There is a fascinating thing that happens when you hear a song in the distance. Such is my case study today as I wandered down the back production area of my current place of employment. A rather dirty area filled with foreign tongue and odd scents. I always feel a bit elitist when I click back there in my prized Louboutin red bottoms and everyone around me is in work shoes and jeans. Wonder if they think I’m a bitch, perhaps I am one. But back there in the depths of the wires and machinery are two fascinating people.
One of them I have never uttered a word to but his radio is always loud and he always has a soldering iron in his hand and today as I walked by the strains of Bruce Springsteens “Born To Run” were blasting and for the first time in my life I actually heard the song. No, I have heard it a million time but it’s the first time it actually clicked. Maybe it was the blue collar environment (ok, ok enough with the classism), maybe it was just good timing or maybe its cuz I wasn’t on my way to see his side kick who I call Lil Wayne. We talk tattoos, he’s looks like Lil Wayne only clean. He’s a cool guy but he’s off in Colorado “celebrating fourtwenty’ so he says…
Back to Bruce. I have never been a fan and found him the auditory equivalent to a sweaty armpit. Gross and stale filthy and gritty and not my idea of pleasant at all. He came about in the time when I was so busy being anti mainstream that just the thought of him made me wretch. I wanted to choke him with his stupid bandana’s. Hated his fans in High School too, what idiots and jocks and stoners- so uncool.
“Born To Run” is a gritty story of a blue collar looser. The kind that reeks of beer and pretends they havent surrendered to failure. What I found was there were so many shout backs “Strap Your Hands Across My Engines!”, coupled with the plinking of what sounds like a baby piano it adds a childish element to a bellowing guy. The character in this song lives in his moms basement and is 30. Just the visual I get.
Not a fan of horns but in this case it’s a fabulous break for a more spoken word of the boys try to look so tough’, “everlasting KISS HUH”. Summer tune? Absolutely, vivid imagery? Incredibly. The sob like scream of ‘broken heroes’ is goose bump inspiring. Yeah this guy wants to run off with Wendy but even if they do they’re going nowhere. Similar to the Brenda and Eddy of Billy Joel Just a messy ode to failure.
Freaking love this song- God Damn how many other awesome tunes did I miss while I was being cool
Thanks Solder man, I owe ya one.