Springsteen has many themes that run throughout his music. They are as numerous and varied as the subjects he sings about and his characters. He sings of love, despair, hope, redemption, depression and touches upon just about every topic worth addressing.
There are however, some themes which appear again and again in his lyrics. Another page on this site, "Many Rivers to Cross", looks at the theme of rivers as symbols of life and hope. He has a poet's gift, and his use of everyday life experience as symbolic is truly fascinating. Consider for a moment how he uses cars, trains, roads, streets, rivers, hills, jobs and women. If "country/western" music always includes allusions to Mom, trucks and cheating spouses, Springsteen's work always includes a car, a girl, and an open road. If we examine the lyrics of Thunder Road and Born to Run, two of the many "car-road" songs, we can see the themes of despair and escape, with love as the ultimate redemption. His desire to "hit the road", in search of redemption, mellowed with age and the maturation of his career. He lamented that escaping down the road forced him to realize that only "more road" lay ahead. He became much more an advocate of the "Human Touch" in his work. Along with the human touch came a more spiritual Springsteen, who in his youth had some not so unkind things to say about religion and religous symbols. Springsteen identifies the birth of his first child as the most important point in his life. He sang of that event in "Living Proof". The theme of religion, God, grace, faith, salvation, prayer and spirituality can be found throughout his works. This page is my poor attempt to examine some of what he has to say...
" Living Proof "
Well now on a summer night in a dusky room
Come a little piece of the Lord's undying light
Crying like he swallowed the fiery moon
In his mother's arms it was all the beauty I could take
Like the missing words to some prayer that I could never make
In a world so hard and dirty so fouled and confused
Searching for a little bit of God's mercy
I found living proof
I put my heart and soul I put 'em high upon a shelf
Right next to the faith the faith that I'd lost in myself
I went down into the desert city
Just tryin' so hard to shed my skin
I crawled deep into some kind of darkness
Lookin' to burn out every trace of who I'd been
You do some sad sad things baby
When it's your you 're tryin' to lose
You do some sad and hurtful things
I've seen living proof
You shot through my anger and rage
To show me my prison was just an open cage
There were no keys no guards
Just one frightened man
And some old shadows for bars
Well now all that's sure on the boulevard
Is that life is just a house of cards
As fragile as each and every breath
Of this boy sleepin' in our bed
Tonight let's lie beneath the eaves
Just a close band of happy thieves
And when that train comes we'll get on board
And steal what we can from the treasures of the Lord
It's been along long drought baby
Tonight the rain's pourin' down on our roof
Looking for a little bit of God's mercy
I found living proof
A Love So Fine
"Well there's sparklin' angels on your fire-escape tonight
They line them up for you trying to keep you safe"
Across the Border
"And may the saints' blessing and grace
Carry me safely into your arms
There across the border
For what are we
Without hope in our hearts
That someday we'll drink from God's blessed waters"
Adam Raised A Cain
"In the Bible Cain slew Abel
And East of Eden he was cast
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 raised a Cain"
Ain't Got You
"I got the fortunes of heaven in diamonds and gold
I got all the bonds baby that the bank could hold"
All Night Long
"I was born saved in heaven
It was nothing like the promised land
Raised in a good Christian house
Underneath a good Christian hand"
All That Heaven Will Allow
"Now some may wanna die young man
Young and gloriously
Get it straight now mister
Hey buddy that ain't me
'Cause I got something on my mind
That sets me straight and walkin' proud
And I want all the time
All that heaven will allow"
American Skin 41 Shots
"Across this bloody river to the other side
41 shots they cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life "
"41 shots and we'll take that ride
Across this bloody river to the other side
41 shots my boots caked in mud
We're baptized in these waters and in each other's blood"
Arabian Nights
"He smiles 'cos he knows there's a high bounty on Devils
In any God-fearin' town
Well they say Duke sold the Devil to some priest in Pennsylvania
To exhibit on his altar Christmas Night"
Back in Your Arms
"In my dream our love was lost, I lived by luck and fate
I carried you inside of me, prayed it wouldn't be too late
Now I'm standin' on this empty road where nothin' moves but the wind"
Better Days
"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"
Bishop Danced
"Bishop danced with a thumbscrew woman
Did a double-quick back flip and slid across the floor
The Catholic traffic flowed freely 'cross the river
And fiddlestick fiddled quick out the front door"
Brilliant Disguise
"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"
Cautious Man
"Alone on his knees in the darkness for steadiness he'd pray
For he knew in a restless heart the seed of betrayal lay"
"...At their bedside he brushed the hair from his wife's face
As the moon shone on her skin so white
Filling their room with the beauty of God's fallen light"
Dead Man Walking
"Neath the summer sky my eyes went black
Sister, I won't ask for forgiveness, my sins are all I have"
Drive All Night
"When I lost you honey
Sometimes I think I lost my guts too
And I wish God would send me a word
Send me something I'm afraid to lose"
Eloise
"Well what power of God does a nun use
To hold a parish priest
And what makes a good cop
Let go a beautiful thief"
Family Song
"And California, she's an angel
Oh so heavenly dressed
And the Pacific she's a woman
The Lord must have loved her best"
Gave It A Name
"In the fields of the lord
Stood Abel and Cain
Cain slew Abel 'neath the black rain
At night he couldn't stand the guilt or the blame
So he gave it a name"
Human Touch
"Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood
It's just you and me tonight"
I Wish I Were Blind
"And though the world is filled
With the grace and beauty of God's hand
Oh I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man"
If I Was the Priest
"....There's a girl over by the water fountain
And she's asking to be mine
And ain't that Jesus, he's standing in the doorway
With a buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, so really fine"....
"....Well now if Jesus was the sheriff and I were the priest
If my lady was an heiress and my mama was a thief....."
"....Now old sweet Virgin Mary
She runs the Holy Grail saloon
Where for a nickel they'll give you whisky
And the personally blessed balloon
And the Holy Ghost, he's the host with the most
He runs the burlesque show
Where they let you in for free
But oh hit you for your soul when you go
And Mary serves Mass on Sunday
And then she sells her body on Monday
To the bootlegger who will pay the highest price
But he don't know he got stuck with a loser
Mary's a stone junkie, what's more she's a boozer
And she's only been made once or twice
By some kind of magic...."
In Freehold
"Well i got a good catholic education.....here in freehold
Led to an awful lot of masturbation here in freehold
Father it was just something i did for a smile
Hell i still get a good one off once in a while
And dedicate it to freehold"
Incident on 57th Street"
"...Janey sleeps in sheets damp with sweat,
Johnny sits up alone and watches her dream on, dream on
And the sister prays for lost souls,
Then breaks down in the chapel after everyone's gone"
It's Hard to be a Saint in the City
"And when the heat came down it was left on the ground
The devil appeared like Jesus through the steam in the street
Showin' me a hand I knew even the cops couldn't beat
I felt his hot breath on my neck as I dove into the heat
It's so hard to be a saint when you're just a boy out on the street"
Janey Needs a Shooter
"Well Janey's got a priest, from his marble pulpit he smiles
He provides concilation and confessions at anytime
Through the pages of his bible he holds from what Janey hides
With her doors open wide she begs come inside
But he's frozen in the clear on the outside"
Leap of Faith
"Now your legs were heaven your breasts were the altar
Your body was the holy land
You shouted "jump" but my heart faltered
You laughed and said "Baby don't you understand?"
Livin' on the Edge of the World "Radio's jammed with gospel stations
Lost souls callin' long distance salvation
Hey mister deejay gotta hear my last prayer
It's a hey ho rock and roll, deliver me from nowhere"
Local Hero
"I met a stranger dressed in black
At the train station
He said "Son your soul can be saved"
There's beautiful women nights of low livin'
And some dangerous money to be made"
"...Well I learned my job I learned it well
Fit myself with religion and a story to tell
First they made me the king then they made me pope
Then they brought the rope..."
"...From the tainted chalice
Well I drunk some heady wine..."
Lost in the Flood
"They're breakin' beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection
nuns run bald through Vatican halls pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street from drinking unholy blood"
My City of Ruins
"There's a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church doors blown open
I can hear the organ's song
But the congregation's gone
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Now the sweet veils of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The hustlers and thieves
While my brother's down on his knees
My city of ruins
My city of ruins
Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!
Now there's tears on the pillow
Darling where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost, my friend
Now tell me how do I begin again?
My city's in ruins
My city's in ruins
Now with these hands
I pray Lord
With these hands
For the strength Lord
With these hands
For the faith Lord
With these hands
I pray Lord
With these hands
For the strength Lord
With these hands
For the faith Lord
With these hands
Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!
Rise up!"
No Need
"She's a broken winged angel
Refugee from things her mama knew
And she's done everything the Bible say not to do
Well I don't know if she believes in Jesus
The good book, or even Satan you see
I'm just trying to get her to believe in me"
Open All Night
"Your eyes get itchy in the wee wee hours
Sun's just a red ball risin' over them refinery towers
Radio's jammed up with gospel stations
Lost souls callin' long distance salvation
Hey, mister deejay, woncha hear my last prayer
Hey, ho, rock'n'roll, deliver me from nowhere"
Part Man, Part Monkey
"Well did God make man in a breath of holy fire
Or did he crawl on up out of the muck and mire?
Well the man on the street believes what the bible tells him so
Well you can ask me, mister, because I know
Tell them soul-suckin' preachers to come on down and see
Part man, part monkey, baby that's me"
Point Blank
"Do you still say your prayers little darlin'
do you go to bed at night
Prayin' that tomorrow, everything will be alright?"
Preacher's Daughter
"I got a date with the preacher's daughter
She give me life she bring me water.
Every Sunday I watch her work
Pretty little self in a pretty little church
Daddy gives her nod she takes collection
Daddy gives her nod she kneels by her side.
Well I'd sell my soul for just one touch
The Lord would too if he loved her half as much."
Reason to Believe
"Take a baby to the river
Kyle William they called him
Wash the baby in the water
Take away little Kyle's sin
In a whitewash shotgun shack an old man passes away
Take his body to the graveyard and over him they pray
Lord won't you tell us
Tell us what does it mean Still at the end of every hard earned day
People find some reason to believe"
Souls of the Departed
"This is a prayer for the souls of the departed
Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted
Young lives over before they got started
This is a prayer for the souls of the departed"
Spare Parts
"Janey heard about a woman over in Calverton
Put her baby in the river let the river roll on
She looked at her boy in the crib where he lay
Got down on her knees cried till she prayed"
Take 'em as They Come
"God save the rider in the black night
Save the man who taught that it was right
To do what they have done
To become what we have become
You gotta take 'em when they come"
The Ghost of Tom Joad
"He pulls prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass"
The Long Goodbye
"Same old faces it's the same old town
What once was laughs is draggin' me now
Wailin' on rain hangin' on for love
Words of forgiveness from some God above
Ain't no words of mercy comin' from on high
Oh no just a long goodbye"
The New Timer
"My Jesus your gracious love and mercy
Tonight I'm sorry could not fill my heart
Like one good rifle And the name of who I ought to kill"
The Price You Pay
"Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay"
The Word
"And I hear the word on Jesus
And I hear the word on his marching troop
And I hear the word on the country
But I never heard the word on you"
Walk Like a Man
"Well tonight you step away from me
And alone at the alter I stand
And as I watch my bride coming down the aisle I pray
For the strength to walk like a man"
War Nurse
"She was a soldier's shrapnel sweetheart
Direct from the combat zone
She was the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary
She was the hooker down in San Antone
And though her heart was somewhere in Iceland
Command in the dawn patrol
Blessed in this blood and stitched into these bones
the war nurse left her soul"
When the Lights Go Out"
"Well now the world is turning, Rome is burning
Me, I'm watching and I'm learning
They say sure as God's hand and the tickin' of the clock
The lord's light'll shine under every slimy rock
Well last night I slept the sleep of fear
And I heard God's voice whisper in my ear
He said you better watch what's going on when the lights are out
When the night is dark, when there ain't nobody lookin' around
Yeah when the lights are out, down in this dirty little town"
Youngstown
"When I die I don't want no part of heaven
I would not do heavens work well
I pray the devil comes and takes me
To stand in the fiery furnaces of hell"
