Rock Singers

"I couldn't believe how happy his music made me and how good it was. He's a gift, and I didn't know. I mean, I knew 'Born in the USA' and 'Glory Days,' but I didn't know that he covered so much ground, and there was something in his music that touched what I was going through, the process of falling back in love with my America."

"The label of liberalism is hardly a sentence to public igominy: otherwise Bruce Springsteen would still be rehabilitating used Cadillacs in Asbury Park and Jane Fonda, for all we know, would be just another overweight housewife."

"In 1974, I was 14. Even I knew the '60s were over. It was the era of soft-rock infusion. The Beatles were gone, Elvis was in Vegas. What was goin' on? Nothin' was goin' on. Bruce Springsteen was comin' on, saving music from the phonies, saving lyrics from the folkies, saving black leather jackets from the Fonz."

"Bruce Springsteen feels familiar to us. But it's not an easy familiarity, is it? Even his band seems to stand taller when he walks in the room. It's complex. He's America's writer, and critic. It's like in Badlands, he's Martin Sheen and Terrence Malick. To be so accessible and so private, there's a rubric. But then again, he is an Irish-Italian, with a Jewish-sounding name. What more do you want? Add one big African sax player, and no one in this room is gonna fuck with you!"

"We call him the Boss. Well that's a bunch of crap. He's not the boss. He works for us."

"America was staggering when Springsteen appeared. The president had just resigned in disgrace. The U.S. had lost its first war. There was going to be no more oil in the ground. The days of cruising and big cars were supposed to be over. But Bruce Springsteen's vision was bigger than a Honda, it was bigger than a Subaru. Bruce made you believe that dreams were still out there, but after loss and defeat, they had to be braver, not just bigger."

"Here was a dude who carried himself like Brando, Dylan, and Elvis. If John Steinbeck could sing, if Van Morrison could ride a Harley-Davidson. But he was something new, too. He was the first whiff of Scorsese, the first hint of Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, and the Clash. He was the end of long hair, brown rice and bell bottoms. It was the end of the 20-minute drum solo. It was good night, Haight-Ashbury; hello, Asbury Park."

"I think music changed when Bruce Springsteen came on the scene. I think if it wasn't for Bruce Springsteen, we may have gone in a very scary direction. We may have gotten to the point where disco music ruled and I would have had to quit."

"We all come up a little short and we go down hard. These days I spend my time skipping through the dark. Through the empires of dust, I chant your name. I am the hunter of invisible game."

"Is it a gun, is it a knife? Is it a wallet, this is your life? It ain't no secret, It ain't no secret, No secret my friend. You can get killed just for living In your American skin."

"This train... Carries saints and sinners. This train... Carries losers and winners. This train... Carries whores and gamblers. This train... Carries lost souls.I said this train... Dreams will not be thwarted. This train... Faith will be rewarded."

"Tend to your flock or they will stray. We’ll be called for our service come judgment day. Before we cross that river wide, The blood on our hands will come back on us twice."

"Well, no cannon ball did fly, no rifles cut us down. No bombs fell from the sky, no blood soaked the ground. No powder flash blinded the eye. No deathly thunder sounded. But just as sure as the hand of God, They brought death to my hometown. They brought death to my hometown."

"I been knocking on the door that holds the throne. I been looking for the map that leads me home. I been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone. The road of good intentions has gone dry as a bone. We take care of our own. We take care of our own. Wherever this flag’s flown, We take care of our own."

"Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free/ If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me. Have you ever seen a one legged dog makin' his way down the street? If you've ever seen a one legged dog then you've seen me."

"I'm working on a dream, Though trouble can feel like it's here to stay. I'm working on a dream; Our love will chase the trouble away."

"I've seen strong hearts give way To the burdens of the day, To the weary hands of time Where fortune is not kind."

"Out of the East on an Irish stallion came bounty hunter Dan. His heart quickened and burdened by the need to get his man. He found Pete peacefully fishing by the river. Pulled his gun and got the drop. He said "Pete you think you've changed but you have not.""

"When they built you brother, they turned this dust to gold. When they built you brother, they broke the mold."

"My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town. It's a beautiful place to be born. It just wraps its arms around you. Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone. That you know flag flying over the courthouse Means certain things are set in stone: Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't.""

"Here everybody has a neighbor, Everybody has a friend. Everybody has a reason to begin again."

"The wise men were all fools, what to do?"

"She went away, she cut me like a knife. Hello beautiful thing, maybe you could save my life. In just a glance, down here on magic street, Loves a fool's dance And I ain't got much sense, but I still got my feet."

"I was tryin' to find my way home, But all I heard was a drone Bouncing off a satellite, Crushin' the last lone American night. This is radio nowhere, is there anybody alive out there? This is radio nowhere, is there anybody alive out there?"

"I got God on my side. I'm just trying to survive. What if what you do to survive Kills the things you love? Fear's a powerful thing; It can turn your heart black you can trust. It'll take your God filled soul And fill it with devils and dust"

"I got my finger on the trigger But I don't know who to trust. When I look into your eyes There's just devils and dust. We're a long, long way from home, Bobbie. Home's a long, long way from us. I feel a dirty wind blowing Devils and dust."

"Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!"

"There is a blood red circle On the cold dark ground. And the rain is falling down. The church door's thrown open; I can hear the organ's song. But the congregation's gone. My city of ruins. My city of ruins."

"Come on up for the rising. Come on up, lay your hands in mine. Come on up for the rising. Come on up for the rising tonight."

"Can't see nothin' in front of me; Can't see nothin' coming up behind. I make my way through this darkness; I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me. Lost track of how far I've gone, How far I've gone, how high I've climbed. On my back's a sixty pound stone, On my shoulder a half mile line."

"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 fuse is burning Come on let me do you right."

"Now I been out in the desert, just doin' my time. Searchin' through the dust, lookin' for a sign. If there's a light up ahead well brother I don't know. But I got this fever burnin' in my soul. So let's take the good times as they go, And I'll meet you further on up the road."

"It's a fairytale so tragic, There's no prince to break the spell. I don't believe in magic, But for you I will, for you I will. If I'm a fool, I'll be a fool. Darlin' for you."

"It's rainin' but there ain't a cloud in the sky; Musta been a tear from your eye. Everything'll be okay. Funny, thought I felt a sweet summer breeze; Musta been you sighin' so deep. Don't worry we're gonna find a way."

"May your strength give us strength. May your faith give us faith. May your hope give us hope. May your love give us love."

"Better ask questions before you shoot, Deceit and betrayal's bitter fruit. It's hard to swallow, come time to pay That taste on your tongue don't easily slip away. Let kingdom come I'm gonna find my way Through this lonesome day."

"Hell's brewin', dark sun's on the rise. This storm'll blow through by and by. House is on fire, viper's in the grass; A little revenge and this too shall pass. This too shall pass, I'm gonna pray. Right now all I got's this lonesome day."

"They found him shot dead outside Stockton, His body lyin' on a muddy hill. Nothin' taken, nothin' stolen; Somebody killed him just to kill."

"When I die I don't want no part of heaven. I would not do heaven's work well. I pray the devil comes and takes me To stand in the fiery furnaces of hell."

"Well the highway is alive tonight, But nobody’s kiddin’ nobody about where it goes. I’m sittin’ down here in the campfire light Searchin’ for the ghost of Tom Joad."

"Well here's to your good looks baby, now here's to my health. Here's to the loaded places that we take ourselves. When it comes to luck, you make your own. Tonight I got dirt on my hands but I'm building me a new home."

"Now a life of leisure and a pirate's treasure Don't make much for tragedy. But it's a sad man my friend who's livin' in his own skin And can't stand the company. Every fool's got a reason to feelin' sorry for himself And turn his heart to stone. Tonight this fool's halfway to heaven and just a mile outta hell, And I feel like I'm comin' home."

"So I bought a .44 magnum, it was solid steel cast. And in the blessed name of Elvis well I just let it blast. 'Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet And they busted me for disturbin' the almighty peace. Judge said "What you got in your defense son?" "Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on." I can see by your eyes friend you're just about gone. Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on... Fifty-seven channels and nothin'"

"If the angels are unkind or the season is dark, Or if in the end Love just falls apart. Well then here's to our destruction. Baby let me be your soul driver."

"Baby, in a world without pity, Do you think what I'm askin's too much? I just want to feel you in my arms, Share a little of that Human Touch. Feel a little of that Human Touch. Give me a little of that Human Touch."

"Tonight our bed is cold; I'm lost in the darkness of our love. God have mercy on the man Who doubts what he's sure of."

"Now you play the loving woman; I'll play the faithful man. But just don't look too close into the palm of my hand."

"It ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough. Man meets woman and they fall in love. But the house is haunted and the ride gets rough. And you've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above If you want to ride on down in through this tunnel of love."

"Spare parts And broken hearts Keep the world turnin' around."

"Well it's Saturday night you're all dressed up in blue. I been watching you awhile, maybe you been watching me too. So somebody ran out, left somebody's heart in a mess. Well if you're looking for love, honey I'm tougher than the rest."