| Bruce Springsteen – New York City Serenade Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
Regardless of what history claims to be his best, this is my favorite Springsteen album. This song is in my top 3 of his songs, and only recently did I figure out what it was about: The lady in the song is living a wild life thinking she'll attract guys with money. She has no desire to live a normal life with normal guys, but in the end she finds that she's lonely, and that her "junk man" might not be poor, as the guys she needs might not be rich. The narrator can relate to her story, and is reminding her of this. (A song that helped me figure just what this masterpiece is trying to say: "Queen Jane Approximately" by Bob Dylan. Pretty much the same message.) Bruce mentions Billy (usually "wild billy" a lot in his first couple albums.) From what he tells us, wild billy is also a crazy cat. Is he the same guy in this song? |
|
| Bruce Springsteen – Jungleland Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I could spend eternity interpreting this song, but to sum it up in a few paragraphs, it's about misinterpretation and ignorance, especially on the subject of love. In gangland dictionary, a "Rat" is a gangster who spies on/ turns in other members of the gang to the police. In this story, the Rat wasn't even a rat. The cops were chasing the "rat" as he was in the car with the barefoot girl, and the other gangsters saw him with the cops behind him and figured he was ratting. In love with the barefoot girl, he doesn't notice what's going on, and is shot. (They never directly say if it's by the cops or by other gangsters.) And although this was a cinematic story, none of the characters saw it that way. (The poets down here don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be.) What's flesh and what's fantasy- no one watches as an ambulance pulls away. As for the rat and the barefoot girl, they were swallowed up in their own desire, pain, and love, knowing it was risky but doing so anyway. (The hungry and the hunted explode into rock n roll bands. Coincidentally, Exxon is a fuel company- the rat and the barefoot girl both implied to be wounded by something involving love, whether it was loneliness, desperation or both- they were refueling each other with love. By the way, is there really a "Giant Exxon sign" in jersey?) It was the rat and the barefoot girl, lovers, who took a stand down in jungleland, not the gangs. Therefore, love is more dangerous than violence, (and it is even worse if it doesn't kill you because you have to live on with it- "not even dead.") street metaphors used throughout that could be a lot deeper (example, why the called her the barefoot girl) and no one notices how wounding love can be- no one watches as an ambulance pulls away. They just stand back and let it all be. And yes, it is safe to say this is the greatest song of all time. |
|
| John Lennon – Imagine Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
"If love is the monomer of faith, one could argue nothing else is significant." -Edwin Shendach That's pretty much the message of this song. Whether John portrayed himself as religious or not, he spread the message of love. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.