Something In The Night is probably Bruce Springsteen at his most feral. Before he even speaks a word, you can
Hear the raw emotion in his voice that sets the mood of the song. For me, Springsteen is the king when it comes
To bringing out emotion in music. For this song, it makes me wonder what it would've been like to be a young
Man growing up in this era when this album was released. Experiencing things as they happened is different than
Coming around to it long after it already did. It's hard to imagine myself being a bigger fan of Bruce Springsteen,
But if I had been born 30 years earlier, I might have actually been an even bigger fan.
You're born with nothing and better off that way
Soon as you've got something they send someone to try and take it away
Something In The Night lyrics
I'm riding down Kingsley, figuring I'll get a drink
Well, I turn the radio up loud so I don't have to think
And I take her to the floor looking for a moment when the world seems right
And I tear into the guts of something in the night
You're born with nothing and better off that way
Soon as you've got something they send someone to try and take it away
Well, you can ride this road 'til dawn without another human being in sight
Well, just kids wasted on something in the night
Well, nothing is forgotten or forgiven when it's your last time around
And I got stuff running 'round my head that I just can't live down
When we found the things we loved, they were crushed and dying in the dirt
We tried to pick up the pieces and get away without getting hurt
But they caught us at the state line, burned our cars in one last fight
And left us running, burned and blind chasing something in the night
The Price You Pay is a tragically overlooked tune by Bruce Springsteen on The River album. For that
Reason, we really don't know too much behind the meaning of the song. As far as the music, the sound
It generates is one of the most uplifting in Bruce's entire catalog. What seems to be agreed upon is the
Biblical references throughout the song, especially when the tempo slows and Bruce sings about the
"Little girl down on the strand". It references the disappointment of Moses. Bruce is actually a very
Religious guy. For me, the song is about creating your own path and always chasing something to the
Very end. I think the key to happiness is all in the pursuit, and if you're not chasing something, anything,
You won't be very happy in life.
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads they'd ride to their death
The Price You Pay lyrics
You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads they'd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay
Now they'd come so far and they'd waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of day
And you've gotta stand and fight for the price you pay
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay
Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay
So let the games start, you better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay,
and girl before the end of the day,
I'm gonna tear it down and throw it away
Something In The Night is probably Bruce Springsteen at his most feral. Before he even speaks a word, you can
Hear the raw emotion in his voice that sets the mood of the song. For me, Springsteen is the king when it comes
To bringing out emotion in music. For this song, it makes me wonder what it would've been like to be a young
Man growing up in this era when this album was released. Experiencing things as they happened is different than
Coming around to it long after it already did. It's hard to imagine myself being a bigger fan of Bruce Springsteen,
But if I had been born 30 years earlier, I might have actually been an even bigger fan.
You're born with nothing and better off that way
Soon as you've got something they send someone to try and take it away
Something In The Night lyrics
I'm riding down Kingsley, figuring I'll get a drink
Well, I turn the radio up loud so I don't have to think
And I take her to the floor looking for a moment when the world seems right
And I tear into the guts of something in the night
You're born with nothing and better off that way
Soon as you've got something they send someone to try and take it away
Well, you can ride this road 'til dawn without another human being in sight
Well, just kids wasted on something in the night
Well, nothing is forgotten or forgiven when it's your last time around
And I got stuff running 'round my head that I just can't live down
When we found the things we loved, they were crushed and dying in the dirt
We tried to pick up the pieces and get away without getting hurt
But they caught us at the state line, burned our cars in one last fight
And left us running, burned and blind chasing something in the night
His voice is so emotional in this. I've heard it before, but it has been yeeeeaaaars. His souls is crying. L
Another track of pure, raw emotion. It's a really bluesy and lonely song and it's one for
All the people who've lived or are living a lonely life. Hank Williams was really the master
Of singing about being lonely and although I don't think this song has any reference to
Hank Williams in any way, it's just done so well that it reminds me of Hank. A bit after
The opening minute of the song, Bruce let's out a really powerful part of his voice that
I am always amazed with every time I listen.
Now I'm wandering, a loser down the track
I'm lying, but babe I can't go back
'Cause in the darkness I hear somebody call my name
Streets Of Fire lyrics
When the night's quiet and you don't care anymore,
And your eyes are tired and there's
someone at your door
And you realize you wanna let go
And the weak lies and the cold walls you embrace
Eat at your insides and leave you face to face with
Streets of fire
Now I'm wandering, a loser down the track
I'm lying, but babe I can't go back
'Cause in the darkness I hear somebody call my name
And when you realize how they tricked you this time
And it's all lies but I'm strung out on the wire
In these streets of fire
I live now, only with strangers
I talk to only strangers
I walk with angels that have no place
Streets of fire
His voice is so emotional in this. I've heard it before, but it has been yeeeeaaaars. His souls is crying. L
In the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album, the scene I picture in nearly every song I listen to is either a room, a street or a town. And it's always dark. The lyricism and the way he tells a story gives it such a feeling of darkness. Great name for the album, although the title track did not quite make the list.
Atlantic City is largely ranked in the top ten in nearly every list you'll find other than mine, and almost
Universally regarded as the best track on his Nebraska album. For me, two more songs on Nebraska best
This track, but being Bruce Springsteen is my all time favorite artist, and the fact that he has Hundreds
of songs in his library of music, the #37 placement really isn't something to be scoffed at. The opening
Line "They blew up The Chicken Man in Philly last night" was taken straight from a newspaper article
About a mob hit in Atlantic City. It's implied that the narrator of the song, who's financially burdened and
Fixated on the inevitability of death, takes on a job as a hit man to better the situation for himself and
His lover.
Well, I'm tired of coming out on this losing end
So, honey, last night I met this guy and I'm gonna do a little favor for him
Atlantic City lyrics
Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night
Now they blew up his house, too
Down on the boardwalk they're getting ready for a fight
Gonna see what them racket boys can do
Now there's trouble busing in from out of state
And the D.A. can't get no relief
Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade
And the gambling commission's hanging on by the skin of its teeth
Well now, everything dies, baby, that's a fact
Maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Well, I got a job and tried to put my money away
But I got debts that no honest man can pay
So I drew what I had from the Central Trust
And I bought us two tickets on that Coast City bus
Now, baby, everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Now our luck may have died and love may be cold
But with you forever I'll stay
We're going out where the sand's turning to gold
So put on your stockings, baby, 'cause the night's getting cold
And everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Now I been looking for a job but it's hard to find
Down here, it's just winners and losers and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line
Well, I'm tired of coming out on this losing end
So, honey, last night I met this guy and I'm gonna do a little favor for him
Well, I guess everything dies, baby, that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
Put your hair up nice, fix yourself up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Meet me tonight in Atlantic City
I'm likely gonna try to blow through this a bit quicker. Get like 5-10 done a day. Problem is if there are a lot of videos embedded on one page, sometimes the page gets wonky and a different video will appear for a different song.
Can you guys keep an eye out for the youtube video not matching the song title and let me know? Also, if it happens, refresh the page and see if it fixes.
I've updated the opening topic to include the countdown of songs so far. Also put out information of what albums are on this list and how many songs from the album made it. Jam along in the countdown with me, bros...
Jungleland is Bruce Springsteen's epic. It's his "Stairway To Heaven", "Bohemian Rhapsody", etc...
For me, it is every bit as good as those and universally ranked higher than #36 on every list I've
Seen other than mine. Bruce Springsteen fans would consider it a snub, but I think it's just a further
Testament of the love I have for Bruce's catalog. You hear Stairway To Heaven and Bohemian Rhapsody on
The radio constantly, but never Jungleland. For a song praised so highly, I don't believe I've ever heard
It once on the radio. It's a shame, because Springsteen and the E Street band probably worked harder
To create this song than any other. It's a two-hour movie in a 9-minute song. It pours out emotion and is
Undeniably one of his greatest and most prolific tunes.
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town, rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane
Jungleland lyrics
The rangers had a homecoming
In Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine
Over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town, rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane
Well, the Maximum Lawman run down Flamingo
Chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids around here look just like shadows
Always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails
Tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand
Down in Jungleland
The midnight gangs assembled
And picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign
That brings this fair city light
Man, there's an opera out on the Turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cop's cherry top
Rips this holy night
The street's alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they vanished unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switchblades
Hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted
Explode into rock 'n' roll bands
That faced off against each other out in the street
Down in Jungleland
In the parking lot
The visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside, the backstreet girls
Are dancing to the records that the DJ plays
Lonely hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on
With just one look and a whisper
They're gone
Beneath the city, two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender
In a bedroom locked, in whispers of soft
Refusal, and then surrender
In the tunnels uptown,
The Rat's own dream guns him down
The shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light
Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between what's flesh and what's fantasy
And the poets down here don't write nothing at all
They just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night, they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand
But they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland
Streets Of Philadelphia marks the first of four singles that made it onto my top 50 list. It came
Out in 1993 when Jonathan Demme asked Bruce Springsteen to write a song for his new movie Philadelphia (1993). He went to his home with nothing but a drum kit and recorded the
Song himself. What emerged was a sparse, haunting ballad that flew up the charts all over the world.
For a brief moment in the mid-late 2000s, it was my favorite Springsteen song, but this was before
He entered my regular rotation of listening. It's a great song.
I walked a thousand miles just to slip this skin
Streets Of Philadelphia lyrics
I was bruised and battered and I couldn't tell what I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
I saw my reflection in a window
I didn't know my own face
Oh brother are you gonna leave me
Wastin' away
On the streets of Philadelphia
I walked the avenue till my legs felt like stone
I heard voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Just as black and whispering as the rain
On the streets of Philadelphia
Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I my friend
And my clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles
Just to slip this skin
The night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
Or will we leave each other alone like this
On the streets of Philadelphia
"There's a world of love there, and there's a world of fear, too. Very often that fear feels a lot
Realer and certainly more urgent than the feeling of love", said Springsteen of this song. Bruce
Uses amusement parks as a metaphor for the roller coaster of emotions you get in a relationship.
He couldn't have picked a better metaphor, it really depicts the reality of relationships, the things
You have to sacrifice and the things where "you have to learn to live with what you can't rise above".
It ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough
Man meets woman and they fall in love
But this house is haunted and the ride gets rough
You've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above
If you wanna ride on down in through this tunnel of love
Tunnel Of Love lyrics
Fat man sitting on a little stool
Takes the money from my hand while his eyes take a walk all over you
Hands me the ticket, smiles and whispers: "Good luck"
Cuddle up angel cuddle up my little dove
We'll ride down, baby, into this tunnel of love
I can feel the soft silk of your blouse
And them soft thrills in our little fun house
Then the lights go out and it's just the three of us
You me and all that stuff we're so scared of
Gotta ride down, baby, into this tunnel of love
Well, there's a crazy mirror showing us both in 5-D
I'm laughing at you, you're laughing at me
There's a room of shadows that gets so dark, brother
It's easy for two people to lose each other in this tunnel of love
It ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough, yeah
Man meets woman and they fall in love
But this house is haunted and the ride gets rough
You've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above
If you wanna ride on down in through this tunnel of love
Tunnel of love
This tunnel of love
This tunnel of love
So it begins. I've long professed my undying love for the Born In The U.S.A. album. Not only is it
My favorite Bruce Springsteen album, but for about ten years it's been my all-time favorite album
In the history of music. All 12 songs made the list, and this is the first one from the album to appear.
The song begins and seems to tell the story of what's often found in Bruce Springsteen's catalog, the
Story of a struggling young blue-collar worker. In this song he has a girlfriend and tells of his job working
For the county, only for the lyrics to cause a drastic shift in the story as it reveals what the song is truly
About. The narrator happens to love a woman who turns out to be underage and gets arrested for it. Now
Here's what's pretty interesting. This song was originally recorded for the Nebraska album, and the original
Recording is a much slower and somber song (because that was the theme of the Nebraska album). I do like
This faster version because it feels a lot more tongue-in-cheek and makes me feel like the girl he fell in love with wasn't
So young, just that he wasn't able to decipher she was even underage. Here's the bonus track from the cut version
That was intended for the Nebraska album.
It's called "Child Bride" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU1y9HjJFnE
In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss
Someday mister, I'm gonna lead a better life than this
Working On The Highway lyrics
Friday night's pay night, guys fresh out of work
Talking 'bout the weekend, scrubbing off the dirt
Some heading home to their families, some are looking to get hurt
Some going down to Stovell wearing trouble on their shirts
I work for the county out on 95
All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by
In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss
Someday mister, I'm gonna lead a better life than this
Working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway
I met her at a dance down at the union hall
She was standing with her brothers, back up against the wall
Sometimes we'd go walking down the union tracks
One day I looked straight at her and she looked straight back
So I'm working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway
I saved up my money and I put it all away
I went to see her daddy but we didn't have much to say
"Son, can't you see that she's just a little girl?
She don't know nothing about this cruel, cruel world"
We lit out down to Florida, we got along alright
One day her brothers came and got her and they took me in a black and white
The prosecutor kept the promise that he made on that day
And the judge got mad and he put me straight away
I wake up every morning to the work bell clang
Me and the warden go swinging on the Charlotte County road gang
I'm working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway
Working on the highway, laying down the blacktop
Working on the highway, all day long I don't stop
Working on the highway, blasting through the bedrock
Working on the highway, working on the highway
i really liked streets of fire, for the emotion and growl in his voice. i'll have to listen to the more recent tracks when i'm more awake. enjoying it all so far.
Prove It All Night tells of constantly having to prove your worth in life. Springsteen added to the
Meaning behind the song in a 1978 concert, "I gotta go home, I gotta prove it to my wife. I come
To work, I gotta prove it to my boss." He once said of the song, "Success requires sacrifice" and
I believe that holds true in just about everything, whether you're a rockstar or a lowly cement driver.
Springsteen has dozens of songs that have a wonderful sound, and just when you think it can't sound
Any cooler, in comes Clarence Clemons on the sax. The E Street Band would not have been nearly as
Great without Clemons at the helm.
Everybody's got a hunger, a hunger they can't resist
There's so much that you want, you deserve much more than this
Prove It All Night lyrics
I've been working real hard trying to get my hands clean.
Tonight we'll drive that dusty road from Monroe to Angeline
To buy you a gold ring and a pretty dress of blue.
Baby just one kiss will get these things for you,
A kiss to seal our fate tonight,
A kiss to prove it all night, prove it all night,
Girl there's nothing else that we can do.
So prove it all night, prove it all night,
And girl I'll prove it all night for you.
Everybody's got a hunger, a hunger they can't resist.
There's so much that you want, you deserve much more than this.
But if dreams came true, oh wouldn't that be nice,
But this ain't no dream we're livin' all through tonight,
Ah girl you want it, you take it, you pay the price
To prove it all night, prove it all night,
Prove it all night baby and call the bluff.
Prove it all night, prove it all night,
And girl I'll prove it all night for your love.
Baby tie your hair back in a long white bow.
Meet me in the fields behind the dynamo.
You hear their voices tellin' you not to go.
They made their choices and they'll never know
What it means to steal, to cheat, to lie. What it's like to live and die...
To prove it all night, prove it all night,
Baby there's nothin' else that we can do.
So prove it all night, prove it all night,
Girl I'll prove it all night for you.
I'll prove it all night, I'll prove it all night.
I'll prove it all night, I'll prove it all night.
If you're keeping count, this is song number two-out-of-four that was never released on a studio album,
But released instead as a single. This single in particular was released as the B-Side single to Bruce's
Biggest hit of his career, Dancing In The Dark. Springsteen was pretty vague as to what the meaning
Of the song actually is, stating "This is a song about the conflict between worldly things and spiritual
Health, between desires of the flesh and spiritual ecstasy". A case is often made that the chorus and
Title of the song refers to a woman's ladyparts. Whether true or not, the rockabilly fun cannot be denied.
Pink Cadillac was set to make its debut on the Born In The U.S.A. album on June 4th, 1984, but in April,
The band decided to take it off the album in favor of I'm Goin' Down, and instead elected to release the
Song weeks later as the single to Dancing In The Dark.
They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple
But, man, I ain't going for that
I know it was her Pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac lyrics
Well now, you may think I'm fooling
For the foolish things I do
You may wonder how come I love you
When you get on my nerves like you do
Well, baby, you know you bug me
There ain't no secret 'bout that
Well, come on over here and hug me
Baby, I'll spill the facts
Well, honey, it ain't your money
'Cause, baby, I got plenty of that
I love you for your Pink Cadillac
Crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back
Oozing down the street
Waving to the girls
Feeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what you do there in the back of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac
Well now, way back in the Bible
Temptation's always come along
There's always somebody tempting somebody into
Doing something they know is wrong
Well, they tempt you, man, with silver
And they tempt you, sir, with gold
And they tempt you with the pleasure
That the flesh does surely hold
They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple
But, man, I ain't going for that
I know it was her Pink Cadillac
Crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back
Oozing down the street
Waving to the girls
Feeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what it feels like in the back of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac
Now some folks say it's too big
And uses too much gas
Some folks say it's too old
And that it goes too fast
But my love is bigger than a Honda
Yeah, it's bigger than a Subaru
Hey, man, there's only one thing
And one car that will do
Anyway, we don't have to drive it
Honey, we can park it out in back
And have a party in your Pink Cadillac
Crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back
Oozing down the street
Waving to the girls
Feeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what what you do there in the back of your Pink Cadillac
The River album for me is Bruce's most emotionally stabbing album. You can feel the hurt in
So many of the songs of this album, and for me, Point Blank is probably the gloomiest sound
That the entire album produces. It isn't completely clear who inspired this song from Bruce,
A huge portion of his songs were based on his own real life experiences. But he's proven that
He has the magic to tell a tragic story in ways that bring out emotions in me I never even knew
Existed. While the story of this song remains a mystery, there is no mistaking the hurt he went
Through in this break up, and I can feel what he felt when I listen to it. It's a testament to his
Writing ability and the music that he and The E Street Band conjure up out of themselves.
Once I dreamed we were together again, baby you and me
Back home in those old clubs the way we used to be
We were standing at the bar it was hard to hear,
the band was playing loud and you were shouting something in my ear
You pulled my jacket off and as the drummer counted four,
you grabbed my hand and pulled me out on the floor
You just stood there and held me, then you started dancing slow
And as I pulled you tighter I swore I'd never let you go
Well I saw you last night down on the avenue
Your face was in the shadows but I knew that it was you
You were standing in the doorway out of the rain
You didn't answer when I called out your name
You just turned and then you looked away
Like just another stranger waiting to get blown away
Point Blank lyrics
Do you still say your prayers little darling, do you go to bed at night
Praying that tomorrow, everything will be allright
But tomorrow's fall in number in number one by one
You wake up and you're dying you don't even know what from,
Well they shot you point blank, you been shot in the back
baby point blank, You been fooled this time, little girl that's a fact
Right between the eyes
baby point blank, right between the pretty lies that they tell
Little girl you fell
You grew up where young girls they grow up fast,
you took what you were handed and left behind what was asked
But what they asked baby wasn't right,
you didn't have to live that life
I was gonna be your Romeo you were gonna be my Juliet,
these days you don't wait on Romeos, you wait on that welfare check
And on all the pretty little things that you can't ever have and on all the promises,
That always end up point blank, shot between the eyes
Point blank, like little white lies you tell to ease the pain
You're walking in the sights
Girl point blank, and it's one false move and baby the lights go out
Once I dreamed we were together again, baby you and me
Back home in those old clubs the way we used to be
We were standing at the bar it was hard to hear,
the band was playing loud and you were shouting something in my ear
You pulled my jacket off and as the drummer counted four,
you grabbed my hand and pulled me out on the floor
You just stood there and held me, then you started dancing slow
And as I pulled you tighter I swore I'd never let you go
Well I saw you last night down on the avenue
Your face was in the shadows but I knew that it was you
You were standing in the doorway out of the rain
You didn't answer when I called out your name
You just turned and then you looked away
Like just another stranger waiting to get blown away
Point blank, right between the eyes
Point blank, right between the pretty lies you fell
Point blank, you've been shot straight through the heart
Point blank, you've been twisted up till you've become just another part of it
Point blank, you're walking in the sights
Point blank, living one false move, just one false move away
Point blank, they caught you in their sights
Point blank, did you forget how to love, girl did you forget how to fight
Point blank, they must have shot you in the head
Cause point blank, bang bang baby you're dead
