Lyric discussion by gregjohnson 

Cover art for Highway 29 lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

This is an incredible album for lyrics-some of his best. The events are hard to follow. I think it could be reminiscent of "The occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" in which the character has a hallucination as he's dying. Maybe, "I slept the sleep of the dead" means he died in the motel and what comes after is his experience as he is dying. Clearly, the end describes his death "I was runnin'.. then I was flyin'. The vision of bright light (snow and sky) could be like seeing the light. Just a thought. It is a fascinating lyric.

My Interpretation