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Backstreets Lyrics
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 to set us loose from everything
to go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever on the backstreets we take it together
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag where 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 left 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 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
To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends on the backstreets until the end
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
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 to set us loose from everything
to go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we'd live forever on the backstreets we take it together
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 left to say but I hated him and I hated you when you went away
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
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
To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends on the backstreets until the end
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
Song Info
Submitted by
bobo192 On Aug 11, 2002
More Bruce Springsteen
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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 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.)
@chrisg19 Re: <<"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?) >> 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.
Another subjective interpretation, by Doug Kolk
Another subjective interpretation, by Doug Kolk
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.
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.
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...
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.
Backstreets: 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) Trying in vain (a body or stratum clearly separated) to breathe the fire we was born in (The innate desire of a homosexual) Catching rides to the outskirts, tying faith between our teeth (Living in solitude, against the preaching of god) Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house getting wasted in the heat (discovering solace) And hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets (The escape from a judgmental society) With a love so hard and filled with defeat (Difficulties of a same sex relationship that’s doomed from the start) Running for our lives at night on them backstreets (Escaping to the world of comfort)
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 (the romance of a typical night out and the alienation they suffer, having to pretend) Huddled in our cars waiting for the bells that ring, In the deep heart of the night to set us loose from everything (the utter anticipation of escaping) to go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets We swore we'd live forever on the backstreets we take it together (The dream of a unattainable environment)
(The following is the narrators forced perception) 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) Running into the darkness, some hurt bad, some really dying. (The toll the lifestyle has taken on others) At night sometimes it seemed you could hear the whole damn city crying. (Happiness is unseen) 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) 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)
Laying here in the dark you're like an angel on my chest (reflecting) Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness (feeling like a coward for going back to the lie) Remember all the movies, Terry, we'd go see (remembering happy times) Trying to learn how to walk like heroes we thought we had to be (remembering what it was like hiding and conforming) 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 (admitting the secret would have avoided the stress of living the lie) We swore forever friends on the backstreets until the end (the pact originally made, but now an attainable environment) 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.
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.
@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.
You can also listen to "Terry's song" in, I believe, WOAD album... It's written after Terry Magovern died.
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"