Jackson, New Jersey is a nondescript suburban town adjacent to Freehold, Springsteen's home town, in central New Jersey. Six Flags Great Adventure is there. I used to work there. It was the most miserable job I ever had.
To me this song is about the way we imprison ourselves, or become imprisoned, by unfulfilling lives and the challenge to just keep our bills paid and a roof over our head, putting our dreams on hold or giving them up entirely.
In this case, Springsteen is probably imagining someone in a low-paying, dead end, pointless job, who works just to keep their head above water - a common theme in Springsteen's lyrics as any fan will recognize.
If you follow the lyrics, he's talking to someone who clearly seems tired, dispirited, and resigned to her fate. And he's wondering, basically, if they are damned.
Jackson, New Jersey is a nondescript suburban town adjacent to Freehold, Springsteen's home town, in central New Jersey. Six Flags Great Adventure is there. I used to work there. It was the most miserable job I ever had.
To me this song is about the way we imprison ourselves, or become imprisoned, by unfulfilling lives and the challenge to just keep our bills paid and a roof over our head, putting our dreams on hold or giving them up entirely.
In this case, Springsteen is probably imagining someone in a low-paying, dead end, pointless job, who works just to keep their head above water - a common theme in Springsteen's lyrics as any fan will recognize.
If you follow the lyrics, he's talking to someone who clearly seems tired, dispirited, and resigned to her fate. And he's wondering, basically, if they are damned.
I feel the same way.