Amazing song. Perhaps.. no not perhaps, clearly, the best rock lyrics ever written. Springsteen, sadly, was never able to recreate the lyrical genius evident in Jungleland and Thunder Road.
I'm an English major, I've read Tennessee Williams, and Faulkner, and Shakespear. I've read the poetry of Wordsworth, Dyland Thomas and Samuel Taylor Colleridge. And this work can stand with them.
This song, IMHO.. is a statement of the struggle for young people living the streets to find some moments of joy. Close enough to spit at the affluent beachtowns of Long Island and Manhattan, the Magic Rat and the Barefoot girl find themselves in a whole different world.. and still there are moments of happiness for them.
But that happiness is fleeting, and, by the end, the Rat is gone, and...
" No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light".
This is the essence of Springsteen at his best, evident in his early Albums right up until Born in the U.S.A., where he sort of lost his way, I think.
It's the struggle that neither Ronald Regan, nor Barack Obama understand.. it's a world where no one asks for a handout, where no one expects there to be a silver lining, where hope is fleeting.. but where you struggle on, with pride and occasional moments of joy, drinking a warm beer in the soft summer rain.. or, in another song, just racing in the street..
There is no grand message. No "moral" to the story. Only a glimpse into the lives of so many young people who grow up in worlds far removed from most of us.. and who find something like love, for a moment, as they disappear down flamingo lane.
But.
At the end.
They're left wounded. Not even dead.
(I just had a shiver. I've heard the song a thousand times, and it still moves me.)
@Roblaw2b "was never able to recreate the lyrical genius evident in Jungleland and Thunder Road" - I find that a little over the top. Just one example, you've heard "The River", right?
@Roblaw2b "was never able to recreate the lyrical genius evident in Jungleland and Thunder Road" - I find that a little over the top. Just one example, you've heard "The River", right?
@Roblaw2b I'm pretty sure Obama does understand. Weird that you say he doesn't. You sound like a "both sides are bad" type who supports the bad people.
@Roblaw2b I'm pretty sure Obama does understand. Weird that you say he doesn't. You sound like a "both sides are bad" type who supports the bad people.
Amazing song. Perhaps.. no not perhaps, clearly, the best rock lyrics ever written. Springsteen, sadly, was never able to recreate the lyrical genius evident in Jungleland and Thunder Road.
I'm an English major, I've read Tennessee Williams, and Faulkner, and Shakespear. I've read the poetry of Wordsworth, Dyland Thomas and Samuel Taylor Colleridge. And this work can stand with them.
This song, IMHO.. is a statement of the struggle for young people living the streets to find some moments of joy. Close enough to spit at the affluent beachtowns of Long Island and Manhattan, the Magic Rat and the Barefoot girl find themselves in a whole different world.. and still there are moments of happiness for them.
But that happiness is fleeting, and, by the end, the Rat is gone, and...
" No one watches when the ambulance pulls away Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light".
This is the essence of Springsteen at his best, evident in his early Albums right up until Born in the U.S.A., where he sort of lost his way, I think.
It's the struggle that neither Ronald Regan, nor Barack Obama understand.. it's a world where no one asks for a handout, where no one expects there to be a silver lining, where hope is fleeting.. but where you struggle on, with pride and occasional moments of joy, drinking a warm beer in the soft summer rain.. or, in another song, just racing in the street..
There is no grand message. No "moral" to the story. Only a glimpse into the lives of so many young people who grow up in worlds far removed from most of us.. and who find something like love, for a moment, as they disappear down flamingo lane.
But.
At the end.
They're left wounded. Not even dead.
(I just had a shiver. I've heard the song a thousand times, and it still moves me.)
@Roblaw2b "was never able to recreate the lyrical genius evident in Jungleland and Thunder Road" - I find that a little over the top. Just one example, you've heard "The River", right?
@Roblaw2b "was never able to recreate the lyrical genius evident in Jungleland and Thunder Road" - I find that a little over the top. Just one example, you've heard "The River", right?
I agree Jungleland + Thunder Road are some of the best examples of his lyrics. Followed closely (maybe surpassed) by Racing in the Street.
I agree Jungleland + Thunder Road are some of the best examples of his lyrics. Followed closely (maybe surpassed) by Racing in the Street.
@Roblaw2b I'm pretty sure Obama does understand. Weird that you say he doesn't. You sound like a "both sides are bad" type who supports the bad people.
@Roblaw2b I'm pretty sure Obama does understand. Weird that you say he doesn't. You sound like a "both sides are bad" type who supports the bad people.