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Bobby said he'd pull out Bobby stayed in
Janey had a baby it wasn't any sin
They were set to marry on a summer day
Bobby got scared and he ran away
Jane moved in with her ma out on Shawnee Lake
She sighed Ma sometimes my whole life feels like one big mistake
She settled in in a back room time passed on
Later that winter a son came along
CHORUS
Spare parts
And broken hearts
Keep the world turnin' around
Now Janey walked that baby across the floor night after night
But she was a young girl and she missed the party lights
Meanwhile in South Texas in a dirty oil patch
Bobby heard 'bout his son bein' born and swore he wasn't ever goin' back
CHORUS
Janey heard about a woman over in Calverton
Put her baby in the river let the river roll on
She looked at her boy in the crib where he lay
Got down on her knees cried till she prayed
Mist was on the water low run the tide
Janey held her son down at the riverside
Waist deep in water how bright the sun shone
She lifted him in her arms and carried him home
As he lay sleeping in her bed Janey took a look around at everything
Went to a drawer in her bureau and got out her old engagement ring
Took out her wedding dress tied that ring up in its sash
Went straight down to the pawn shop man and walked out with some good cold cash
CHORUS
Janey had a baby it wasn't any sin
They were set to marry on a summer day
Bobby got scared and he ran away
Jane moved in with her ma out on Shawnee Lake
She sighed Ma sometimes my whole life feels like one big mistake
She settled in in a back room time passed on
Later that winter a son came along
Spare parts
And broken hearts
Keep the world turnin' around
But she was a young girl and she missed the party lights
Meanwhile in South Texas in a dirty oil patch
Bobby heard 'bout his son bein' born and swore he wasn't ever goin' back
Put her baby in the river let the river roll on
She looked at her boy in the crib where he lay
Got down on her knees cried till she prayed
Mist was on the water low run the tide
Janey held her son down at the riverside
Waist deep in water how bright the sun shone
She lifted him in her arms and carried him home
As he lay sleeping in her bed Janey took a look around at everything
Went to a drawer in her bureau and got out her old engagement ring
Took out her wedding dress tied that ring up in its sash
Went straight down to the pawn shop man and walked out with some good cold cash
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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Didn't think it needed one, as it is fairly straightforward. However, since you seem to need an interpretation, here goes: A guy gets a girl pregnant. They are ready to marry, but the guy gets scared and takes off. The desperation of her situation gets to the girl, so she takes her child down to the river with the intention of dropping it in and letting it die. Instead, she thinks better of it, takes the baby home, and lets go of the past by hocking her wedding ring and dress.
There you go. Fairly easy stuff.
Fantastic track. Don't know why but this one always brings a tear to my eye
Fantastic track. Don't know why but this one always brings a tear to my eye
This song is just beautifully written. The subject matter is well-handled.
where the hell is the interpretation
This is a great song (the live video version is miles away than the studio) but I gotta say I listened to this song all the time when I was a really young kid, and now I'm 15 and I finally understand the first two lines... :P
Thank you voodoochilde for your comments and for summarizing the story. A story so deceptively simple, told kind of unemotionally, yet it has made me cry when I heard it and sometimes even when I talk about it. The reason I think--Bruce leaves so much unsaid, but the power of the song lies in imagining what goes through Janey's mind as she decides about letting her son drown...or getting back to living. Many of us have gone through moments like that, although probably less dramatic.
But we faced a similar dilemma--do you just give up and say "this part of my life isn't worth it...it's too hard," or do you say, "I made a bad mistake but I need to fucking deal with it and its consequences." A long while back I watched a movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales, about a guy who had killed maybe dozens of people in the Civil War and the first few years afterwards. He finally gets a chance to live in peace with some people he met later and a woman he loves. Someone, I forget who, has a line, "It shall be life." The ring and the cash, I think, represent the positive inside us that keeps us caring and loving and trying to do our best for ourselves and those we care about. The key is getting in touch with that part of ourselves.