Rock of ages: Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics on youth, age and mortality, through the years

DANNY CLINCH

Bruce Springsteen in 2016.

Bruce Springsteen turns 76 today. During the recent “Born to Run” symposium at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, I started to think about the theme of youth and aging that runs through that album, and then the way that those themes, really, pop up on most if not all of his albums. I considered different ways to explore that in print, and decided the best thing to do was just to compile quotes on that theme from various albums. As a kind of challenge to myself, I tried to find one per album, and did.

Here are the quotes, along with the ages that Springsteen was when the albums came out. If you have other lyrics to suggest, please leave them in the Comments section, below.

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (Springsteen is 23): “With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older, I tripped the merry-go-round/With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground” (“Blinded by the Light”)

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (Springsteen is 24): “Someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny” (“Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”)

Born to Run (Springsteen is 25): “So you’re scared and you’re thinking that maybe we ain’t that young anymore” (“Thunder Road”)

Darkness on the Edge of Town (Springsteen is 28): “Some guys they just give up living, and start dying little by little, piece by piece/Some guys come home from work and wash up, and go racing in the street” (“Racing in the Street”)

The River (Springsteen is 31): “Now honey, I don’t wanna clip your wings/But a time comes when two people should think of these things/Having a home and a family/Facing up to their responsibilities” (“I Wanna Marry You”)

Nebraska (Springsteen is 33): “Well now, everything dies, baby, that’s a fact/But maybe everything that dies someday comes back/Put your make-up on, fix your hair up pretty/And meet me tonight in Atlantic City” (“Atlantic City”)

Born in the USA (Springsteen is 34): “You sit around gettin’ older/There’s a joke here somewhere and it’s on me/I’ll shake this world off my shoulders/Come on, baby, the laugh’s on me” (“Dancing in the Dark”)

The cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Tunnel of Love” album.

Tunnel of Love (Springsteen is 38): “Some may wanna die young, man/Young and gloriously/Get it straight now, mister/Hey buddy, that ain’t me” (“All That Heaven Will Allow”)

Human Touch (Springsteen is 42): “Does fortune wait or just the black hand of fate?/This love potion’s all we’ve got, one toast before it’s too late” (“Soul Driver”)

Lucky Town (Springsteen is 42): “Tonight the moon’s looking young, but I’m feelin’ younger/’Neath a veil of dreams, sweet blessings rain/Honey, I can feel the first breeze of summer/And in your love, I’m born again” (“Leap of Faith”)

The Ghost of Tom Joad (Springsteen is 46): “For what are we without hope in our hearts/That someday we’ll drink from God’s blessed waters?/And eat the fruit from the vine, I know love and fortune will be mine/Somewhere across the border” (“Across the Border”)

The Rising (Springsteen is 52): “Hard times, baby, well, they come to us all/Sure as the ticking of the clock on the wall/Sure as the turning of the night into day” (“Waitin’ on a Sunny Day”)

Devils & Dust (Springsteen is 55): “Now I’m going to get birth naked and bury my old soul/And dance on its grave” (“Long Time Comin’ “)

Magic (Springsteen is 58): “They say you can’t take it with you, but I think that they’re wrong/’Cause all I know is I woke up this morning, and something big was gone” (“Terry’s Song”)

Working on a Dream (Springsteen is 59): “We’ll be riding the train without you tonight/The train that keeps on moving/Its black smoke scorching the evening sky/Millions of stars shining above us like every soul living and dead” (“The Last Carnival”)

Wrecking Ball (Springsteen is 62): “We know that come tomorrow/None of this will be here/So hold tight to your anger … And don’t fall to your fears” (“Wrecking Ball”)

High Hopes (Springsteen is 64): “Strength is vanity and time is illusion/I feel you breathin’, the rest is confusion” (“Hunter of Invisible Game”)

Western Stars (Springsteen is 69): “Drive fast, fall hard/Keep me in your heart/Don’t worry about tomorrow/Don’t mind the scars” (“Drive Fast (The Stuntman)”)

Letter to You (Springsteen is 71): “I’ll see you in my dreams/Yeah, up around the river bend/For death is not the end” (“I’ll See You in My Dreams”)

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