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Real Lyrics -> Real Places Mentioned in Songs -> Bruce Springsteen

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Real Places Mentioned in Songs, Bruce Springsteen

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Bruce Springsteen's, "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"
The Lyrics:
And me, I got tired of hanging around in them dusty arcades
Bangin' them pleasure machines
Why:
And just what may those "pleasure machines" happen to be, Bruce? Hmmmm........
Submitted by: I Got Pac - Man Fever
Bruce Springsteen's, "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)"
The Lyrics:
I bought a bourgeois house in the Hollywood Hills
With a trunkload of hundred thousand dollar bills
Why:
A neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Submitted by: Martha Hankins
Bruce Springsteen's, "Atlantic City"
The Lyrics:
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
Why:
Atlantic City, New Jersey A resort city famed for it's boardwalk and it's casinos.
Submitted by: Adrian Smith
Bruce Springsteen's, "Atlantic City"
The Lyrics:
Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night
And they blew up his house, too
Why:
What a great opening line to the song! Philadelphia, PA
Submitted by: Adrian Smith
Bruce Springsteen's, "Blinded By The Light"
The Lyrics:
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard bombardier Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card he said, do what you like, but don't do it here Well I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air, fell on the ground Asked him which was the way back home He said take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then boy, you're on your own
And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a sidecar hummin' a lunar tune Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon
Why:
Many people are at first unaware that keyboardist, Manfred Mann nor anyone Mann's Earth Band, DID NOT write the #1 song for them, "Blinded By The Light". It was written by Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen, and The Boss first released on his first nationally released album, the 1973 "Greetings From Asbury Park N.J.". The original version was a minor hit back in 1973, going all the way to #40 on Billboard's HOT 100 charts at that time. But unlike Mann's version, the original was more acoustic and was written and performed (with the backing of The Boss' E Street Band) in a more rambling poetic tone like The Boss used to write in. Much of The Boss early tunes also were about his growing up in and around Asbury Park, N.J. In the 4th and 5th verses I have posted above The Boss gives shoutouts to Harvard -- a world reknowned University in Massachusetts (seems The Boss knew some frat boys from there that must have been hanging out on spring break in Asbury Park, N.J.), Scotland (via the "Scotland Yard" reference) and Zanzibar (which many people assuming The Boss meant the island country in the Indian Ocean, and although the amusement center that used to be in Asbury Park, N.J. was named after that island country he did mean in the lyrics the former amusement center in Asbury Park, "the Zanzibar" {no longer there}).
Submitted by: Peter
Bruce Springsteen's, "Born in the USA"
The Lyrics:
Born in the USA I was born in the USA
Why:
USA (United States of America)
Submitted by: BEre
Bruce Springsteen's, "Hungry Heart"
The Lyrics:
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Why:
Baltimore, MD
Submitted by: Rychendroll
Bruce Springsteen's, "Hungry Heart"
The Lyrics:
I met her in a Kingstown bar We fell in love I knew it had to end We took what we had and we ripped it apart Now here I am down in Kingstown again
Why:
Kingstown in Jamaica is the most famous Kingstown in the world BUT there are Kingstowns in Maryland and Rhode Island. It's more likely that the Kingstown mentioned is the one in the same state as Baltimore. It's just easier to move 3 hours away than a different country.
Submitted by: Elwyn
Bruce Springsteen's, "Hungry Heart"
The Lyrics:
I met her in a Kingstown bar We fell in love I knew it had to end We took what we had and we ripped it apart Now here I am down in Kingstown again
Why:
The second verse of The Boss' Top 5 hit from 1980, "Hungry Heart", finds his character that he is playing in the song down in Kingstown, a city in Jamaica.
Submitted by: Peter
Bruce Springsteen's, "Hungry Heart"
The Lyrics:
I've got a wife and kids in Baltimore, jack. I went out for a ride And I've never been back.
Why:
Opening lines of The Boss' Top 5 hit from 1980 from the lp "The River", "Hungry Heart" give a shoutout to Baltimore, MD.
Submitted by: Peter
Bruce Springsteen's, "Johnny 99"
The Lyrics:
Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month
Why:
Mahwah, New Jersey. This event really happened in 1981 during the lengthy post-Vietnam War recession. And Bruce hails from New Jersey.
Submitted by: James 66
Bruce Springsteen's, "Johnny 99"
The Lyrics:
Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month
Why:
This song is based on a real event in 1981. A Ford Motor Company plant in Mahwah, New Jersey was shut down, due to the severe post-Vietnam War recession and maybe as an early step in economic "globalization" too. When this song was written Bruce's home state of New Jersey was hit hard by the economic malaise of the Nixon-Ford-Carter-Reagan era.
Submitted by: Ford Futura
Bruce Springsteen's, "Rosalita"
The Lyrics:
I'm stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersy.
I know a little place in Southern California down San Deigo way.
Why:
Jersy is actually New Jersy where Bruce Springsteen lived and San Deigo which is in Southern California.
Submitted by: Paul Warren
Bruce Springsteen's, "Shut Out The Light - Single B-Side - 1984"
The Lyrics:
Well deep in a dark forest, a forest filled with rain. Beyond a stretch of Maryland pines there's a river without a name. In the cold black water Johnson Lineir stands.
Why:
This song is from Tracks, which isn't a very popular album, but has all of the songs Bruce didn't think would work out in an album. He later made 18 Tracks, which were 18 songs from Tracks that he considered the best. Bruce says "beyond a stretch of Maryland pines there's a river without a name". He is probably talking about somewhere near the ocean, since pines are mainly near the shore. This also isn't just a few pines, it's a whole forest of them "filled with rain". This character known as Johnson Lineir is a Vietnam veteran and is not on the edge of town, but really he is within himself. This B-Side was paired up with Bruce's A-Side of Born in the U.S.A, since they are both about Vietnam veterans and their stories. All of Bruce's songs have a story to tell, but Shut Out The Light is one of his true hidden gems.
Submitted by: Jack
Bruce Springsteen's, "Streets Of Philadelphia"
The Lyrics:
I was bruised and battered and I couldn't tell what I felt I was unrecognizable to myself Saw my reflection in a window I didn't know my own face Oh brother are you gonna leave me wasting away On the streets of Philadelphia
Why:
"Streets Of Philadelphia" was a song that The Boss wrote specifically for the 1994 hit film, "Philadelphia" starring Tom Hanks as an attorney who sues his former law firm for discrimination after he contracts AIDS. The movie itself takes place in Philadelphia (and many scenes were filmed there). "Streets Of Philadelphia" would become a huge hit for The Boss in early 1995, and would earn The Boss his first and so far only Oscar.
Submitted by: Peter

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