Badlands is the opening track to the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album and it's the first of several from
This album that will be making my list. Badlands wasn't the first and it certainly wouldn't be the last style
Of song about a guy down on his luck and angry at the world. Lyrically, to me, it's one of his angriest songs.
Poor man wanna be rich
Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
'Til he rules everything
Badlands lyrics
Lights out tonight
Trouble in the heartland
Got a head-on collision
Smashin' in my guts, man
I'm caught in a crossfire
That I don't understand
But there's one thing I know for sure girl
I don't give a damn
For the same old played out scenes
I don't give a damn
For just the in-betweens
Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul
I want control right now
You better listen to me, baby
Talk about a dream
Try to make it real
You wake up in the night
With a fear so real
You spend your life waiting
For a moment that just don't come
Well, don't waste your time waiting
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
Workin' in the fields
'Til you get your back burned
Workin' 'neath the wheels
'Til you get your facts learned
Baby, I got my facts
Learned real good right now
You better get it straight, darling
Poor man wanna be rich
Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
'Til he rules everything
I wanna go out tonight
I wanna find out what I got
Well, I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the faith that could save me
I believe in the hope
And I pray that some day
It may raise me above these
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
For the ones who had a notion
A notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin
To be glad you're alive
I wanna find one face
That ain't looking through me
I wanna find one place
I wanna spit in the face of these
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
For the hard rockers of the board who aren't extremely familiar with Bruce Springsteen, I think you'll be pleasantly
Surprised at how heavy this tune is from the Boss. Bruce used biblical images to represent the relationship between
him (Cain) and his father (Adam). The lyrics describe Adam's role in raising a son who took a different path than intended.
It's a totally heavy and hard-rocking sound, not something one would expect from a guy like Bruce Springsteen, but he
knocked this one out of the park.
We were prisoners of love, a love in chains
He was standin' in the door I was standin' in the rain
With the same hot blood burning in our veins
Adam raised a Cain
Adam Raised A Cain lyrics
In the summer that I was baptized
my father held me to his side
As they put me to the water
he said how on that day I cried
We were prisoners of love, a love in chains
He was standin' in the door I was standin' in the rain
With the same hot blood burning in our veins
Adam raised a Cain
All of the old faces
ask you why you're back
They fit you with position
and the keys to your daddy's Cadillac
In the darkness of your room
your mother calls you by your true name
You remember the faces, the places, the names
You know it's never over it's relentless as the rain
Adam raised a Cain
In the Bible Cain slew Abel
and East of Eden he was cast
You're born into this life paying
for the sins of somebody else's past
Daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain
Now he walks these empty rooms looking for something to blame
You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames
Adam raised a Cain
Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream
Adam raised a Cain
I'm trying to only embed like 3 songs per page since the forum will occasionally go goofy and a different video will appear. So just make sure that the song title I post matches the song title in the youtube video.
But anywho, curious what everyone thinks of those two.
the hard rock in adam raised a cain mostly comes in with the vocals. musically, the song sounds pretty funky to me. i like it. i really do need to try to explore his catalog more.
zombie wrote:the hard rock in adam raised a cain mostly comes in with the vocals. musically, the song sounds pretty funky to me. i like it. i really do need to try to explore his catalog more.
zombie wrote:the hard rock in adam raised a cain mostly comes in with the vocals. musically, the song sounds pretty funky to me. i like it. i really do need to try to explore his catalog more.
The opening riff is killer.
agreed. the guitar work is great, kind of has a santana feel to me a little bit, for some reason. my comment wasn't a knock on the tune, just that it didn't feel hard rock in that aspect, to me.
zombie wrote:the hard rock in adam raised a cain mostly comes in with the vocals. musically, the song sounds pretty funky to me. i like it. i really do need to try to explore his catalog more.
The opening riff is killer.
agreed. the guitar work is great, kind of has a santana feel to me a little bit, for some reason. my comment wasn't a knock on the tune, just that it didn't feel hard rock in that aspect, to me.
I didn't think it was. And you can knock any tune down if you want. I appreciate honesty. Lol
zombie wrote:the hard rock in adam raised a cain mostly comes in with the vocals. musically, the song sounds pretty funky to me. i like it. i really do need to try to explore his catalog more.
The opening riff is killer.
agreed. the guitar work is great, kind of has a santana feel to me a little bit, for some reason. my comment wasn't a knock on the tune, just that it didn't feel hard rock in that aspect, to me.
I didn't think it was. And you can knock the tune down if you want. Lol.
if i thought it was crap, i would let you know. or not comment. i don't want to knock it and don't want anyone to mistake it as a knock.
I've seen top Bruce Springsteen lists of all kinds. I bought a Rolling Stones magazine that listed their
Top 100 Bruce Springsteen songs as polled by an aggregate of Bruce Springsteen fans, and I've seen
Casual fans make lists of their all-time favorites from Bruce Springsteen. In the majority of lists I've
Seen, Born To Run is generally #1. It's one of his most popular songs that I'm sure you've all heard. I've
Known this song my whole life and even growing up it was never among my favorites, but I've always
Really liked it. There are legitimately hundreds of Bruce Springsteen songs that I really enjoy, he is my
All-time favorite musician, so every song on this list is genuinely special to me. Born To Run being at
#44 would be considered a snub by many Bruce Springsteen fans, especially the die-hards, but I must
Reiterate that I truly do love this song. His music is really that important to me and for all I know,
This song could be one or two listens away from jumping up 40 spots on the list. It's that good.
Springsteen said of this song "When I wrote it, I was 24 years old, sitting in my bedroom in Long Branch, New Jersey. When
I think back, it surprises me how much I knew about what I wanted, because the questions I ask myself in
This song, it seems I've been trying to find the answers to them ever since. When I wrote this song, I was
Writing about a guy and a girl that wanted to run and keep on running, never come back. That was a
Nice, romantic idea, but I realized after I put all those people in all those cars, I was going to have to
Figure out someplace for them to go, and I realized in the end that individual freedom, when it's not
Connected to some sort of community, can be pretty meaningless. So, I guess that guy and that girl out
There were looking for connection, and I guess that's what I'm doing here. So, this is a song about two
People trying to find their way home. It's kept me good company on my search, and I hope it keeps you
Good company on yours."
Wendy, let me in, I wanna be your friend
I wanna guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
And strap your hands 'cross my engines
Born To Run lyrics
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages on Highway 9
Chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected, and steppin' out over the line
Oh, baby, this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap
It's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Yes, girl, we were
Wendy, let me in, I wanna be your friend
I wanna guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
And strap your hands 'cross my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run 'til we drop, and, baby, we'll never go back
Oh, will you walk with me out on the wire?
'Cause, baby, I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta know how it feels
I wanna know if love is wild
Babe, I wanna know if love is real
Oh, can you show me?
Beyond the palace, hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
Girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors, and the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark, kids are huddled on the beach in the mist
I wanna die with you, Wendy, on the street tonight in an everlasting kiss
One, two, three, four
The highway's jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight, but there's no place left to hide
Together, Wendy, we can live with the sadness, I'll love you with all of the madness in my soul
Oh, someday, girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place where we really wanna go, and we'll walk in the sun
But 'til then, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Aw, honey, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Come on, Wendy, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Run
Mm
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Mm
Whoa
Oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
One of my favorite things about Tenth Avenue Freeze Out is how heavily influenced the saxophone
And Piano are, especially as the song begins. It really pulls you in. It's not easy to sit still when this one plays.
Interestingly, this song tells the story of how the Bruce came together with The E Street Band.
Bad Scooter represents Bruce Springsteen as noted by the initials and Big Man is Clarence Clemons.
Clarence told the story of how he came to meet Bruce and join the band:
"It was one of those nor'easters - cold, raining, lightning and thunder. Now, this is God's honest truth.
I open the door to the club and a gust of wind blew the door right out of my hand and down the street.
So here I am, a big black guy, in Asbury Park, with lightning flashing behind me. I said to Bruce,
'I want to sit in.' He says, 'Sure, anything you want.'". Bruce would often joke around and say
Clarence Clemons "Literally blew the door off the place."
When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band
From the coastline to the city all the little pretties raise their hands
I'm gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out lyrics
Teardrops on the city, Bad Scooter searching for his groove
Seem like the whole world walking pretty and you can't find the room to move
Well, everybody better move over, that's all
'Cause I'm running on the bad side and I got my back to the wall
Tenth Avenue freeze-out
Tenth Avenue freeze-out
Well, I was stranded in the jungle trying to take in all the heat they was giving
The night is dark but the sidewalk's bright and lined with the light of the living
From a tenement window, a transistor blasts
Turn around the corner, things got real quiet real fast
I walked into a Tenth Avenue freeze-out
Tenth Avenue freeze-out
And I'm all alone, I'm all alone
And kid, you better get the picture
And I'm on my own, I'm on my own
And I can't go home
When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band
From the coastline to the city all the little pretties raise their hands
I'm gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half
With a Tenth Avenue freeze-out
Tenth Avenue freeze-out
Tenth Avenue freeze-out
Tenth Avenue freeze-out
I'm pretty sure Bruce Springsteen wrote this song for the sole purpose of bringing energy to his shows
While he was on tour for this album. The River is probably his most somber album, but he's written
Several tunes on here that really serve as a sort of pick-me-up from some of the more somber-sounding
Tunes. It's one of the most energetic on the album.
Late at night when I'm dead on the line
I swear I think of your pretty face when I let her unwind
Ramrod lyrics
Hey, little dolly with the blue jeans on
I wanna ramrod with you honey, till half-past dawn
Let your hair down sugar and pick up this beat
Come on and meet me tonight down on Bluebird Street
I've been working all week, I'm up to my neck in hock
Come Saturday night I let my ramrod rock
She's a hot stepping hemi with a four on the floor
She's a roadrunner engine in a '32 Ford
Late at night when I'm dead on the line
I swear I think of your pretty face when I let her unwind
Well look over yonder see them city lights
Come on little dolly 'n' go ramroddin' tonight
Come on, come on, come on little baby
Come on, come on let's shake it tonight
Come on, come, come on little sugar
Dance with your daddy and we'll go ramroddin' tonight
Hey, little dolly won't you say you will
Meet me tonight up on top of the hill
Well just a few miles cross the county line
There's a cute little chapel nestled down in the pines
Say you'll be mine little girl I'll put my foot to the floor
Give me the word now sugar, we'll go ramroddin' forever more
Just like Ramrod, Cadillac Ranch was written to bring more upbeat energy on The River tours.
The Cadillac Ranch is actually a public place of art, where ten Cadillacs are half buried hood-
First in the ground and people are actually allowed to paint graffiti on them. I really flip back
And forth between Cadillac Ranch and Ramrod on which one I like better. Today, I happen to
Give the edge to Cadillac Ranch.
James Dean in that Mercury '49
Junior Johnson runnin' thru the woods of Caroline
Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans-Am
All gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch
Ramrod lyrics
Well, there she sits buddy justa gleaming in the sun
There to greet a working man when his day is done
I'm gonna pack my pa and I'm gonna pack my aunt
I'm gonna take them down to the Cadillac Ranch
Eldorado fins, whitewalls and skirts
Rides just like a little bit of heaven here on earth
Well buddy when I die throw my body in the back
And drive me to the junkyard in my Cadillac
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Open up your engines let 'em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur
James Dean in that Mercury '49
Junior Johnson runnin' thru the woods of Caroline
Even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans-Am
All gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Open up them engines let 'em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur
Hey, little girlie in the blue jeans so tight
Drivin' alone through the Wisconsin night
You're my last love baby you're my last chance
Don't let 'em take me to the Cadillac Ranch
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark, shiny and black
Pulled up to my house today
Came and took my little girl away
