I was 18, freshman year in college. I didn't have a clue about life, but when I heard "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" I thought "nobody can write a line better than that." I still think that.
This is why Bruce is the best storyteller of our lifetime. Not just the lyrics, but the music they're held in, and his performative ability to share them both. You've just met The Boss.
@@thomashardbattle4287 I liked this comment because to a degree, you're right. I also disagree because (And believe me, I've tried) I just cannot vibe with Bob Dylan.
Bruce Springsteen is one of the greatest storytellers of his generation. What makes him The Boss is that not only does he write beautiful stories he pairs them with the perfect music and performs them to perfection. This song always makes me cry, probably my favourite Springsteen song.
Steve's harmonies on Point Blank from the Darkness tour are unreal. He gave this unreachable yearning to those songs and once Bruce got a singer who could comfortably hit those harmonies that aspect of the band was gone.
I live in the mountains of North Central Pennsylvania, not too far from the small, depressed city of Johnstown he mentions and amid what's left of the other Hardscrabble towns that existed when coal was king, and now are depressed and disappearing. Trust me when I say that he caught the mood of this area; the anger, bitterness and hopelessness of what's left of the people who struggle to survive here. Everytime I hear him sing it, it just tears me up.
I grew up in New Castle, PA. Greatest town to grow up in the '70's when all the mills were running wide open. Young people starting families, in their own homes, in their early 20's. Everybody was working. Then the mills closed. For the last 40 years it has been as depressed as the people that live there. Sad.
grew up and lived in the Mon Valley I think it fits the feelings of the dying towns there and a lot of the people living there in the late 70s early 80s when the mill and factories were laying off and closing
I love how affected you were by it. When you've listened to a song a thousand times, you forget some of that emotion and it was great seeing your first time reaction.
Just had the privilege of seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for the 15th time in Asbury Park, NJ on Sept 15th. Seeing them live is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. So many great songs, and the live performances are just amazing. Jungleland, Thunder Road, Land of Hope and Dreams, The Rising. Hell the list just goes on. Would love to see more videos with Bruce!
In a video from his recent tour - 2024 - he ends in tears. The ooh, ooh at the end goes much higher. He speaks to the depths and heighths of human existence. No one like him.
Bruce's music, and in particular the album "The river" literally saved my life. In a very difficult and hard period for me, when at not even twenty years old I was about to hit rock bottom and I seemed to see no way out, the only thing I managed to hold on to were these songs. When in 1985 I managed to fulfill the dream of seeing Springsteen in concert, I was already a different person and when I saw him on that stage I cried and thanked him. He couldn't know it, but if I was there alive it was also and above all thanks to him. Thank you Bruce
Another masterful reaction, Beth. This is Springsteen and the band at their absolute best - they allow the song to live and breathe on its own, with no distractions. Heartbreaking. ❤
I just can't stand the claim of these reaction video's that they are listening for the first time. A vocal coach, interested in music who has never heard this song before?| No ffing way.
Sep 7 in DC was my first time in a Bruce pit 😁. Only my 7th Springsteen concert... I'm a lightweight in that regard. My first Bruce concert was August 1978. Like other musicians Springsteen definitely has slowed down his avg song tempo over the decades, but in his case it happened fairly quickly, from The Wild The Innocent/Born to Run/Darkness OTEOT -> The River and Nebraska. He'd always been a depressive but as a talented, ambitious young man he didn't know it at first. In 74/75 however the girlfriend who was by far the most important in his life before his wives, left him. He was both bereft and angry, and as he struggled with new directions for his music he found out what depression really was. (He wrote her out of his autobiography btw; to read it you'd never know one young woman was the primary muse for so many of his great songs.) I kinda feel for Beth, just first dipping her toe into the Springsteen songbook that contains 500+ songs, and so many of them contain something special. She'll probably sample them sparingly, though. She's a voice expert, and we weren't drawn to Bruce for his voice, much like people aren't Dylan or Neil Young fans for their voices either. It's the depth and power of their songs and music that make them legends.
I'm a 67 year old man but this song still reduces me to tears, your reaction to it was just perfect, thank you and good luck with the new album and in whatever you chose to du x
You really need to listen to the live version of this where he tells a heartbreaking story about his relationship with his dad. It makes the song so much more impactful. Bruce put on one of the best shows I've ever seen, and my first concert was Paul McCartney & Wings in 1976.
Yes I just stumbled into this channel after listening's to Bruce's live version from the box set. I still have a lump in my throat from that version including the spoken intro although this one is great too.
The River is one of my favorite Springsteen songs! I just saw him 2 nights ago and he played the River with the same soulful intensity! He is one of akind long live the Boss!
Seeing Springsteen live has been one of the best moments of my life. I’m a baby boomer and I took it as one of my responsibilities as a parent to introduce my kids to Bruce.
@@chrisp4170same here I am born in 1972 Last year I brought my two kids to their first Springsteen show They told me it was the expirience of their life
Probably the most important song in my life. Not sure why, but every night for eight years, I would put my daughter to bed and sit with her, singing, talking, telling stories for an hour or so. I sang this song to her every single night in that time.
I did exactly the same to my daughter. Last year, at age 15 and not a fan at all, she joined me to a show for the first time. The River was played and both of us cried. Priceless moments
Let the tears flow, Beth. I've discovered I can't stop them when a song hits me hard, sometimes joyfully, sometimes sadly, sometimes with sheer beauty. Just have to let them go. Thanks, Beth, I hadn't heard this one either. And yeah, that harmonica was something.
Love the reaction, his brother in law and sister are still together and very happy. If you want to be crying before he even starts the song, have a watch of the video on TH-cam titled "River (with Intro) live. Just for your own pleasure, I know you wouldn't want to react to a song twice but the intro is something else. When you go to a Bruce and E-Street Band concert you get more than just the songs, and their incredible talent. He gives you himself, this story is an example of that.
Yes, where he talks about how him and his father just don't get along, and how his father brought a barber into the hospital to cut his hair after a motorcycle accident. He would hang out for hours in a phone booth talking to his girl instead of being home. Bruce took off for a few days before he went to take his draft physical that would determine if he would be drafted during the Vietnam war. His father asked where he was, and Bruce said he was partying before he took his physical. His dad asked about the result, and Bruce sadly and humbly said he failed. And his father said "Good". Very emotional.
That’s why I love Bruce. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid in the 80’s, jamming in the car with my dad. I remember I knew all the words to “My Hometown” in elementary school- that’s another haunting sad one - and it was a lot for me as a child to process the message of the song, but as I grew up (and am into middle age now) I find that I can feel it all the more deeply. He’s a poet, a great American poet, and he writes these heartbreaking stories in verse and set to music, and then singe the hell right out of them. An artist thrice over. Listen to the acoustic demo of “Born in the USA” from the “Tracks” boxed set and see if that doesn’t make you feel some type of way.
🎵🎶They declared me unfit to live , said into that great void my soul be hurled , they wanted to know why I did what I did, Sir I guess there's just a meanness in this world 🎵🎶 From " Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen
Just found this - it's beautiful, and a perfect example of why we fans of Bruce's are so steadfast and true. I love Beth's astute reastions and responses! He is just the best at what he does, and really cares a LOT about conecting with his audience. This performance was 1980 - March 29 and 31 this year ('24) were my 29th and 30'th time seeing Bruce live in concert - 44 years later - and he is as brilliant and soul-lifting as ever - in fact, more! And the house was filled with folks from 6 or 7 years old to at least 70's! Thanks Beth - this was a treat!
Don’t worry about crying! I am 58 and cry every time I hear this song…my favourite😢 When young singers are learning about emotional expression, they should be made to listen to this song
I'm 32, and I fell in love with Bruce on this exact performance 4 years ago. I spent an entire evening listening to it on repeat, wanting to find again and again the emotion he transmits, to see the rage in his eyes during the passage "Now those memories come back to haunt me". I became addicted.❤
That’s how it happens! I was 21 or so - and liked Bruce fine as a kid but never really gave him the time of day beyond his more recognizable songs, though I’d always heard how great a songwriter and live performer he was. And this is when he reunited the E Street Band after a 15 year hiatus, and I stumbled upon their Live In New York concert in HBO and was instantly transfixed. Turns out this was perfect timing because he was about to embark on a reinvigorated two-plus-decade-long marathon of albums and tours. I went back and bought everything, went deep into the outtakes and all that, saw him 30 times… I’ve now taken my own kids to shows. Annoyed and/or converted others… Turns out getting into him late was perfect timing - and being a bit older and starting to experience and be able to relate to some of the things Bruce was talking about - that emotion, and being ready for “deeper” rock music (this was the late 90s-early ‘00s after all; it was all Britney Spears and *NSYNC and Smashmouth and Kid Rock). It’s amazing what the right discovery at the right time can do, and how catching the right performance at the right time can change your life.
Another song of his that is just as powerful is Thunder Road (live at Hammersmith Odeon. (cut and paste) "Thunder Road (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75)" I think you will love it too.
Such a good narrative song....a real story, it could be a movie*...poignant,true*....Bruce is such a good writer,composer and a true singer serving perfectly this story
My favorite Springsteen song, and possibly one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. This sounds a little different than the album version; he’s got more power behind his voice and richer instrumentals in this live version. The album version is softer, and has more a tone of surrender than anger - like he’s just given up all hope.
Bruce Springsteen is absolutely phenomenal at that kind of embittered regret vibe - when he goes for that "Life screwed me and I'm honestly pissed, but hey, we find a way, right?" thing, he absolutely nails it every time. Definitely a cultural treasure of Americana. I always picture his songs being sung to a room of early-America rail workers and miners. :D
Being from New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen, is a state treasure. I'd see him in Asbury Park at The Stone Pony a lot in the late seventies. I had the unique opportunity to meet him in the late eighties. He's one of the nicest guys. Is was in the Marine Corps at the time, one of the guys I was stationed with had served in the Navy with Bruce's manager at the time. Arrangements were made for the band to use a large room we had to rehearse prior to going on tour for his "Tunnel of Love" album. So from early January to late May/early June 1988 around noon overtly day 5 days a week they'd come in to play. The doors would be locked and the fun began. Everyone in and with the band were really cool. Met his first wife, his future second wife, and the whole crew.
@procopiusaugustus6231 What's Steel Mill. From the first time I saw him in the mid seventies at the Stone Pony until today, it's been The E street Band.
@@vernhoke7730 Steel Mill was his band before E Street. I’m in Richmond Va which was an anchor on his tour circuit in the late sixties. I didn’t see him until ‘73 on the Greetings tour but have friends who were Steel Mill fans and have bootleg tapes from the shows. He still shows up here occasionally incognito - he was sighted have lunch in a neighborhood restaurant a few years ago.
@@procopiusaugustus6231 The Stone Pony wasn't even open in the early 70s yet, Bruce already had albums released before the Stone Pony opened. There was another band called The Bruce Springsteen band that sounded more hard rock from pre 1973...a lot of those bands had the same members, like Vini Lopez, and Danny Federici
I saw him do this song in 1979 at the "No Nukes" concert in Madison Square Garden. It was probably the first public performance of the song which was not released for another year. I will never forget it.
I just went to a concert with the Boss and the E street band this summer - still going strong giving an excellent three hours concert. He was born to tell stories! His autobiography "Born to run" is also very honest and well written...
What a great reaction with lots of information and insight. You noticed so many things that make Springsteen the greatest and an extraordinary interpreter of his own songs. In this song, the brokenness, the anger, the dissolving into memory, the poignance, the crying harmonica.
This is one of my favourite Springsteen songs. By the time he sings "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" I am choked up and in tears. I'm 64 year-old man and it hits me harder now then it did 30 years ago. The best art is that which makes you feel something - elation, anger, sadness - and this certainly does that.
This gorgeous song makes me break down every time I hear it, the mournful gut wrenching emotion just hits me right in the heart. I had no idea either until I heard this song about 12 years ago. It is just stunning.
I am the youngest of 5. This was the first album that introduced me to Bruce when I was 12 years old. I wanted to go see him on the tour but I was too young. Truth be told they didn't want their 12 year old brother going with them. SOmeone bought Bord to Run after they saw this show and my dad bought be Darkness. Been a huge fan ever since. SO many years later I took my own son to see him at The Palace of Auburn Hills for " The River Tour" go figure right? Singing along to every song with my son was an incredible experience. A night I won't ever forget.
In the days before synthesizers, the late Danny Federici, the "organ" player before they were referred to as keyboard players, had a "glock in a box" which was a wooden boxed little glockenspiel that they used for that sound. Based as you say on the story of his older sister. She and her husband are still together. Starting with the Reunion Tour in '99-2000, he started doing that ending in falsetto. You might want to take a look at this song on YT the version of Live in NY City. 2000.
One of his best and I'm glad you 'get it', ya know? I saw him in 78 (Darkness tour) and this song wasn't released yet but he did it there and everyone went "What th? This was so heartfelt!"....I'm older now but that show I hold in my heart.
The River was the first time I saw Bruce perform when I saw the No Nukes movie in the theater. That was the debut performance. I'm still a fan 45 years later.
This is the song that turned me into a massive fan at age 10. Four years later he was my first concert! He’s brilliant live! Born To Run saved his career because his first two records didn’t do well! I also cried the first time I heard it!
60 now, and I can still remember hearing The River for the first time in 1980. Live changing. Seen Bruce many times live since then, and The River (the album) started it.
I’ve seen The Boss many times over the years and in my opinion he and the E Street Band are the best live performers I’ve seen. Every time I’ve heard him sing this song live I have cried. It touches me on so many levels.
Well i m metal head all the way to my rusted old heart but i must admit that this song makes me cry the river. this is so raw picture of life and what it can be when you have just little hope left in your life and you push it trough
My first Springsteen concert, January 1981 Maple Leaf Gardens. I knew two songs going in, Born to Run and Hungry Heart, the single from this album. Walked out five hours later, a fan.
Always listened to the Boss when driving to the army barracks in the 80s. He grasped my life and feelings back then so perfectly. Looking so much forward to seeing him again live next summer.
You can get emotional with this...even if you don't speak english...or understand anything happening throughout this song. This is a storytelling masterpiece...
I saw Bruce live at Wembley Stadium UK in 1985, a day I will always remember, he was just so incredible from start to finish. Great choice to react to!
The way you explained how artists' music slows down as they age is fascinating. This song feels like a deep reflection of life, and your analysis made me appreciate it even more.
The first arena concert I ever saw was Bruce on The River tour at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, MI. This was also the show that Bob Seger came out and did the encore with Bruce and the E Street Band. Such an amazing show.
Bruce's upbeat songs get much more play, but he came up in the hard times for industrial south Jersey/Philly, and some of his best and most underrated works are the laments of growing up in that enviornment where his expressive voice is at it's best. Songs like My hometown, independence day, brilliant disguise, or stolen car.
Bruce released a double album called ....THE RIVER....this song was on it....i by .... chance and luck got to see him perform it at Wembly arena...U.K.... Best thing i have ever witnessed.....but for the loss of my virginity.....i danced 3 hours straight. The Who tried to do a rock opera....so so at best...Bruce KRUSHED it.
Great stuff as usual, B. One thing that has always struck me about Bruce's singing style is that when he really lets fly vocally he seem to keep his lower jaw still and move the rest of his head up and down. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else do that. Bruce has many emotional songs, even just from this album there are Independence Day, Drive All Night, and Wreck On The Highway. The emotion comes from his singing and from his superb lyricism. Like this song has the lines: "Then I got Mary pregnant, and man that was all she wrote. And for my nineteenth birthday, I got a union card and a wedding coat". There's a teenage drama of crushed hopes and dreams in two lines. Or in Independence Day, a song about the troubled relationship between father and son as the son is leaving home, the last verse: "So say goodbye it's Independence Day Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say But won't you just say goodbye it's Independence Day I swear I never meant to take those things away" is just heartbreaking. It's worth you listening to more of Bruce's catalogue.
Oooow... Drive All Night. Beth, you'll never get around to doing vids of many of his great songs, and this one's pretty obscure at that. The former editor of Cream music magazine reviewed The River double album for the Washington Post, and like me plucked that one out for its emotional power... just the acheing it beautifully conveys. Just for your own enjoyment, listen to Drive All Night.
As one who heard this when it was originally released, thank you for the vicarious pleasure of getting to experience it again as for the first time. Even the best music loses some impact over the years as it becomes familiar. You brought it back fresh.
While there is no video, the audio of Springsteen singing “Stolen Car” live at Arizona State University truly showcases Bruce’s vocal abilities. It’s my favorite version of my favorite song of his. Even if you don’t “react” to it on your channel, it’s worth a listen. The song is also off The River double album and very emotional. I’ve enjoyed your reactions and insights for years now. Thank you for sharing.
Great reaction! I've seen this live and it is spine tingling, every hair on my neck stood up. I recommend watching/listening to the Live In New York City version, later on his career. He does the "woos" at the end of the song in falsetto and it's one of the most haunting things I've ever heard and he has such excellent control of that falsetto.
She mentions Born to Run… and the funny thing for me is I heard it for the first time sitting at a modern day train station running on electricity and my mind and heart was blown to pieces by the sounds of that song and how unique it was. I didn’t know Bruce Springsteen hardly at all and yet something inside me said it was Bruce and I had to seek him out and learn more. And then I met Clarence… and that story won my soul over forever.
It was my final year in college and it was my 2nd time seeing Bruce "live" for "The River" tour. Lucked out the 1st time for the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour when a friend couldn't go and gave me his ticket. The River tour blew me and my friends away as Bruce played for 4 hours with a break in-between. Couldn't believe how he maintained his energy during the entire 4 hours. Me and my friends walked out emotionally exhausted from the experience.
Great video! To me this is the theme song of gen X working class people no matter where you come from. First time I heard it so many years ago the first harmonica wail almost knocked me over and brought tears to my eyes, and it still does... Bruce Springsteen is one of few non-classical acts I still listen to, but this music will follow me to my grave!
There is something intensely moving the way Bruce plays that harmonica. This rendition is fantastic and as for the intro to Thunder Road, my favourite Springsteen song, as soon as I hear those opening notes I start to tear up. I saw him in Cardiff in May (2024) when he and the band played both songs. It was a brilliant gig and to hear 60,000 fans joining in was just wonderful...
Nice one Beth. The genius of this song, and many of Springsteen's others, is that it's an entirely ordinary story that millions of people could tell, and yet he somehow gives it the weight and significance of a folkloric epic. If you want to hear another impressive vocal performance from him, for breath control if nothing else, then try Thunder Road. Just two _long_ verses with barely a chance to breath in either of them. It's awesome.
I'm reasonably sure I never heard this song prior to watching a movie a couple years ago about a Springsteen obsessed British teen, but the melody instantly felt like I'd known it all my life.
I've always felt like the harmonica was that long-hidden memory about when times were better and you had your whole life ahead of you. It's heartbreaking. RIP, Big Man.
I was 18, freshman year in college. I didn't have a clue about life, but when I heard "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" I thought "nobody can write a line better than that." I still think that.
One of the greatest lines written in music, books, film. Timeless.
This is number four on my list of favorite Springsteen songs, but this section is my favorite thing he's written.
as great as that line is, it may not even be Bruce's best
I always thought how someone could write that. A skill I wish I had.
Except for maybe "well layin' here in the dark you're like an angel on my chest just another tramp of hearts cryin' tears of faithlessness..."
This is why Bruce is the best storyteller of our lifetime. Not just the lyrics, but the music they're held in, and his performative ability to share them both. You've just met The Boss.
The Boss is right.
I'd argue he's second to dylan
@@thomashardbattle4287 I liked this comment because to a degree, you're right. I also disagree because (And believe me, I've tried) I just cannot vibe with Bob Dylan.
if we're talking music its just as much E Street as it is Bruce
I'm 66 now and remember the first time i heard it, it still makes me cry today 😢
I’m 53 and it still makes me cry!😢
Ho 50 anni e piango da 40
Bruce Springsteen is one of the greatest storytellers of his generation. What makes him The Boss is that not only does he write beautiful stories he pairs them with the perfect music and performs them to perfection.
This song always makes me cry, probably my favourite Springsteen song.
"Now I just act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care".......that my friends is a brilliant lyric with so much meaning inside of it.
Cuts it off right in the middle of it....
I get goosebumps every time
I often cite "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" as a fantastic line.
Bruce has written a lot of great songs, and this is surely one of his greatest. Props to 'Little' Steven Van Zandt for those high harmonies!
Just when he thought he was out, Bruce pulled him back in!
@@silgenThat's an appropriate comment given that both Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt have Italian-American ancestry...
Steve's harmonies on Point Blank from the Darkness tour are unreal. He gave this unreachable yearning to those songs and once Bruce got a singer who could comfortably hit those harmonies that aspect of the band was gone.
The harmonica intro just cuts through the air and in to your soul, I've listened to this performance so many times and it's the same every time.
Springsteen is one of the most dynamic and expressive singers in the business
I live in the mountains of North Central Pennsylvania, not too far from the small, depressed city of Johnstown he mentions and amid what's left of the other Hardscrabble towns that existed when coal was king, and now are depressed and disappearing. Trust me when I say that he caught the mood of this area; the anger, bitterness and hopelessness of what's left of the people who struggle to survive here. Everytime I hear him sing it, it just tears me up.
I grew up in New Castle, PA. Greatest town to grow up in the '70's when all the mills were running wide open. Young people starting families, in their own homes, in their early 20's. Everybody was working. Then the mills closed. For the last 40 years it has been as depressed as the people that live there. Sad.
I've driven through Shamokin PA listening to Darkness and Nebraska album and it just captures the mood horrifically well.
grew up and lived in the Mon Valley I think it fits the feelings of the dying towns there and a lot of the people living there in the late 70s early 80s when the mill and factories were laying off and closing
Springsteen has brought me unbridled joy,and tears to my eyes countless times. The Best of the Best.
Me too 🎉
I love how affected you were by it. When you've listened to a song a thousand times, you forget some of that emotion and it was great seeing your first time reaction.
Just had the privilege of seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for the 15th time in Asbury Park, NJ on Sept 15th. Seeing them live is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.
So many great songs, and the live performances are just amazing. Jungleland, Thunder Road, Land of Hope and Dreams, The Rising. Hell the list just goes on. Would love to see more videos with Bruce!
In a video from his recent tour - 2024 - he ends in tears. The ooh, ooh at the end goes much higher. He speaks to the depths and heighths of human existence. No one like him.
Bruce's music, and in particular the album "The river" literally saved my life. In a very difficult and hard period for me, when at not even twenty years old I was about to hit rock bottom and I seemed to see no way out, the only thing I managed to hold on to were these songs. When in 1985 I managed to fulfill the dream of seeing Springsteen in concert, I was already a different person and when I saw him on that stage I cried and thanked him. He couldn't know it, but if I was there alive it was also and above all thanks to him. Thank you Bruce
Another masterful reaction, Beth. This is Springsteen and the band at their absolute best - they allow the song to live and breathe on its own, with no distractions. Heartbreaking. ❤
I just can't stand the claim of these reaction video's that they are listening for the first time. A vocal coach, interested in music who has never heard this song before?| No ffing way.
My first Springsteen concert was in 1975. I saw him last Saturday in DC. I have no words.
Sep 7 in DC was my first time in a Bruce pit 😁. Only my 7th Springsteen concert... I'm a lightweight in that regard. My first Bruce concert was August 1978.
Like other musicians Springsteen definitely has slowed down his avg song tempo over the decades, but in his case it happened fairly quickly, from The Wild The Innocent/Born to Run/Darkness OTEOT -> The River and Nebraska. He'd always been a depressive but as a talented, ambitious young man he didn't know it at first. In 74/75 however the girlfriend who was by far the most important in his life before his wives, left him. He was both bereft and angry, and as he struggled with new directions for his music he found out what depression really was. (He wrote her out of his autobiography btw; to read it you'd never know one young woman was the primary muse for so many of his great songs.)
I kinda feel for Beth, just first dipping her toe into the Springsteen songbook that contains 500+ songs, and so many of them contain something special.
She'll probably sample them sparingly, though. She's a voice expert, and we weren't drawn to Bruce for his voice, much like people aren't Dylan or Neil Young fans for their voices either. It's the depth and power of their songs and music that make them legends.
Bruce's colab with Roy Bittan have provided some of the most beautiful piano in rock.
Bob Seger has great piano in his songs too.
And even when the short period of disbanding the E street band, he kept Roy with him.
Jungleland intro…
Congratulations. You just met Bruce Springsteen
Conocer a Bruce es una de las mejores cosas que te dará la vida. Bienvenida al mundo del Boss ❤❤
I'm a 67 year old man but this song still reduces me to tears, your reaction to it was just perfect, thank you and good luck with the new album and in whatever you chose to du x
You really need to listen to the live version of this where he tells a heartbreaking story about his relationship with his dad. It makes the song so much more impactful. Bruce put on one of the best shows I've ever seen, and my first concert was Paul McCartney & Wings in 1976.
Yes I just stumbled into this channel after listening's to Bruce's live version from the box set. I still have a lump in my throat from that version including the spoken intro although this one is great too.
She is watching a live version 😂
@@holitipu duh. Not the one where he tells the story.
@mlong1958 oh yeah...just re read yr comment...and I know the one you mean . Apologies. As Ringo Starr wd say peace and love
The River is one of my favorite Springsteen songs! I just saw him 2 nights ago and he played the River with the same soulful intensity! He is one of akind long live the Boss!
Seeing Springsteen live has been one of the best moments of my life. I'm a millennial but I grew up listening to him thanks to my parents.
Seeing Springsteen live has been one of the best moments of my life. I’m a baby boomer and I took it as one of my responsibilities as a parent to introduce my kids to Bruce.
@@chrisp4170same here
I am born in 1972
Last year I brought my two
kids to their first Springsteen
show
They told me it was the
expirience of their life
You picked an excellent version of this song to react to, Bruce was really giving it. Such a charismatic performer.
Probably the most important song in my life. Not sure why, but every night for eight years, I would put my daughter to bed and sit with her, singing, talking, telling stories for an hour or so. I sang this song to her every single night in that time.
I did exactly the same to my daughter. Last year, at age 15 and not a fan at all, she joined me to a show for the first time. The River was played and both of us cried. Priceless moments
I love how the song is so moving (and it really is) that Beth looks like she is on the verge of tears the whole time!
Let the tears flow, Beth. I've discovered I can't stop them when a song hits me hard, sometimes joyfully, sometimes sadly, sometimes with sheer beauty. Just have to let them go.
Thanks, Beth, I hadn't heard this one either. And yeah, that harmonica was something.
👍 ❤
Love the reaction, his brother in law and sister are still together and very happy. If you want to be crying before he even starts the song, have a watch of the video on TH-cam titled "River (with Intro) live. Just for your own pleasure, I know you wouldn't want to react to a song twice but the intro is something else. When you go to a Bruce and E-Street Band concert you get more than just the songs, and their incredible talent. He gives you himself, this story is an example of that.
Yes, where he talks about how him and his father just don't get along, and how his father brought a barber into the hospital to cut his hair after a motorcycle accident. He would hang out for hours in a phone booth talking to his girl instead of being home. Bruce took off for a few days before he went to take his draft physical that would determine if he would be drafted during the Vietnam war. His father asked where he was, and Bruce said he was partying before he took his physical. His dad asked about the result, and Bruce sadly and humbly said he failed. And his father said "Good". Very emotional.
@@jccook5353 Yeah but maybe it would have been good to let her listen to the story instead of mapping it all out for her ;-)
@@neilsimon467 She will get over it.
“Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true, or is it something worse?” -The greatest line ever written
That’s why I love Bruce. I’ve been a fan since I was a kid in the 80’s, jamming in the car with my dad.
I remember I knew all the words to “My Hometown” in elementary school- that’s another haunting sad one - and it was a lot for me as a child to process the message of the song, but as I grew up (and am into middle age now) I find that I can feel it all the more deeply.
He’s a poet, a great American poet, and he writes these heartbreaking stories in verse and set to music, and then singe the hell right out of them. An artist thrice over.
Listen to the acoustic demo of “Born in the USA” from the “Tracks” boxed set and see if that doesn’t make you feel some type of way.
🎵🎶They declared me unfit to live , said into that great void my soul be hurled , they wanted to know why I did what I did, Sir I guess there's just a meanness in this world 🎵🎶
From " Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen
Just found this - it's beautiful, and a perfect example of why we fans of Bruce's are so steadfast and true. I love Beth's astute reastions and responses!
He is just the best at what he does, and really cares a LOT about conecting with his audience. This performance was 1980 - March 29 and 31 this year ('24) were my 29th and 30'th time seeing Bruce live in concert - 44 years later - and he is as brilliant and soul-lifting as ever - in fact, more! And the house was filled with folks from 6 or 7 years old to at least 70's!
Thanks Beth - this was a treat!
Don’t worry about crying! I am 58 and cry every time I hear this song…my favourite😢
When young singers are learning about emotional expression, they should be made to listen to this song
I'm 32, and I fell in love with Bruce on this exact performance 4 years ago. I spent an entire evening listening to it on repeat, wanting to find again and again the emotion he transmits, to see the rage in his eyes during the passage "Now those memories come back to haunt me". I became addicted.❤
That’s how it happens! I was 21 or so - and liked Bruce fine as a kid but never really gave him the time of day beyond his more recognizable songs, though I’d always heard how great a songwriter and live performer he was. And this is when he reunited the E Street Band after a 15 year hiatus, and I stumbled upon their Live In New York concert in HBO and was instantly transfixed. Turns out this was perfect timing because he was about to embark on a reinvigorated two-plus-decade-long marathon of albums and tours. I went back and bought everything, went deep into the outtakes and all that, saw him 30 times… I’ve now taken my own kids to shows. Annoyed and/or converted others… Turns out getting into him late was perfect timing - and being a bit older and starting to experience and be able to relate to some of the things Bruce was talking about - that emotion, and being ready for “deeper” rock music (this was the late 90s-early ‘00s after all; it was all Britney Spears and *NSYNC and Smashmouth and Kid Rock). It’s amazing what the right discovery at the right time can do, and how catching the right performance at the right time can change your life.
Another song of his that is just as powerful is Thunder Road (live at Hammersmith Odeon. (cut and paste) "Thunder Road (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75)" I think you will love it too.
YES!!!!
th-cam.com/video/6O3MO2y30fU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Qbn7Qj2zWny72w5a
YES, THIS EXACTLY!
A great concert. I like the version of Jungleland too.
Bruce solo on For You from that show is great as well.
Almost everything he does is powerful and moving,huge fan here since April,!976.
Such a good narrative song....a real story, it could be a movie*...poignant,true*....Bruce is such a good writer,composer and a true singer serving perfectly this story
Your description of the vocals being broken is perfect for describing the tone and the protagonist's dreams.
This song has been in my head all week. So glad you've found it. Thanks for sharing your reaction.
My favorite Springsteen song, and possibly one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. This sounds a little different than the album version; he’s got more power behind his voice and richer instrumentals in this live version. The album version is softer, and has more a tone of surrender than anger - like he’s just given up all hope.
Bruce Springsteen is absolutely phenomenal at that kind of embittered regret vibe - when he goes for that "Life screwed me and I'm honestly pissed, but hey, we find a way, right?" thing, he absolutely nails it every time. Definitely a cultural treasure of Americana. I always picture his songs being sung to a room of early-America rail workers and miners. :D
Being from New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen, is a state treasure. I'd see him in Asbury Park at The Stone Pony a lot in the late seventies. I had the unique opportunity to meet him in the late eighties. He's one of the nicest guys.
Is was in the Marine Corps at the time, one of the guys I was stationed with had served in the Navy with Bruce's manager at the time. Arrangements were made for the band to use a large room we had to rehearse prior to going on tour for his "Tunnel of Love" album. So from early January to late May/early June 1988 around noon overtly day 5 days a week they'd come in to play. The doors would be locked and the fun began. Everyone in and with the band were really cool. Met his first wife, his future second wife, and the whole crew.
Was he with Steel Mill then?
@procopiusaugustus6231 What's Steel Mill. From the first time I saw him in the mid seventies at the Stone Pony until today, it's been The E street Band.
@@vernhoke7730 Steel Mill was his band before E Street. I’m in Richmond Va which was an anchor on his tour circuit in the late sixties. I didn’t see him until ‘73 on the Greetings tour but have friends who were Steel Mill fans and have bootleg tapes from the shows. He still shows up here occasionally incognito - he was sighted have lunch in a neighborhood restaurant a few years ago.
@@procopiusaugustus6231 The Stone Pony wasn't even open in the early 70s yet, Bruce already had albums released before the Stone Pony opened. There was another band called The Bruce Springsteen band that sounded more hard rock from pre 1973...a lot of those bands had the same members, like Vini Lopez, and Danny Federici
@@procopiusaugustus6231 th-cam.com/video/wVrMhE1hvYw/w-d-xo.html Sounds like the Allman Bros...lol
Bruce is one of the greatest songwriters. Authentic. It gives me goosebumps
The great Roy Bittan on piano.
Yes!
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true or is it something worse. What a great line that I have often thought of in hard times.
I saw him do this song in 1979 at the "No Nukes" concert in Madison Square Garden. It was probably the first public performance of the song which was not released for another year. I will never forget it.
This song, lyrically, musically and instrumentally, displays every bit of Bruce's genius.
I just went to a concert with the Boss and the E street band this summer - still going strong giving an excellent three hours concert. He was born to tell stories! His autobiography "Born to run" is also very honest and well written...
What a great reaction with lots of information and insight. You noticed so many things that make Springsteen the greatest and an extraordinary interpreter of his own songs. In this song, the brokenness, the anger, the dissolving into memory, the poignance, the crying harmonica.
What makes this performance even more mind blowing is the fact that this is a live version from his 'The River Tour' live album
This is one of my favourite Springsteen songs. By the time he sings "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?" I am choked up and in tears.
I'm 64 year-old man and it hits me harder now then it did 30 years ago. The best art is that which makes you feel something - elation, anger, sadness - and this certainly does that.
This gorgeous song makes me break down every time I hear it, the mournful gut wrenching emotion just hits me right in the heart. I had no idea either until I heard this song about 12 years ago. It is just stunning.
I am the youngest of 5. This was the first album that introduced me to Bruce when I was 12 years old. I wanted to go see him on the tour but I was too young. Truth be told they didn't want their 12 year old brother going with them. SOmeone bought Bord to Run after they saw this show and my dad bought be Darkness. Been a huge fan ever since. SO many years later I took my own son to see him at The Palace of Auburn Hills for " The River Tour" go figure right? Singing along to every song with my son was an incredible experience. A night I won't ever forget.
In the days before synthesizers, the late Danny Federici, the "organ" player before they were referred to as keyboard players, had a "glock in a box" which was a wooden boxed little glockenspiel that they used for that sound. Based as you say on the story of his older sister. She and her husband are still together. Starting with the Reunion Tour in '99-2000, he started doing that ending in falsetto. You might want to take a look at this song on YT the version of Live in NY City. 2000.
I agree - the later versions of the ending are even more poignant.
One of his best and I'm glad you 'get it', ya know?
I saw him in 78 (Darkness tour) and this song wasn't released yet but he did it there and everyone went "What th? This was so heartfelt!"....I'm older now but that show I hold in my heart.
The River was the first time I saw Bruce perform when I saw the No Nukes movie in the theater. That was the debut performance. I'm still a fan 45 years later.
This song and the lyrics are deeply moving. Utterly incredible music. Glad you enjoyed listening to it for her first time.
Words can not express what this
man and his music mean to me
See you soon in Liverpool and
Prague😊
Ive seen Bruce over 40 times, The River gets me everytime
This is the song that turned me into a massive fan at age 10. Four years later he was my first concert! He’s brilliant live! Born To Run saved his career because his first two records didn’t do well! I also cried the first time I heard it!
Introduced to Bruce via this song 40+ years ago, now living in NJ. This song never gets old
Not only is this a song but IT IS PURE POETRY !!!!
60 now, and I can still remember hearing The River for the first time in 1980. Live changing. Seen Bruce many times live since then, and The River (the album) started it.
I’ve seen The Boss many times over the years and in my opinion he and the E Street Band are the best live performers I’ve seen. Every time I’ve heard him sing this song live I have cried. It touches me on so many levels.
Well i m metal head all the way to my rusted old heart but i must admit that this song makes me cry the river. this is so raw picture of life and what it can be when you have just little hope left in your life and you push it trough
Bruce and Tom Morello on "the ballad of old Tom joad" is excellent
Yes, an incredibly powerful expression of that track!
The Ghost of Tom Joad
My favourite musician. Been a fan since ‘88. Seen ten shows. Never seen anyone put more into every aspect of his performance.
My first Springsteen concert, January 1981 Maple Leaf Gardens. I knew two songs going in, Born to Run and Hungry Heart, the single from this album. Walked out five hours later, a fan.
This will always be my favourite Springsteen song, (and album).
“ Prof Roy Britten’s “ piano enhances the feeling and mood of this song.
Bit of trivia. Jim Steinman (writer for all of the successful Meatloaf songs) used Max and Roy on Bat out of Hell. Steinman was a huge Roy fan.
Always listened to the Boss when driving to the army barracks in the 80s. He grasped my life and feelings back then so perfectly. Looking so much forward to seeing him again live next summer.
You can get emotional with this...even if you don't speak english...or understand anything happening throughout this song. This is a storytelling masterpiece...
Truly, truly amazing song. And so awfully emotional. I almost cry every time I hear it. A true classic.
I saw Bruce live at Wembley Stadium UK in 1985, a day I will always remember, he was just so incredible from start to finish. Great choice to react to!
"oh I know the river is dry" breaks my heart every time.
The way you explained how artists' music slows down as they age is fascinating. This song feels like a deep reflection of life, and your analysis made me appreciate it even more.
Explain Dancing in the Dark, then…
The first arena concert I ever saw was Bruce on The River tour at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, MI. This was also the show that Bob Seger came out and did the encore with Bruce and the E Street Band. Such an amazing show.
Bruce's upbeat songs get much more play, but he came up in the hard times for industrial south Jersey/Philly, and some of his best and most underrated works are the laments of growing up in that enviornment where his expressive voice is at it's best. Songs like My hometown, independence day, brilliant disguise, or stolen car.
Most of his upbeat songs still feature depressing lyrics- that makes him great.
Bruce released a double album called ....THE RIVER....this song was on it....i by .... chance and luck got to see him perform it at Wembly arena...U.K.... Best thing i have ever witnessed.....but for the loss of my virginity.....i danced 3 hours straight. The Who tried to do a rock opera....so so at best...Bruce KRUSHED it.
Great stuff as usual, B. One thing that has always struck me about Bruce's singing style is that when he really lets fly vocally he seem to keep his lower jaw still and move the rest of his head up and down. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else do that.
Bruce has many emotional songs, even just from this album there are Independence Day, Drive All Night, and Wreck On The Highway. The emotion comes from his singing and from his superb lyricism. Like this song has the lines:
"Then I got Mary pregnant, and man that was all she wrote.
And for my nineteenth birthday, I got a union card and a wedding coat".
There's a teenage drama of crushed hopes and dreams in two lines.
Or in Independence Day, a song about the troubled relationship between father and son as the son is leaving home, the last verse:
"So say goodbye it's Independence Day
Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
But won't you just say goodbye it's Independence Day
I swear I never meant to take those things away"
is just heartbreaking.
It's worth you listening to more of Bruce's catalogue.
Oooow... Drive All Night.
Beth, you'll never get around to doing vids of many of his great songs, and this one's pretty obscure at that. The former editor of Cream music magazine reviewed The River double album for the Washington Post, and like me plucked that one out for its emotional power... just the acheing it beautifully conveys.
Just for your own enjoyment, listen to Drive All Night.
As one who heard this when it was originally released, thank you for the vicarious pleasure of getting to experience it again as for the first time. Even the best music loses some impact over the years as it becomes familiar. You brought it back fresh.
While there is no video, the audio of Springsteen singing “Stolen Car” live at Arizona State University truly showcases Bruce’s vocal abilities. It’s my favorite version of my favorite song of his. Even if you don’t “react” to it on your channel, it’s worth a listen. The song is also off The River double album and very emotional.
I’ve enjoyed your reactions and insights for years now. Thank you for sharing.
I wrote this on another Springsteen video. His music might not be your cup of tea, but there's no denying that he's one of the best lyricists ever!
Great reaction! I've seen this live and it is spine tingling, every hair on my neck stood up. I recommend watching/listening to the Live In New York City version, later on his career. He does the "woos" at the end of the song in falsetto and it's one of the most haunting things I've ever heard and he has such excellent control of that falsetto.
Love your emotion Beth! You're a beautiful person.
She mentions Born to Run… and the funny thing for me is I heard it for the first time
sitting at a modern day train station running on electricity and my mind and heart was blown to pieces by the sounds of that song and how unique it was. I didn’t know Bruce Springsteen hardly at all and yet something inside me said it was Bruce and I had to seek him out and learn more. And then I met Clarence… and that story won my soul over forever.
It was my final year in college and it was my 2nd time seeing Bruce "live" for "The River" tour. Lucked out the 1st time for the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour when a friend couldn't go and gave me his ticket. The River tour blew me and my friends away as Bruce played for 4 hours with a break in-between. Couldn't believe how he maintained his energy during the entire 4 hours. Me and my friends walked out emotionally exhausted from the experience.
Old guy here. Very fun watching this. Gives me hope for the younger generation!
Yes for sure 👌
I'm not thar young, 37, but have loved Bruce for ages
Yea Bruce is a great story teller
You aren't the only person who felt emotion listening to this song!
Great video! To me this is the theme song of gen X working class people no matter where you come from. First time I heard it so many years ago the first harmonica wail almost knocked me over and brought tears to my eyes, and it still does... Bruce Springsteen is one of few non-classical acts I still listen to, but this music will follow me to my grave!
There is something intensely moving the way Bruce plays that harmonica. This rendition is fantastic and as for the intro to Thunder Road, my favourite Springsteen song, as soon as I hear those opening notes I start to tear up. I saw him in Cardiff in May (2024) when he and the band played both songs. It was a brilliant gig and to hear 60,000 fans joining in was just wonderful...
This is one of rock musics greatest compositions. Few people can tell a story the way the Boss does.
One of the greatest songs of all time in my opinion...
I was 12 when I first heard Bruce, I fell in love with the music and lyrics.
Nice one Beth. The genius of this song, and many of Springsteen's others, is that it's an entirely ordinary story that millions of people could tell, and yet he somehow gives it the weight and significance of a folkloric epic. If you want to hear another impressive vocal performance from him, for breath control if nothing else, then try Thunder Road. Just two _long_ verses with barely a chance to breath in either of them. It's awesome.
wow i watched this very emotive song through your eyes.its fantastic all over again.thankyou.i could see how his singing affcted you
Bruce perfectly captures the anguish and heartache of not be able to live up to your dreams through no fault of your own.
I'm reasonably sure I never heard this song prior to watching a movie a couple years ago about a Springsteen obsessed British teen, but the melody instantly felt like I'd known it all my life.
That would be Blinded By The Light based on the true story of Luton boy Sarfraz Mansoor!
I've always felt like the harmonica was that long-hidden memory about when times were better and you had your whole life ahead of you. It's heartbreaking. RIP, Big Man.
This came out when I was 15 and was the first of his music I heard. I have listened to all his works but this song is still the best!
Bruce lives every line he sings
You ain’t kidding. Unreal passion when performing, whether it’s joy or sadness. He delivers every line like it’s the last thing he’s ever going to do.