Bruce came from a working background and back in those early days he seemed to have his finger on the pulse of what makes humans tick. I was particularly taken with tracks such as Independence day and the River. They captured a truth for me. Bruce was one of those musicians whose lyrics were pure poetry.
In Badlands there was one verse that stood out for me:
‘Poor man want to be rich
Rich man want to be king
And a king ain’t satisfied
‘Til he rules everything
I want to go out tonight
I want to find out what I got’
It seemed to encapsulate the whole problem with human beings and escalation. For many people there can never be enough power or wealth. No matter how much they accrue they want more.
Even kings and billionaires are insecure about holding on to what they’ve got and constantly compare themselves to others who might just have more power or wealth. It’s a disease.
The paranoia and sociopathology of the condition corrupts.
The whole problem with the world is due to it. The inequality creates poverty, disease and war. The jealousy creates hatred.
There’s more than enough to go round. It’s a shame that the world is run for the benefit of the ‘haves’ and to the detriment of the ‘have nots’.
Bruce Springsteen summed it up for me.
Well I know what I’ve got. I’m satisfied.
He nailed it when he released this album. CB
Yes I think you’re right. It all came together. Very powerful and full of meaning and passion.
Yeah, I seen him when he first released the album and he was unbelievable. All those things you said came through that night. A great rock n roll night. My ears are still ringing from ‘Adam Raised a Cain”. I’m going to pop in later and check out more of your takes. Later. CB
Bruce was a major power wasn’t he – shows that were three hours of brute force yet with poetic brilliance too. A great combination.