Girls In Their Summer Clothes by Bruce Springsteen

"Girls In Their Summer Clothes" music video
"Girls In Their Summer Clothes" live performance

“Girls In Their Summer Clothes” is one of the reasons I love music. Springsteen brings together in a single song nostalgia, pain, hope and most of all beauty. The single most important quality of music is how it makes us feels. You know that quiet smile to yourself as you remember happy memory from your childhood? That is how “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” feels.

After seven albums with the E Street Band that cemented Springsteen as one of the most important forces in rock music he decided to disband the band and do some solo work. Critics had good things to say about Springsteen’s solo work but never reached the popularity of his work with the E Street Band.

Then came the attack on the World Trade Centers on September 11th, 2001. In response to this tragedy, Springsteen recorded his first album with the E Street Band in 18 years, The Rising. One of the few albums in popular music to directly respond to the 9/11. After two successful tours, the E Street Band disbanded again, until their triumphant return in 2007 with Magic, While The Rising received good reviews, critics and fans viewed Magic as an even greater musical accomplishment and “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” is one of the best reasons why.

“Girls In Their Summer Clothes” is symphony of color and light. Springsteen and producer Brenda O’Brien emulated the Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” production techniques featured in “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” creating a depth in the sound that surrounds the listeners. Within this world of sound Springsteen takes the listener on a journey through a summer night and into the hopes of the brokenhearted.

“Girls in their Summer Clothes” begins with a sentimental reflection on a small town during a summer night. The narrator has a certain sense of peace and reflection as he watches girls walk by. There is wonder and glory in the simple beauty of life that continues in the second verse. Springsteen does refer to economic struggle with money being “tight” which is a common theme in his music but this is followed by the hope: “but I know their gonna turn my way.”

The bridge tells a vignette of a small town diner on the edge of town. Springsteen builds the intensity as the waitress, Shaniqua questions what is on Bill’s mind. Like a musical time warp, we enter the bridge as an observer and exit with Bill answering Shaniqua’s concerns.

In the last verse Bill recounts a lost love to Shaniqua “she went away, she cut me like a knife” but is quick to comment how Shaniqua’s presence makes him, “Hello beautiful thing, maybe you could save my life.” In these words, we can feel Shaniqua smiling back to Bill as he explains: “Love's a fool's dance I ain't got much sense but I still got my feet.”

Springsteen adds fascinating musical illustrations throughout this song. In the beginning of the song in the line “well, the street lights shine. . . ” a guitar enders on the word “shine” reverberating like light shining through the darkness. In the second verse the drums enter leading up to a drum hit on the word “smack” supporting the line “A kid’s rubber ball smacks.” Small touches like these though not all always noticed add a level of depth to the song as Springsteen utilizes every musical opportunity to add meaning to the song.

Part of the wonder of the song is in its simplicity. Each phrase of the melody gently rises and falls while the harmony progressing without any surprises. It’s not the complexity of the music but how the simple pieces are arranged that capture the feeling of a summer night.

I can’t really explain why “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” takes me away like it does and that is why I love music so much. I can explain every lyric and note in a song but at the end of every analysis you are left with the way the song makes you feel, which is something that can never be completely understood. Like faith and love, the fact that music is something that we cannot completely explain is why music is so personal, so meaningful, and so magical.