Lyric discussion by Napawright 

Cover art for Badlands lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

See the references to faith, hope and love in the second verse. It seems to me that they could have been taken right from St Paul's great letter to the Corinthians. Unlike some who wear their Christianity on their sleeves, Mr. Springsteen's seems heartfelt and geniune - absorbed into his life, even if not traditionally practiced.

@Napawright @Napawright great point. The line in particular strikes me as coming from someone who has been suffering at the hands of guilt - Catholic guilt. Maybe it's just my cognitive bias and coming from my Irish Catholic family of nuns who communicate poorly. But drawing on other songs in this album, notably Adam Raised a Cain; I don't think I'm too far off.