Lyric discussion by cataractbabe 

Cover art for The Angel lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

i agree with many of the points stated by fallenchief123 including that this song is very well written it is one of my favorites i see the angel in the song as a savior of sorts, but if he is a savior, then he is a tormented one a local hero with a troubled soul who is bound for death by his actions that is why the line "on his way to hub cap heaven" is added it is to infasize the risk of his actions and the knowledge that he wont be able to live through them all when it talks about how the interstate is choked i feel it is speaking of the scene of his death, the streets where packed that day in other words, nomadic hoardds and such it goes into maddison avenues claim to fame, as in teh girl is what makes the street famous to him, the fact that the young girl lives there i t then flows into how she asks for his name and such the second to last line refers to the marble dome, which i saw as the view from behind as he rides into his death and the last line depicts a woman who must have truely loved or been in aww of him who sits by his bones and strokes his motorcycle after his ultimate death