Bruce Springsteen, Rock & Roll icon and foolishly, a hero for the Blue Collar-Working Class. Democrats love to prop him up as one of theirs and how he speaks for the little guy. Republicans have tried to latch onto his music and themes to try and co-opt that "we support the blue collar Americans" bullshit. But the fact is, all he has ever known of hard working, blue collar Americans he either read about or was told, and then he turned it into his storytelling lyrics. He grew up middle class, his mother worked at law firm, his dad was a bus driver, he had a Grandfather that was lawyer. He didn't spend years working in steel mills or building cars on an assembly line or digging in coal mines.
So let's just begin this all with he played everyone. He's not Johnny Blue Collar. He's a millionaire that writes stories about Johnny Blue Collar. Then we have his nickname, "The Boss." So he goes by "the Boss" but average Americans bought into the myth that he's one of us and speaks for us. Last I checked, the vast majority of us blue collar folks hate our boss, because while the average working class Joe or Jane bust their ass just to scrape by, the boss coasts by and gets nice bonuses based of Joe and Jane's hard work. Seriously America, this guy played the whole damn country.
Then we get into some of his lyrics. No I'm not talking about "Born In the USA." I'm talking about some classics the ladies all seem to love, but he doesn't write the ladies in a very nice light.
From Secret Garden:
"She'll let you in her house
If you come knockin' late at night
She'll let you in her mouth
If the words you say are right
If you pay the price
She'll let you deep inside"
But that was in "Jerry MaQuire" so it was so sweet right?
Let's get into the classic, "Thunder Road" here are some of his not so loving, but 'I want to fuck you' words to Mary.
Early on we get:
"Don't run back inside
Darling, you know just what I'm here for"
Leading us to :
"Show a little faith there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me"
You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me"
Progressing to;
"We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting down on the tracks"
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting down on the tracks"
And then:
"From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride ain't free
And I know you're lonely"
In "Born to Run" run he's talking to Wendy with a bunch of car metaphors:
"Wendy, let me in, I wanna be your friend
I wanna guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
And strap your hands 'cross my engines"
I wanna guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
And strap your hands 'cross my engines"
Then we have the songs, "The River," "Candy's Room" and "Tunnel of Love" where all three titles are used as vaginal metaphors, made plenty clear by the stories these songs tell.
Then we have the hit song "Fire" that many women call sexy and back in the day was always on "Sexist Song" lists. But you read the lyrics and it doesn't seem sexy. Seems kind of date rapey.
"I'm driving in my car
I turn on the radio
I'm pulling you close
You just say no
You say you don't like it
But girl I know you're a liar
'Cause when we kiss
Ooooh, Fire
Late at night
I'm takin' you home
I say I wanna stay
You say you wanna be alone
You say you don't love me
Girl you can't hide your desire
'Cause when we kiss
Oh, Fire
Fire
You had a hold on me
Right from the start
A grip so tight
I couldn't tear it apart
My nerves all jumpin'
Actin' like a fool
Well your kisses they burn
But your heart stays cool
Romeo and Juliet
Samson and Delilah
Baby you can bet
Their love they didn't deny
Your words say split
But your words they lie
'Cause when we kiss
Mmmmmm, Fire
Fire
Burnin in my soul
It's outta control"
The last example I'll give is "Red Headed Woman." It was written in the early 90's about his second wife. So while the lyrics seem like they were written by a high school sophomore, they were written by a 40 year old male songwriter, who clearly could never get out of his high school boy view of women.
"Well brunettes are fine man
And blondes are fun
But when it comes to getting the dirty job done
I'll take a red headed woman
A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done
Well listen up stud
Your life's been wasted
'Til you've got down on your knees and tasted
A red headed woman
A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done
Tight skirt, strawberry hair
Tell me what you've got baby, waiting under there
Big green eyes that look like, son
They can see every cheap thing that you ever done
Well I don't care how many girls you've dated, man
But you ain't lived 'til you've had your tires rotated
By a red headed woman
A red headed woman
It takes a red headed woman
To get a dirty job done"Listen, I'm not here to say we should cancel Bruce Springsteen...I don't speak for everyone, I speak for myself. I cancelled him from my musical preferences years ago, because I saw the bullshit, con-man he was. I often joked about the "You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright" line because its gotta be in the top 5 shittiest ways to tell someone you want to fuck them. But I find it odd how females pick and choose who they will tolerate what from, and Springsteen is one of those that baffles me. Dude is a fake and a scumbag.
