Yeah, I got "Loose Ends" in Jacksonville last year...didn't really appreciate it until a little bit after though.
As far as lyrics go...boy there's a ton. I always found his transition from the wide eyed and VERY wordy idealism in the earlier records to the simpler yet potent stuff on the records after that very interesting. You can pretty much trace the Asbury Park to Hollywood path and back by listening.
My sig, of course...
Lost in the Flood is really his first epic and it's simply INTENSE live. It'd be a dream to get that live, no doubt.
"He tried sellin' his heart to the hard girls over on Easy Street
But they sighed 'Johnny it falls apart so easy and you know hearts these days are cheap'" -
Incident"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"Tonight I'll be on that hill 'cause I can't stop
I'll be on that hill with everything I got
Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost
I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost
For wanting things that can only be found
In the
darkness on the edge of town"
"You sit and wonder just who's gonna stop the rain
Who'll ease the sadness, who's gonna quiet the pain
It's a long dark highway and a thin white line
Connecting baby, your heart to mine" -
The Ties That Bind"Baby there's nights when I dream of a better world
But I wake up so downhearted girl
I see you feeling so tired and confused
I wonder what it's worth to me or you
Just waiting to see some sun
Never knowing if that day will ever come" -
Jackson Cage"Now I don't know what it always was with us
We chose the words, and yeah, we drew the lines
There was just no way this house could hold the two of us
I guess that we were just too much of the same kind" -
Independence DayThe last verse of
Bobby Jean and
This Hard Land; I've always thought that
Dancing in the Dark was a brilliant song lyrically.
None But the Brave also a very sad tune, similar in theme to
Backstreets and
Bobby.
Tunnel of Love...pretty much in my top 5 Bruce albums, his most mature work and lyrically sublime. It's unfortunate...HT/LT feature a few songs that were squandered in the studio but are saved in alternate performances. Namely...the wonderful lyrics of
Real World, a song that ONLY works on solo piano.
Human Touch was executed pretty well though...maybe the only song from that period that is as good as stuff off of TOL. Oh, and the '99/'00 arrangement of
I Should Fall Behind works too.
"Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no goin' back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin' round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars in the southwest
No home no job no peace no rest" -
The Ghost of Tom Joad"I don't even know why, I don't know why I made this call
Or if any of this matters anymore after all
But the stars are burnin' bright like some mystery uncovered
I'll keep movin' through the dark with you in my heart
My blood brother" -
Blood Brothers"Now Terry's pop says these kids are some kind of monsters
But Terry says "No, pop, they're just plain heroes" -
Zero and Blind Terry"We're born in this world, darling, with few days and trouble never far behind
Man and woman circle each other in a cage
A cage that's been handed down the line
Lost and running 'neath a million dead stars
Tonight let's shed our skins and slip these bars" -
Happy"Trees on fire with the first fall's frost
Long black line in front of Holy Cross
Blood moon risin' in a sky of black dust
Tell me Baby who do you trust?
The fuse is burning
Shut out the lights" -
The FuseThe Wrestler,
Devil's Arcade,
Last Carnival,
What Love Can Do all great lyrics.
Whew. Feel like I'm on Backstreets instead of the BB.
