Editorial note: Opinions expressed here are solely those of the blogger
I was officially introduced to Bruce Springsteen 40 years ago this summer with the release of his Born in the U.S.A. album. My only exposure to Springsteen, or “The Boss,” up to that point was seeing his face on the bumper sticker of a pick-up truck my baseball coach drove to practice each evening. This particular baseball coach worked with his hands (or so I assumed) and drank beer. When I later heard of Springsteen’s connection to “working people,” I figured journalists were referring to my baseball coach. I didn’t yet realize that the term would include myself.
Although the Born in the U.S.A. album put Springsteen on a new playing field that, in the summer of 1984 also included Prince and Michael Jackson, I thought it was only OK at the time. I never had much use for the title song or some of the early releases such as “Cover Me” or “Glory Days.” Yet something about “I’m Goin’ Down” spoke to me. I loved the rockabilly-esque opening guitar riff, but it went much deeper than that. Even though I wouldn’t have used these words at the time, “I’m Goin’ Down” was about yearning. And that summer, at 13, I knew quite a bit about yearning. Springsteen clearly identified with me.
Of course, as I matured, I realized that yearning is a very complicated emotion. What I was feeling at age 13 was a very real yearning, as was different yearning I would experience later in the life. By this time, my iPod was full of Springsteen’s back catalogue. If I was ever feeling yearning, uncertainty, pain or sometimes, G-d forbid, even downright joy, Springsteen had not just a song, but an anthem for it.
In late September 2002 I finally had a chance to see Springsteen at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul. He had released “The Rising,” his September 11-themed album, the previous summer. My wife Wendy and I stood in the arena along with 20,000 others, many of whom, I’d imagine, also discovered Springsteen in the summer of 1984. It’s no secret that our country was collectively experiencing a type of yearning.
And just yesterday, I listened to Born in the U.S.A. on Spotify, and enjoyed the songs on an entirely different level. I thought of the yearning our country is going through right now – socially, spiritually, and of course politically. And it felt good to know Springsteen was right there to empathize and offer salvation.
Image credit: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns
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