Lyric discussion by juncopardner 

Cover art for Local Hero lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

I always thought this song was about Bruce going back to his hometown and the local hero is him but it has been awhile and he's been through alot all round the world so he doesn't recognise himself?

Bruce explained the meaning of the first paragraph when he appeared on MTV's 'Unplugged'. Not sure what the rest of the song is about, but he gave a detailed explanation of the first paragraph.