining his wordiness during this period, and you can see the streamlining that took place from his earlier records to Born to Run, and progressed even further into Darkness.
Obviously Shes the One is about a girl, I think we can all agree upon that, so...
From Early versions of Shes the One:
Most of all I hated that town and what they did, I hated the way they made us live, I hated him and his fancy ways, and I hated you when you went away
And of course Backstreets:
There was nothing left to say but I hated him and I hated you when you went away
From Backstreets:
Laying here in the dark you're like an angel on my chest Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
(By the way, just how does this imagery project to a platonic male friendship?)
Similar imagery from Shes the One:
Now you're back and you're huddled in a corner Where you hated me baby just like a child.
From Shes the One:
Remember all those movies, baby, all those movies that we'd go see Trying to learn how to walk tough, talk rough Just like those heroes we thought we had to be.
And of Course Backstreets:
Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see Trying to learn how to walk like heroes we thought we had to be
Furthermore when he would play Backstreets in concert in 78, he would slow it down and go into a free word version of Sad Eyes, which would later become Drive All Night released on the River album. Sad Eyes, like Drive All Night, was clearly about a woman, and her coming back into his life much like the last verse of Backstreets. Now of course you can say that Sad Eyes was just a new song idea he was trying out, but then why stick it in the middle of a song about male friendship?
@chrisg19 Re: <<"Laying here in the dark you're like an angel on my chest<br /> Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness" (By the way, just how does this imagery project to a platonic male friendship?) >> It doesn't apply to a platonic male relationship, it's a homoerotic one. A man can still be a tramp, an angel, whatever. BTW: I've never seen the couple actually together in that line: it's the memory of his lost friend on his chest/heart, as he lays alone in the dark.)
How has no one commented on this, perhaps Bruce's most heartbreaking song? One of the most painful tales of betrayal I've ever heard! Listen to Bruce wail after the third verse and then wail on his guitar for a vicious-yet-understated solo. Powerful, powerful song.
<br /> Another subjective interpretation, by Doug Kolk<br /> <br /> I firmly believe Springsteen is referencing the troubles of a homo-erotic relationship and the struggle to conform to society. The ambiguous character, “Terry,” his odd choice of adjectives to describe everyday occurrences, the tone, his demeanor; Springsteen tells the story about two men who, in common, live a lie, and together have found the escape; IE. The Backstreets.<br /> <br /> NOTE: It doesn’t necessarily mean Springsteen is telling a story through his eyes. As June Skinner notes in her book, “Tougher Than the Rest,” “…as he got older he began to write outside his environment… wrote about other people and their often-difficult circumstances.” I am sure he showed glimpses in his early days as well.<br /> <br /> <br /> Backstreets:<br /> One soft infested (to live in an unwanted degree) summer me and Terry became friends (The question surrounds the male/female usage of the name)<br /> Trying in vain (a body or stratum clearly separated) to breathe the fire we was born in (The innate desire of a homosexual)<br /> Catching rides to the outskirts, tying faith between our teeth (Living in solitude, against the preaching of god)<br /> Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house getting wasted in the heat (discovering solace)<br /> And hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets (The escape from a judgmental society)<br /> With a love so hard and filled with defeat (Difficulties of a same sex relationship that’s doomed from the start)<br /> Running for our lives at night on them backstreets (Escaping to the world of comfort)<br /> <br /> Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton's Wing,<br /> Where desperate lovers park, we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings (the romance of a typical night out and the alienation they suffer, having to pretend)<br /> Huddled in our cars waiting for the bells that ring,<br /> In the deep heart of the night to set us loose from everything (the utter anticipation of escaping) <br /> to go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets<br /> We swore we'd live forever on the backstreets we take it together (The dream of a unattainable environment)<br /> <br /> (The following is the narrators forced perception)<br /> Endless juke joints and Valentino drag, (Realization of can’t escaping forever) where dancers scraped the tears up off the street dressed down in rags. (A common communal depression)<br /> Running into the darkness, some hurt bad, some really dying. (The toll the lifestyle has taken on others)<br /> At night sometimes it seemed you could hear the whole damn city crying. (Happiness is unseen)<br /> Blame it on the lies that killed us, (living in secret) blame it on the truth that ran us down, (too difficult to overcome) you can blame it all on me Terry, It don't matter to me now. (One deciding not to follow his heart) <br /> When the breakdown hit at midnight, there was nothing left to say (breakup) but I hated him (reference to the narrator’s 2nd life) and I hated you, when you went away. (Not happy with choice, but deciding conform to society)<br /> <br /> Laying here in the dark you're like an angel on my chest (reflecting)<br /> Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness (feeling like a coward for going back to the lie)<br /> Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see (remembering happy times)<br /> Trying to learn how to walk like heroes we thought we had to be (remembering what it was like hiding and conforming)<br /> And after all this time to find we're just like all the rest, stranded in the park and forced to confess <br /> To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets (admitting the secret would have avoided the stress of living the lie)<br /> We swore forever friends on the backstreets until the end (the pact originally made, but now an attainable environment)<br /> Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
I love everything about this song. The piano in the beginning is extremely powerful. The passion in Bruce's voice is indescribable. The lyrics are amazing. This has to be the best album of all time. I wish I could have been alive when this album was released.
That's a pretty strong claim.
Roy Bittan’s Piano performance is the greatest ever captured on record
Easily one of my top ten favorite Bruce songs...you can feel the heartbreak in his voice. This song addresses all sorts of relationships both romantic and frienship. I think my favorite lines have to be "It don't matter to me now when the breakdown hit at midnight, there was nothing left to say but i hated him and i hated you when you went away. laying here in the dark your like an angel on my chest just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness..." one of the greatest
In my opinion this is one of the finest songs ever put on record. One of the ones I'll drop everything for when it comes up, I just turn the volume up and close my eyes. Even just the piano at the beginning gives this incredible feeling within me... It sorta reminds me of my best friend, Arry. We met last summer and, well, yea it sorta follows the song (assuming it is only about a friendship) what happens. Even how when somebody else became really close to her and it felt like this other person was tearing her away from me... Its a beautiful song. I love this album, it seems every song can be related to, but in particular for me, this one.
It's hard to say, but this is probably my favorite Bruce song ever. Starting as a teenager in the early '80s, this song has been a companion through several heartbreaks. It captures the pain of young love/friendship/heartbreak as poetically as can be imagined. Unbelievable catharsis. I too can't listen to it just once.
CheekyBoy099, that's my favorite part of the song too. I'm a little young for Springsteen -- I didn't really discover him until high school in the late 90's -- but he's definitely my favorite musical artist of all time. "Backstreets" is one of my fave songs, and the way his voice cracks in the bridge is an incredibly emotional, painful moment. I've always assumed Terry was a boy, the narrator's best friend, and the pain isn't so much losing the girl but losing the girl and the best friend. As a teeanger, your friends are often your family (cause parents just don't understand!), and there's no greater betrayal than losing your girl to your best friend.
The first verse or so describes an idealic summer where the narrator has his best friend and his best girl and gets into all kinds of innocent teenage trouble, before moving into the darker elements of young love, through descriptions of the seedier side of town and the ultimate betrayal. Then, he moves back to those blissful days when things were simple and easy and hurt wasn't something he understood firsthand.
I don't normally have trouble interpreting Springsteen songs, but "Backstreets" has always been tricky for me. The way the narrator flits between characters, Terry and the unnamed girl (at least, that's who I think it is), makes the song so hard to understand. For me, the most logical interpretation was a betrayal so painful that the narrator forever confuses the two, which is why it's all the more painful -- because he can never have a relationship again with either party without being reminded of the mistake they made when they were young.
@Frost82 Even if I respect your interpretation... Actually it's just a song about Bruce's (real) lifelong friendship with Terry Magovern, who always was like a brother for him.<br /> <br /> You can also listen to "Terry's song" in, I believe, WOAD album... It's written after Terry Magovern died.
i have always felt that this song would be a great soundtrack to a montage of kids having fun in summer, enjoying the last moments of their totally free and innocent youth, because while the lyrics tend to indicate a relationship whith a girl, the song is really just about kids who want to be friends forever but realize they cant. my favorite line, no special metaphor or anything but still powerful, is "Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see/ Trying to learn how to walk like heroes we thought we had to be/ And after all this time to find we're just like all the rest/ Stranded in the park and forced to confess"