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.
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.