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Shut Out the Light Lyrics
The runway rushed up at him as he felt the wheels touch down
He stood out on the blacktop and took a taxi into town
He got out down on Main Street and went into a local bar
He bought a drink and found a seat in a corner off the dark
Well she called up her mama to make sure the kids were out of the house
She checked herself out in the dining room mirror
And undid an extra button on her blouse
He felt her lying next to him, the clock said 4:00 am
He was staring at the ceiling
He couldn't move his hands
CHORUS
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Well on his porch they stretched a banner that said "Johnny Welcome Home"
Bobby pulled his Ford out of the garage and they polished up the chrome
His mama said "Johnny oh Johnny, I'm so glad to have you back with me"
His pa said he was sure they'd give him his job back down at the factory
CHORUS
Well deep in a dark forest, a forest filled with rain
Beyond a stretch of Maryland pines there's a river without a name
In the cold black water Johnson Lineir stands
He stares across the lights of the city and dreams of where he's been
CHORUS
He stood out on the blacktop and took a taxi into town
He got out down on Main Street and went into a local bar
He bought a drink and found a seat in a corner off the dark
Well she called up her mama to make sure the kids were out of the house
She checked herself out in the dining room mirror
And undid an extra button on her blouse
He felt her lying next to him, the clock said 4:00 am
He was staring at the ceiling
He couldn't move his hands
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Bobby pulled his Ford out of the garage and they polished up the chrome
His mama said "Johnny oh Johnny, I'm so glad to have you back with me"
His pa said he was sure they'd give him his job back down at the factory
Beyond a stretch of Maryland pines there's a river without a name
In the cold black water Johnson Lineir stands
He stares across the lights of the city and dreams of where he's been
Song Info
Submitted by
oofus On Jun 05, 2004
More Bruce Springsteen
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Thunder Road
Dancing In The Dark
Born in the U.S.A.
Secret Garden
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I always assumed he was at the bar when a single mother, who was also lonely, came in and they ended up having sex. I saw that part of the song as two lonely strangers trying to connect. I agree with the rest of the comments. I also thought that he had PTSD so he didn’t like the lights off.
I reckon this is all about... A vet who comes back, but see's his wife with someone else, hense her undoing an extra button on her blouse and checking the kids are out the house. He's see's this from a dark corner of the bar so she doesn't know. He wanted her to lie next to him at night and be there, but she isn't there and he is up all night. So he goes to his family, who are all happy, but don't realise how much pain he is in. So yeahhh..
The title and chorus also evokes Shakespeare's Othello
"Put out the light, and then put out the light: If I quench thee, thou flaming minister, I can again thy former light restore,"
Both ahve themes of anger and betrayal...
I agree with pencilneckedgeek. In Springsteen's concert Breathless in Paris in 1985, he says that this song is about "leaving home and not being able to find your way back". It's about a Vietnam vet who came back, but realizes his life is not there anymore. He's still shaken by Vietnam like most vets.
This is one of Springsteen's beautiful, understated little songs which manage to say so much.
I agree totally with the interpretations from tjtros and pencil neckd geek, you've nailed it guys. I think Moonpig is wrong about the 'button on her blouse' and the 'kids out of the house'. She is making herself pretty for him and making sure they won't be disturbed when he gets home, and also possibly making allowance for not knowing how he's going to be when he first comes through the door. Everyone rallies round in classic American style - Dad waffles about his old job, his car is buffed up, his Mum is so happy to have him home again....but he isn't home, he's standing waist deep in an unnamed river and all he sees is where he's been. Everything else just bounces off him. Sorry to write so much, the guys above said it all in half the time.
Great song. It was sort of the alter ego to Born in the USA. In this song, most likely occurring only in the vet's fantasies, he returns home and everything goes the way he wants it to.
Contrast with Born in the USA where the hiring man says "son, if it were up to me."
I have a completely different interpretation of this. I think it's about a vet who makes it home, but his mind is still in Vietnam. He's still haunted by what he's seen, what he's done. He can't connect to his wife or his family. In the end, he's removed himself from everyone and he "dreams of where he's been."
Yes, this is a vet who has returned but cannot leave Vietnam behind. At night he gets the shakes and nightmares of war, and begs for the lights to stay on so as not to encounter these visions and memories.