I grew up where Bruce grew up( he' older) that being said he never left NJ granted a bigger house. He still pops in to the local bars quite often, he is down to earth a good man. His kids go to school with local kids. He's married to Patti over 30 years. He is special. I saw him concert a while ago in a jammed packed stadium. He gives it all and more. Over 3 hours of greatness, he loves his fans and boy do they love him. Love his early work. 🎵✌️🎶💜
"Racing In The Street" is a great track from "Darkness On The Edge Of Town", a great follow up to " Born To Run". Springsteen is one of the greatest artists of all-time, and the best in the past 50 years.
I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert 20 years ago and he still sounds as good as he did then. I’m glad you played this song. It’s a little different from his usual but has a powerful message. As usual a wonderful reaction. Hugs to you Harri! Keep doing what you do💕
This song struck me say 35 years ago. First of all, things were different then from now, and values etc were different. And yes I love this song, one of those songs I can fully sing from memory alone.
Greetings again from Canada, eh!! The "Professor" Roy Bittan on the piano!!! When performed live, this song has about a 5 minute jam at the end, you hear it begin here in the studio, they build on it and build on it and it is one of the most beautiful instrumental jams you will hear. My Lady fiend and I would just dance away to it time and time again. There are a couple great live versions online, especially the one from the Paramount theatre. Great reaction, and, again, Rock On!!
@@O_Towne_Bear when talking Springsteen and the E Street Band, the "professor" is Roy Bittan, a nickname Bruce gave Roy about 45 years ago. So, try and stick to the topic on hand.
Bruce was discussing with his guitarist and producer if he should keep the girl/love story in it. They basically said "Uh, that is the whole point of the song". Can you imagine if it wasn't put in the storyline?
Bruce would never or has ever written about suicide as an option. Not that I know of anyway. It’s more like you first thought. It’s a metaphor to go to the sea and wash their sins away. Like when you’re babtized. This is the tour I first saw him on. The winter of 78/79. It was a case of going to church and being reborn. It was that intense. Oh, and don’t forget Danny Federici on organ. This is possibly his best piece of work. Another great reaction for another great artist.
@@davebeck7259 Thanks, I will. I never thought that song was about suicide but that was just my interpretation. I always thought, like most of the songs, it was about redemption.
You should see him perform this song live. During the instrumental fade at the end of the song he tells a story about being out on the road traveling in the western US and meeting an elderly American Indian. It's really a very cool story that he uses to lead into the song Thunder Road.
One of the things I love about this song is how it compares to some many male POV songs, where "she" just "doesn't get him", how SHE made him feel bad, etc. Here, however, the guy telling us his story is able to stop for a moment, and see HER perspective, how SHE is just as broken over dead dreams as he is. Wonderful storytelling.
Ironic that you theorized this being about suicide because the beauty of this record got me through a lot of dark time times in my twenties. It's a freaking masterpiece and it fills me with awe that somebody can make me feel such joy through music.
What's ironic is that I love this song but for me, I think it has the saddest line " but all pretty dreams been torn, she stares off alone into the night with the eyes of one who hates for just being born" I can't even type those words without having a tear in my eyes. Springsteen has a way of making me feel whatever the person in the story is feeling.Bravo!
one of my fav Springsteen tracks magnificent song - great lyrics Springsteen is a master of real stories. She stares off alone into the night With the eyes of one who hates for just being born For all the shut-down strangers and hot rod angels Rumbling through this promised land Tonight my baby and me we’re gonna ride to the sea And wash these sins off our hands
Racing in the streets in Asbury Park, NJ back in the 60' and 70's was a common thing at street lights on Kingsley Ave. That's where Bruce hung out and formed his bands. I think this is a story about being cool as a young person, racing cars, machismo, getting the girl...etc. But, as we grow older, that chosen life isn't sustainable form security and happiness. Age reveals a hardness and regret..little else. I could be wrong but thats always been my interpretation.
The movie was made. The story is that after he wrote this song, he saw Two Lane Blacktop and said that the film pretty much matched the song. Two Lane Blacktop is James Taylor's only movie.
Interesting to hear this again...and my first thought was how this tune was such a welcome reprieve during Bruce's marathon high energy concerts..."back in the day". The universal theme of the struggle for meaning in life and how we define ourselves in our existence run throughout most Springsteen lyrics. Combined with seemingly everyday or common and relatable emotions, interpretation is then individualistic. That's Bruce's genius.
one of my favorite Bruce and e street band songs, listen to it over and over , never tire of the boss! if you listen , riding to the sea, to wash these sins off our hands, its a renewed concept, thanks for reaction to the boss! keep them coming! thank you. reason to believe is a great song you will enjoy, however i cant think of a springsteen song that is not amazing! he is called the boss for a reason, a true gift from God,
This is probably my favorite Springsteen song. I am not entirely sure why, although I can certainly identify with the superficial story. I used to race my Corvette up on Mulholland, in the Hollywood Hills - until I almost killed myself one night. However, there is something that is much deeper here. I don't really think this is about suicide, however. I think it is about renewal - driving to the sea to wash your sins away. That sounds more like Bruce to me.
Bruce's songs are often described as cinematic...a little movie running through your head. I loved how you described the various possible meanings---that what a great song is supposed to do. have each listener be moved, and affected differently. Personally, this song has always given "gravitas" to our everyday lives, something I feel Bruce does beautifully!
Driving is a central metaphor in Springsteen's music and the road symbolizes life. The characters in his songs often seek escape from the challenges of living; driving represents freedom and spiritual release. "Some guys come home from work and wash up, then go racing in the street." His music is filled with themes of people who are searching for peace but may never find it (a frequent reference to his father).
You can look at this as the sequel to Born To Run. The guy and gal in that song were young and thought they were escaping to a better life. But then they got to adulthood and this is their life now. Not the happiness they dreamed of but instead the same miserable existence of their parents before them.
@@temporarystranger95 It's actually Bruce's take on the song and the record. I was paraphrasing what he said in the Promise documentary which is about the making of Darkness On The Edge Of Town.
You nailed it; the metaphor is about people that just equate older with being less alive...just a fear of getting every bit of life out of the years God gives you. The characters in Bruce's songs aren't wealthy or heroic; they're the Everymen just trying to get through life without hating it. Sure...some people think "a hot rod is all you have in life???"......but it's not about the car; it's about coming to grips with life not being a magic lamp that grants you wishes. If you get 2 or 3 "wishes" in life that give you some happiness that seats you in the "normal horn" section of the orchestra with the rest of us. For me, it's my family, my model trains and the opportunity to serve as a volunteer firefighter and fire chief. Great reaction Harri.
One of the better songs to react to from the Springsteen catalog. Some of his lamest songs tend to get requested the most. Drives me nuts, lol. No, I won't name them but either you know which ones I'm referring to or you don't.
This is all about growing up in New Jersey and being a part of drag racing culture. In Michigan, we called them motorheads. Not sure what they were called in Jersey, their lives orbiting their cars. Fixing them, upgrading them, racing them. There is still this subculture all across America, but in the 50s-80s, it was one of the larger segments of the young culture here. Going to the sea was to relax and make out. Watching the submarine races in Michigan.
Well, in the part of Jersey Bruce is from the sea shore is very close. It might not even be a metaphor. In a lot of places it's easy just to drive right up to the beach and hang out.
@@Boatzilla2 Very good point. I always thought they would make out and relax after a good night's racing, but that is honestly totally in my head. And I write romance novels. LOL, Nothing from the song makes that clear. You are never far from the ocean where he grew up. Honestly, I think this illustrates the greatness of Bruce as a lyricist. His songs seem to trip things from your life and mind and make them more personally accessible. We all hear the same song, but it plays out in our minds in intimate ways. The best of art of any type is always like that, timeless yet relevant.
@@MichaelBurhans Great point. I like your version. I grew up in Jersey, so I always felt he was really speaking to my experience (although I never did the racing or had any Jungleland type events). His imagery is so evocative.
@@Boatzilla2 I grew up in Detroit and was a bit of a gangster in my youth. Young, smart as hell, but dumber than a pile of donkey dung simultaneously. I had a ridiculously built-out racer. So many of his songs seem written from my life. Yet every fan I know thinks that they were written about them. It is phenomenal art. He finds the universal feeling of rites of passage in his life and makes you feel them as if they were your own. We haven't even discussed his greatness as a live performer. One of my arms is a musical sleeve, and he is one of the artists that made the cut.
This song always seems to me like a prelude to Bruce's "The River" which came later. Not about suicide though - more like disillusionment and the ways people cope with it.
Great reaction, Harri. I love your take on the song. This whole album is fantastic. The title track "Darkness On The Edge of Town" is a great one, too.
I go back and forth with what my favorite Bruce album is, i guess based on my mood. (and maybe what i'm listening to at the moment lol) So i guess today it's "Darkness" 💕
Hi. If I were you I would check out 'Wreck on the highway' by Bruce Spingsteen. No one else did a reaction of that song, but it is great. Sad, but great. I am from Holland and you should try some Dutch bands, like Brainbox. They have great songs. If you like, I can give you some titles. Good luck.
Funny you mentioned it being like a movie.... Around this time Bruce has mentioned that he was watching lots of movies and you could argue the "racer" flows from the main character in Thunder Road which takes it's title from the movie of the same name.
Last Date is a live album by Emmylou Harris & this is one of the songs she sings (does it full justice as well). Bruce returned the complement (for this & other covers Emmylou has done of his songs) by singing background vocals on her song Tragedy from her album Red Dirt Girl along with his wife Patti Scialfa. The song suits Emmylou really well because even though it's a song about street racing cars & you would think the music that would go with that subject matter would be fast & propulsive it's instead slow with a sad melancholic rolling melody ; some of Bruce's songs verge on sounding country & if you just listen to the music of this one & forget about the words for a minute this song would fit the bill (it's melody is actually really beautiful just on it's own). Emmylou adds that edge of sadness & yearning that she's famous for. I think it was brave of her to sing it. It takes guts for a female singer to sing a song that's written from a male's perspective.
Car culture in the States? Car culture was born in the USA, so to speak, Hari! Consider that just a few days back you reacted to "Rocket 88", a song more or less bragging about a car. For a taste of classic songs about kids and cars, check out The Beach Boys -- "I Get Around", "Little Deuce Coupe", "Fun, Fun, Fun" -- and Jan & Dean -- "The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)", "Dead Man's Curve". Also check out "Lost in the Flood" from Springsteen's debut album. It tells the story of a veteran of the Vietnam War returning home to find solace in racing cars on the streets only to loose his life in a crash, while a street gang looses members in a shoot out with the police. The "Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75" version posted to Springsteen's TH-cam channel is particularly special.
For me is Bruce Springsteen one of the best of all time! My favourite song is "Human touch" ❤🙂 You needs to listen to a great cover version of "Human touch recorded of Bonnie Tyler". ❤🙂
I love the juxtapositions in this song. It's about racing and daring to live on the edge, but the tempo and the lyrics are slow and careful. I tend to believe that his 'baby' has come to understand that nothing and no one comes first to the dare devil that first attracted her.
I love his "Story Songs"! Can I recommend 'Highway Patrolman? This could be a movie too, I reckon. And so many more. Dancing in the Dark is a wonderful album. And his surname is pronounced Springsteen, as in Teen-ager.
"Highway Patrolman" was what Sean Penn's 1991 film "The Indian Runner" was based upon. David Morse (St. Elsewhere, The Green Mile) played Joe Roberts and Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy & Green Book) played his troubled brother, Frank.
@@christopheradams8707 Thank you Christopher for the info! I wanted to listen to the song after my post, and I did. It was then I realized I didn't know what the hell I was talking about re a movie. Thanks for the info.
Your comment about British racers using Ford Fiesta in the 90's -Oh, I hope not! I had one of those, a red Fiesta, as a rental, when I was 21 years -between Inverness , Scots', down through Wales, and finally to Birmingham. The Ford Fiesta was fine for a rental, but it gave me a headache at speeds like 80mph, as the front window is closer to the drivers head, then in an average American car. (I'm from the US, was staying in Europe in 1989-'90 -two weeks driving around England was one of my last big events of that year.) II can't imagine even with racing adaptions as being in a "Fast and Furious" scene. This tune by Springsteen is at the end of his 4th album, "Darkness on the Edge of Town" -the title is really apt for several songs. Not a celebratory of leaving town by car, as "Born to Run" or "thunder Road" was before this. "Racing in the street" like the tile of his subsequent album "The River", and a few songs on that album, lead onto Bruce's solo "Nebraska" a dark trip into the heart of America.
To me this song is about guys who as they age, still don't give up on some of their boyhood pursuits such as racing cars. This song always reminds me of older guys that I used to play softball with. It was their main form of ego gratification. Their wives went along with it, but probably not the life they expected.
My baby and me, we're gonna ride to the sea, and wash these sins off our hands Bruce mostly ends songs with hope, and I hear it in the music at the end
I've asked another reaction channel to react to Prove It All Night (circa 78 Phoenix or Houston) on numerous occasions now but to no avail, perhaps you could react to it and give it its just desserts?
reminds me of my late teens, had a li'l chevy vega, 4 cyl. took from factory 90hp to 210 hp and 13 second runs in the 1/4 mi ... aaaah those were the days ... nearly 50 yrs ago ....
Nice reaction. It looks like you've been dancing around his work without hitting the high notes. IMHO, Springsteen is at his best when he takes every day, suburban life -and makes it epic - and no-where does he do this better than on his breakout album, Born to Run - and the best songs on that album - the must hear songs are, in order, Jungleland, Born to Run, Thunder Road, and Backstreets. Give Jungleland a go - it's an amazing song.
I agree with you the "Racing" is a metaphor- I always thought it could be about being in a band, a DJ, or involved in some kind of "cool scene". I thought the girl was in that car racing scene and takes off with him. But a few years later, it's not so cool anymore and she's more domesticated and wonders when he'll grow up and be too. Again, it's more about marrying/settling down with a person that's always out of the house pursuing their passion while the partner/spouse waits for them to settle down and be normal. Nice Job, Man.
It's Jersey the shore isn't far I always read it as a break just getting a little space between them and real life. The whole song is about the gap between what you wanted life to be and how it turns out. Racing is a very real thing but it's also this guy who find being an adult crushing running away from home.
This one and Jungleland are Springsteen's best IMHO. Both definitely metaphorically. Both evolving around the big American dream - and how it's never what's it's laid out to be. Today Jason Isbell is one of very few songwriters that can touch this. Check out his "Something more than free". Brilliantly written on this same subject.
Watch Something in the Night from the same album. Powerful. Also, you gotta watch a live performance of Racing in the Streets Live to hear some great piano playing.
It is interesting you caught the metaphor from the song that people come home from their jobs, and have certain habitual actions outside of their job that keep them alive. The 6th house represents your job. The 5th house your hobby. 5th house is the future of your 1st house representing yourself, so 5th house represents dreams and hobbites that keep you alive. 3rd house is the actions you do that make you proficient in your hobbies because the 3rd is the 11th (gains) to your 5th. Most of the times these actions of the 3rd can sometimes override your job of the 6th (3rd being 10th to the 6th meaning 3rd taking control over the 6th) giving a feeling that the actions you do for your hobby, are more masterful and important than the actions that you put into the job.
Bruce Springsteen songs are often about being disappointed in how things actually turned out - often hiddennin an upbeat melody. Not this one but almost all imof the Born in the USA album qualifies.
We fill up our lives with sensation to stave off the existential dread of withering to nothing. Otherwise we have to ask ourselves "What is it all for"?
In my opinion, Springsteen's message in this song is not a positive one...there are no heroes here...he's talking about misfits (see other Bruce's song "Johnny 99" from "Nebraska").. Racing in the street has not to be done.....in Italy people who do this "sport" are criminals, litteraly !.....but this song is wonderful !!!...and I agree with you Harri...Springsteen's outros are epic !!!
the emotion in the word alright in the line "baby did you make it alright" arrests me everytime. its a haunting song, one that means a lot to me. thank you for the reaction ❤❤
You may be right about the suicide angle, as an early haunting outtake version replaces "racing in the street" with "dying in the street". th-cam.com/video/iRA7hyYbTf0/w-d-xo.html
I grew up where Bruce grew up( he' older) that being said he never left NJ granted a bigger house. He still pops in to the local bars quite often, he is down to earth a good man.
His kids go to school with local kids. He's married to Patti over 30 years.
He is special.
I saw him concert a while ago in a jammed packed stadium.
He gives it all and more. Over 3 hours of greatness, he loves his fans and boy do they love him.
Love his early work. 🎵✌️🎶💜
My VERY favorite songs ever. It reminds me so much of my life
"Racing In The Street" is a great track from "Darkness On The Edge Of Town", a great follow up to " Born To Run".
Springsteen is one of the greatest artists of all-time, and the best in the past 50 years.
I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert 20 years ago and he still sounds as good as he did then. I’m glad you played this song. It’s a little different from his usual but has a powerful message. As usual a wonderful reaction. Hugs to you Harri! Keep doing what you do💕
Saw Bruce in December 1980 and 2002, no difference in sound or performance level!
This song struck me say 35 years ago. First of all, things were different then from now, and values etc were different. And yes I love this song, one of those songs I can fully sing from memory alone.
Greetings again from Canada, eh!! The "Professor" Roy Bittan on the piano!!! When performed live, this song has about a 5 minute jam at the end, you hear it begin here in the studio, they build on it and build on it and it is one of the most beautiful instrumental jams you will hear. My Lady fiend and I would just dance away to it time and time again. There are a couple great live versions online, especially the one from the Paramount theatre. Great reaction, and, again, Rock On!!
absolutely the CODA of RITS soars live in concert. it is ethereal
You call yourself "Canadian" but call someone other than "The Professor" The Professor? Tsk Tsk. (LoL - Canadians will get it).
@@O_Towne_Bear when talking Springsteen and the E Street Band, the "professor" is Roy Bittan, a nickname Bruce gave Roy about 45 years ago. So, try and stick to the topic on hand.
@@cosmickid1794 It's called a "Joke" - you may want to buy a sense of humour, eh.
@@O_Towne_Bear any Rush fan gets it, including many of us in the lower 48.
Love anything by Bruce.
Bruce was discussing with his guitarist and producer if he should keep the girl/love story in it. They basically said "Uh, that is the whole point of the song". Can you imagine if it wasn't put in the storyline?
Bruce would never or has ever written about suicide as an option. Not that I know of anyway. It’s more like you first thought. It’s a metaphor to go to the sea and wash their sins away. Like when you’re babtized. This is the tour I first saw him on. The winter of 78/79. It was a case of going to church and being reborn. It was that intense. Oh, and don’t forget Danny Federici on organ. This is possibly his best piece of work. Another great reaction for another great artist.
Actually The River (song) is about suicide. Check the Born to Run autobiography.
@@davebeck7259 Thanks, I will. I never thought that song was about suicide but that was just my interpretation. I always thought, like most of the songs, it was about redemption.
listen to For You by Bruce
@@mikemcf33 ok, I’ll give you that one 😂✌️
@@mikemcf33 but I don’t think he was advocating suicide as a solution.
You should see him perform this song live. During the instrumental fade at the end of the song he tells a story about being out on the road traveling in the western US and meeting an elderly American Indian. It's really a very cool story that he uses to lead into the song Thunder Road.
One of the things I love about this song is how it compares to some many male POV songs, where "she" just "doesn't get him", how SHE made him feel bad, etc. Here, however, the guy telling us his story is able to stop for a moment, and see HER perspective, how SHE is just as broken over dead dreams as he is. Wonderful storytelling.
Ironic that you theorized this being about suicide because the beauty of this record got me through a lot of dark time times in my twenties. It's a freaking masterpiece and it fills me with awe that somebody can make me feel such joy through music.
What's ironic is that I love this song but for me, I think it has the saddest line " but all pretty dreams been torn, she stares off alone into the night with the eyes of one who hates for just being born" I can't even type those words without having a tear in my eyes. Springsteen has a way of making me feel whatever the person in the story is feeling.Bravo!
one of my fav Springsteen tracks magnificent song -
great lyrics Springsteen is a master of real stories.
She stares off alone into the night
With the eyes of one who hates for just being born
For all the shut-down strangers and hot rod angels
Rumbling through this promised land
Tonight my baby and me we’re gonna ride to the sea
And wash these sins off our hands
Muscle cars. Every guy's dream. Racing in the city or the country.
Loved this song and your reaction. Thx for sharing your thoughts. Peace.
My number 1 song by him . The ending is just beautiful and to think it’s about racing cars . Love it .
A song of hope for all us men. God bless Bruce.
Racing in the streets in Asbury Park, NJ back in the 60' and 70's was a common thing at street lights on Kingsley Ave. That's where Bruce hung out and formed his bands.
I think this is a story about being cool as a young person, racing cars, machismo, getting the girl...etc. But, as we grow older, that chosen life isn't sustainable form security and happiness. Age reveals a hardness and regret..little else. I could be wrong but thats always been my interpretation.
The movie was made. The story is that after he wrote this song, he saw Two Lane Blacktop and said that the film pretty much matched the song. Two Lane Blacktop is James Taylor's only movie.
Interesting to hear this again...and my first thought was how this tune was such a welcome reprieve during Bruce's marathon high energy concerts..."back in the day". The universal theme of the struggle for meaning in life and how we define ourselves in our existence run throughout most Springsteen lyrics. Combined with seemingly everyday or common and relatable emotions,
interpretation is then
individualistic. That's Bruce's genius.
one of my favorite Bruce and e street band songs, listen to it over and over , never tire of the boss! if you listen , riding to the sea, to wash these sins off our hands, its a renewed concept, thanks for reaction to the boss! keep them coming! thank you. reason to believe is a great song you will enjoy, however i cant think of a springsteen song that is not amazing! he is called the boss for a reason, a true gift from God,
This is probably my favorite Springsteen song. I am not entirely sure why, although I can certainly identify with the superficial story. I used to race my Corvette up on Mulholland, in the Hollywood Hills - until I almost killed myself one night. However, there is something that is much deeper here. I don't really think this is about suicide, however. I think it is about renewal - driving to the sea to wash your sins away. That sounds more like Bruce to me.
The instrumental at the end is amazing live. Great reaction!
Bruce's songs are often described as cinematic...a little movie running through your head. I loved how you described the various possible meanings---that what a great song is supposed to do. have each listener be moved, and affected differently. Personally, this song has always given "gravitas" to our everyday lives, something I feel Bruce does beautifully!
I love ❤️ the way you really listen to the lyrics Harri
This song is from his Darkness on the Edge of Town album which I feel is start to finish his best work in a career of great albums
Driving is a central metaphor in Springsteen's music and the road symbolizes life. The characters in his songs often seek escape from the challenges of living; driving represents freedom and spiritual release. "Some guys come home from work and wash up, then go racing in the street." His music is filled with themes of people who are searching for peace but may never find it (a frequent reference to his father).
America, Canada - we were all racing in the streets. Have you ever seen "American Graffiti"?
Pure Americana. Girls...cars and having a great time. His best tour. Saw him over 10 times. Always epic.
You can look at this as the sequel to Born To Run. The guy and gal in that song were young and thought they were escaping to a better life. But then they got to adulthood and this is their life now. Not the happiness they dreamed of but instead the same miserable existence of their parents before them.
Great take on a great tune!
@@temporarystranger95 It's actually Bruce's take on the song and the record. I was paraphrasing what he said in the Promise documentary which is about the making of Darkness On The Edge Of Town.
You nailed it; the metaphor is about people that just equate older with being less alive...just a fear of getting every bit of life out of the years God gives you.
The characters in Bruce's songs aren't wealthy or heroic; they're the Everymen just trying to get through life without hating it. Sure...some people think "a hot rod is all you have in life???"......but it's not about the car; it's about coming to grips with life not being a magic lamp that grants you wishes. If you get 2 or 3 "wishes" in life that give you some happiness that seats you in the "normal horn" section of the orchestra with the rest of us. For me, it's my family, my model trains and the opportunity to serve as a volunteer firefighter and fire chief.
Great reaction Harri.
I'd have to say "The River " is my favourite
So many of his songs are mini movies set to music - "Thunder Road" "Jungleland" "Rock Away the Days" "Highway Patrolman" - he's a master lyricist.
One of the better songs to react to from the Springsteen catalog. Some of his lamest songs tend to get requested the most. Drives me nuts, lol. No, I won't name them but either you know which ones I'm referring to or you don't.
This is all about growing up in New Jersey and being a part of drag racing culture. In Michigan, we called them motorheads. Not sure what they were called in Jersey, their lives orbiting their cars. Fixing them, upgrading them, racing them. There is still this subculture all across America, but in the 50s-80s, it was one of the larger segments of the young culture here.
Going to the sea was to relax and make out. Watching the submarine races in Michigan.
Well, in the part of Jersey Bruce is from the sea shore is very close. It might not even be a metaphor. In a lot of places it's easy just to drive right up to the beach and hang out.
@@Boatzilla2 Very good point. I always thought they would make out and relax after a good night's racing, but that is honestly totally in my head. And I write romance novels. LOL, Nothing from the song makes that clear. You are never far from the ocean where he grew up.
Honestly, I think this illustrates the greatness of Bruce as a lyricist. His songs seem to trip things from your life and mind and make them more personally accessible. We all hear the same song, but it plays out in our minds in intimate ways.
The best of art of any type is always like that, timeless yet relevant.
@@MichaelBurhans Great point. I like your version. I grew up in Jersey, so I always felt he was really speaking to my experience (although I never did the racing or had any Jungleland type events). His imagery is so evocative.
@@Boatzilla2 I grew up in Detroit and was a bit of a gangster in my youth. Young, smart as hell, but dumber than a pile of donkey dung simultaneously. I had a ridiculously built-out racer.
So many of his songs seem written from my life. Yet every fan I know thinks that they were written about them. It is phenomenal art.
He finds the universal feeling of rites of passage in his life and makes you feel them as if they were your own.
We haven't even discussed his greatness as a live performer.
One of my arms is a musical sleeve, and he is one of the artists that made the cut.
@@MichaelBurhans Yes. The live experience is something else.
I love your channel! Please keep it up!
❤️❤️❤️this song has my heart. It reminds me of my years at the racetrack.
Bruce knew these characters. He grew up in Freehold NJ and there was a track and a bigtime car culture in that part of Jersey..
Bruce has said this song is a sequel to a lot of Beach Bos songs like Shut Down which talk about the street racing culture in California in the 60's.
This song always seems to me like a prelude to Bruce's "The River" which came later. Not about suicide though - more like disillusionment and the ways people cope with it.
Great reaction, Harri. I love your take on the song.
This whole album is fantastic. The title track "Darkness On The Edge of Town" is a great one, too.
I go back and forth with what my favorite Bruce album is, i guess based on my mood. (and maybe what i'm listening to at the moment lol) So i guess today it's "Darkness" 💕
Hi. If I were you I would check out 'Wreck on the highway' by Bruce Spingsteen. No one else did a reaction of that song, but it is great. Sad, but great. I am from Holland and you should try some Dutch bands, like Brainbox. They have great songs. If you like, I can give you some titles. Good luck.
Funny you mentioned it being like a movie.... Around this time Bruce has mentioned that he was watching lots of movies and you could argue the "racer" flows from the main character in Thunder Road which takes it's title from the movie of the same name.
Bruce..... live is always best
Awesome song: reminds me of back in my day with my 69 el camino SS
Last Date is a live album by Emmylou Harris & this is one of the songs she sings (does it full justice as well). Bruce returned the complement (for this & other covers Emmylou has done of his songs) by singing background vocals on her song Tragedy from her album Red Dirt Girl along with his wife Patti Scialfa.
The song suits Emmylou really well because even though it's a song about street racing cars & you would think the music that would go with that subject matter would be fast & propulsive it's instead slow with a sad melancholic rolling melody ; some of Bruce's songs verge on sounding country & if you just listen to the music of this one & forget about the words for a minute this song would fit the bill (it's melody is actually really beautiful just on it's own).
Emmylou adds that edge of sadness & yearning that she's famous for.
I think it was brave of her to sing it. It takes guts for a female singer to sing a song that's written from a male's perspective.
Car culture in the States? Car culture was born in the USA, so to speak, Hari! Consider that just a few days back you reacted to "Rocket 88", a song more or less bragging about a car. For a taste of classic songs about kids and cars, check out The Beach Boys -- "I Get Around", "Little Deuce Coupe", "Fun, Fun, Fun" -- and Jan & Dean -- "The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)", "Dead Man's Curve". Also check out "Lost in the Flood" from Springsteen's debut album. It tells the story of a veteran of the Vietnam War returning home to find solace in racing cars on the streets only to loose his life in a crash, while a street gang looses members in a shoot out with the police. The "Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London '75" version posted to Springsteen's TH-cam channel is particularly special.
Another subtle classic by The Boss!
For me is Bruce Springsteen one of the best of all time! My favourite song is "Human touch" ❤🙂
You needs to listen to a great cover version of "Human touch recorded of Bonnie Tyler". ❤🙂
There's something about the melody and lyrics that reminds me of "Blues For Baby and Me" by Elton John. Another great song.
I'm a "listen to the studio version" guy. This song is one of the exceptions.
Incredibly sad song about hanging on to the past.
I love the juxtapositions in this song. It's about racing and daring to live on the edge, but the tempo and the lyrics are slow and careful. I tend to believe that his 'baby' has come to understand that nothing and no one comes first to the dare devil that first attracted her.
I love his "Story Songs"! Can I recommend 'Highway Patrolman? This could be a movie too, I reckon. And so many more. Dancing in the Dark is a wonderful album. And his surname is pronounced Springsteen, as in Teen-ager.
"Highway Patrolman" was what Sean Penn's 1991 film "The Indian Runner" was based upon. David Morse (St. Elsewhere, The Green Mile) played Joe Roberts and Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy & Green Book) played his troubled brother, Frank.
@@christopheradams8707 Thank you Christopher for the info! I wanted to
listen to the song after my post, and I did. It was then I realized I didn't know what the hell I was talking about re a movie. Thanks for the info.
Your comment about British racers using Ford Fiesta in the 90's -Oh, I hope not! I had one of those, a red Fiesta, as a rental, when I was 21 years -between Inverness
, Scots', down through Wales, and finally to Birmingham. The Ford Fiesta was fine for a rental, but it gave me a headache at speeds like 80mph, as the front window is closer to the drivers head, then in an average American car. (I'm from the US, was staying in Europe in 1989-'90 -two weeks driving around England was one of my last big events of that year.) II can't imagine even with racing adaptions as being in a "Fast and Furious" scene.
This tune by Springsteen is at the end of his 4th album, "Darkness on the Edge of Town" -the title is really apt for several songs. Not a celebratory of leaving town by car, as "Born to Run" or "thunder Road" was before this. "Racing in the street" like the tile of his subsequent album "The River", and a few songs on that album, lead onto Bruce's solo "Nebraska" a dark trip into the heart of America.
Please react to Bruce Springsteen, New York City Seranade live in Rome 🙏 🙏 🙏 You're going to love it! Guaranteed!
Kind of reminds me of Jackson brown
I can hear that for sure. 👍✌️🇨🇦
To me this song is about guys who as they age, still don't give up on some of their boyhood pursuits such as racing cars. This song always reminds me of older guys that I used to play softball with. It was their main form of ego gratification. Their wives went along with it, but probably not the life they expected.
My baby and me, we're gonna ride to the sea, and wash these sins off our hands
Bruce mostly ends songs with hope, and I hear it in the music at the end
Apparently, it's Bob Dylan's favourite Springsteen song.
I've asked another reaction channel to react to Prove It All Night (circa 78 Phoenix or Houston) on numerous occasions now but to no avail, perhaps you could react to it and give it its just desserts?
Well stated Hari!
Adam raised a Cain..great song
There's a really great live version of this song on Springsteen's "Live 1975-1985" compilation album.
reminds me of my late teens, had a li'l chevy vega, 4 cyl. took from factory 90hp to 210 hp and 13 second runs in the 1/4 mi ... aaaah those were the days ... nearly 50 yrs ago ....
Nice reaction. It looks like you've been dancing around his work without hitting the high notes. IMHO, Springsteen is at his best when he takes every day, suburban life -and makes it epic - and no-where does he do this better than on his breakout album, Born to Run - and the best songs on that album - the must hear songs are, in order, Jungleland, Born to Run, Thunder Road, and Backstreets. Give Jungleland a go - it's an amazing song.
The Sea is a baptism. New beginning.
Should listen to one of the live versions, they are in a different league.
Gotta see the live version of this song, really amazing (Hyde Park, 2009)
Please check "moonlight motel" by Bruce Springsteen 🙏
I agree with you the "Racing" is a metaphor- I always thought it could be about being in a band, a DJ, or involved in some kind of "cool scene". I thought the girl was in that car racing scene and takes off with him. But a few years later, it's not so cool anymore and she's more domesticated and wonders when he'll grow up and be too. Again, it's more about marrying/settling down with a person that's always out of the house pursuing their passion while the partner/spouse waits for them to settle down and be normal. Nice Job, Man.
It's Jersey the shore isn't far I always read it as a break just getting a little space between them and real life. The whole song is about the gap between what you wanted life to be and how it turns out. Racing is a very real thing but it's also this guy who find being an adult crushing running away from home.
We definitely raced our cars in the streets here in the states.
The darkness on the edge of town… Been there..
Street racing was the biggest thing at this time, every city and town had their own race strips, usually illegal
This one and Jungleland are Springsteen's best IMHO. Both definitely metaphorically. Both evolving around the big American dream - and how it's never what's it's laid out to be.
Today Jason Isbell is one of very few songwriters that can touch this. Check out his "Something more than free". Brilliantly written on this same subject.
Darkness on the Edge of Town ... is my favorite Bruce album. Not a bad tune on it ....
Watch Something in the Night from the same album. Powerful. Also, you gotta watch a live performance of Racing in the Streets Live to hear some great piano playing.
It is interesting you caught the metaphor from the song that people come home from their jobs, and have certain habitual actions outside of their job that keep them alive.
The 6th house represents your job. The 5th house your hobby. 5th house is the future of your 1st house representing yourself, so 5th house represents dreams and hobbites that keep you alive. 3rd house is the actions you do that make you proficient in your hobbies because the 3rd is the 11th (gains) to your 5th. Most of the times these actions of the 3rd can sometimes override your job of the 6th (3rd being 10th to the 6th meaning 3rd taking control over the 6th) giving a feeling that the actions you do for your hobby, are more masterful and important than the actions that you put into the job.
Bruce Springsteen songs are often about being disappointed in how things actually turned out - often hiddennin an upbeat melody. Not this one but almost all imof the Born in the USA album qualifies.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
We definitely have racing in the USA. IT reminds me of my racing years
America invented it Harry : )
Not a weak track on that whole album.
#1. POINT BLANK, 2. SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT, 3. THE RIVER, 4. DOWNBOUND TRAIN.
We fill up our lives with sensation to stave off the existential dread of withering to nothing. Otherwise we have to ask ourselves "What is it all for"?
I think that she gave up her dream for his and he didn't recognize her sacrifice
In my opinion, Springsteen's message in this song is not a positive one...there are no heroes here...he's talking about misfits (see other Bruce's song "Johnny 99" from "Nebraska").. Racing in the street has not to be done.....in Italy people who do this "sport" are criminals, litteraly !.....but this song is wonderful !!!...and I agree with you Harri...Springsteen's outros are epic !!!
Not familiar with a lot of his catalog, but love Downbound Train
Pete Townshend once called that coda the saddest piece of music he'd heard.
the emotion in the word alright in the line "baby did you make it alright" arrests me everytime.
its a haunting song, one that means a lot to me.
thank you for the reaction ❤❤
You may be right about the suicide angle, as an early haunting outtake version replaces "racing in the street" with "dying in the street". th-cam.com/video/iRA7hyYbTf0/w-d-xo.html
Townes van Zandt's version of this song is superior, totally heartbreaking.
I meant the Album Darkness on the Edge of Town! A Wonderful album. Actually Dancing in the Dark is my least favourite Bruce song! 🤣
You haven’t tried the acoustic version on the Tracks album. Brings it back to its raw, desperate bones.
Huge mistake to take this version, try again but now the live version.... this is ok, live is perfect
I'm sure you know the songs is not about cars.
neither is Pink Cadillac lol
👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
Don't like the song but glad you posted it.
Seems too produced, typical stuff.
Love your POV.
Not a song for me..maybe a car fanatic..
Yes. It’s really not about an actual car.