Drive All Night by Bruce Springsteen

How do you read the end of The River? “Drive All Night” is an outward in its expression of emotion. Bruce is melodramatic and not subtle at all in that song. It’s incredibly repetitive with a rather simplistic and obvious expression of love. This is immediately followed by “Wreck On The Highway, which is a beautifully subtle and nuanced way to describe how much he cares about her through observing a tragedy. It’s the most jarring contrast in the album.

I’ve been struggling with this question for the past two weeks as I tried to understand what Bruce was thinking. So I went through my “how to understand a Bruce Springsteen"-process.

Step 1: Listen to the song
Step 2: Listen to the song again
Step 3: Read the lyrics, analyze them
Step 4: Listen to the song again
Step 5: Google the song and read various people’s commentary on the song
Step 6: Sing the song, either a capella or with the recording
Step 7: Watch a live performance of the song.
Step 8: Go back to Step 1and try again.

It wasn’t until I got to Step 7 when this song started to make sense to me.



Bruce standing on a stage declaring his love in a darkened stadium in front of a sea of lights is a beautiful image. There is something so honest and so real.  On the studio album, "Drive All Night," comes across as drawn out as Bruce's voice strains toward the end of the song.  On stage Bruce comes across as one of the Bobby Hatfield singing "Unchained Melody."   

“Drive All Night,” isn’t a look into the internal dialogue of a man’s deepest feelings like “Wreck On The Highway.” This is a love song, a persuasive letter, a desperate plea from a man to get back the girl he has lost. Something has happened that has torn them apart, and now she is in tears and he’s doing, and saying everything he can to get her back.

He’s a man telling his woman how much he love her.  

The chorus seems a little trite. He’ll drive all night to get her shoes? But quickly this line go into wanting to sleep tonight in her arms. Sometimes things we do for the ones we love seem ridiculous but there’s something romantic about this moment. Sometimes it’s not the big grand gestures, sometimes it’s a small thing, almost an inside joke. The whole thing about the shoes echoes a memory, a crazy act he once did for her that he’s willing to do again.  When you watch Bruce sing these lines live, you realize like the greats soul-singers of the past, he could be singing a page out of the phone book and it would still feel romantic.  

The verses don’t seem that intricate until you see them on paper. With songs like “Thunder Road,” the speed of the text brings out the symbolism but with “Drive All Night” it's different.  You still have great poetry but the slow tempo the lyrics are sung makes them seem more like something a regular man would say, not a poet.

The second verse brings in angels calling for strangers that she needs deal with. These are ghosts, regret and everything that keeps us from our dreams. It’s powerful that this man has the insight to her trauma and has the desire to help her work through this tough part of her life.

There's machines and there's fire waiting on the edge of town
They're out there for hire but baby they can't hurt us now
Cause you've got . . . my love heart and soul.

The power of love is described with so much conviction that even if we don’t believe that his love can conquer her life’s issues, these words make us want to. 

I wrote in my post about “Wreck On The Highway,” that it ended abruptly. After listening to a double album, we need an epic Springsteen ending. We get that with “Drive All Night.” Bruce’s repetition, the way he builds towards the end of the song is the perfect way to reflect on all of the drama and the characters that we experienced throughout The River. Except for “Point Blank,” and “The River” this song is almost twice as along as every other song and is the longest song on the album.

“Drive All Night,” draws The River into a stunning and powerful climax. “Wreck On The Highway,”  are the credits. It’s our time to pause and reflect. It’s our transition back into reality. It’s how we actually feel as opposed to the unattainable romanticism we long for from "Drive All Night."

Sometimes when people ask me what’s so great about Springsteen, I’m at a loss for words. There’s just so much he does so well. But the one thing more than anything else that makes him special is that when he sings, you believe him.  I still don't believe him when on the studio version of "Drive All Night," but watching this live performance I'm taken to that place where music breaks the walls of logic into the depth of the human heart and I believe. 

I believe Bruce and I believe in love.  

Piano Man by Billy Joel

All iconic artists have a signature song.  Elton John has “Your Song,” Springsteen has “Born To Run,” and Billy Joel has “Piano Man.”

One of the things that many American, and some artists whoa re not American have done with a their music is to define the American experience. Billy Joel does this in a similar way that Springsteen does with working-class characters and deep nostalgia from times that came before while also acknowledging the flaws of the past, like Joel sings in “Keeping The Faith,” “the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”



Joel’s music has always had a harsher edge and a more cynical almost punk rock aesthetic. “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me,” sounds bitter and “She’s Always A Woman,” has a strange almost sarcastic feeling to it (which I wrote about in this earlier post).

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Joel’s signature song has a similar feel. “Piano Man,” is a song about dreams unfulfilled. It’s about people dealing with regret and trying to escape their the reality of their lives. When described this way, “Piano Man,” seems like a bleak and joyless song, but when you listen to it, you realize that it is something very different.

I’ve never been to a bar that had a piano man like Joel playing at it, but he paints such a vivid picture of the bar that you feel like you are part of that world. There’s depth in all of the descriptions of his characters that help you imagine deeper stories like in a good fantasy story.

The whole song swirls and rallies around the song itself. The chorus is the chorus of the people in the song and as we sing along to this song we become one more person sitting in that bar, with all of our own worries and fears, simply wanting to be lost in a song.

In many ways this is what Joel has done his entire career.  When I watched him perform in Wrigley Field last summer, I could feel how much he wanted his music to be a participatory event and how much that he wanted to take the audience away.

Joel is much more of a realist and his bitterness and anger reflects the “angry young man” in all of us in ways that pop music from previous generations did not. He worked through the pessimism of the 1970s and the cynicism of the 1980s with a song in his heart.

We demand the piano man to sing for us, because we need him to forget about life a while. He put into song the desire we all have for escape and provides that escape at the same time. “Piano Man” is the definition of great pop song. It’s specific enough to relate to our own lives but ambiguous enough to appeal to mass audiences. It melds styles of music together in subtle and unexpected ways and as good as it feels to listen to, it reaches a higher level of meaning when you let go and sing along.

She Drive Me Crazy by The Fine Young Cannibals

Before I knew the difference between falsetto and chest voice, I knew there was something weird and kind of awesome about “She Drive Me Crazy.” Rarely does a singer make as a dramatic shift between singing styles as Roland Gift does in this 1988 hit.



While this switch from head voice to chest voice is notable, there are many other things about this song that are memorable. There’s the sparse but fitting instrumental background, the incredible hook and the overall “you can’t help but smile,” feeling you get when you hear this song. If you looked at the lyrics by themselves, they would seem a little dark. The first verse is about a feeling that he can’t control and feeling tortured by the fact that he is waiting for her. The lyrics of obsession continue in the second verse and by the third verse he states, “I can’t make it, on my own.”

The weird thing about love is that these feelings that seems like torture make you feel like you are alive in ways that you could never imagine which you feel when the words are placed to the music.

Part of the way that you know you are in love with someone is the fact that you don’t feel like you are in complete control of your thoughts or your feelings. This kind of drives you (and often your friends) crazy because you really can’t help but talk about this person. Yes, this can get a little annoying sometimes but more that this feeling of craziness is accompanied with a kind of joy that only comes from that first burst of love.

Than there’s Kermit’s version. . .



This verson plays the verses against the chorus, which flips this song into a conversation. Wait a second, is that what the original song was going for? Are the Fine Young Cannibals portraying a person with multiple personalities who is literally driving himself crazy?

Mind = blown.

Man, who isn’t in this video? Was that Dick Clark and Little Richard? Ok, anyways. Fine Young Cannibals created one of the greatest feel good rock songs of all time. While some may think of them as a one hit wonder, they had some other great songs like “The Flame” which my brother and I spent a couple months in high school believing was the greatest song of all time.

Father of Mine by Everclear

“The classic parent attitude with a kid is like, ‘I brought you into this world, I gave you life.’ . . . I just think completely opposite, my kids gave me life."

-Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Some say that we are destined to become like our parents when we become parents ourselves. This is a scary for many people, even those who have great parents that they love.  The things we hate about our parents are the things we don’t like about ourselves and in becoming a parent we are forced to face these insecurities.

Thankfully for kids all over the world, people can fight that destiny and become better than their parents when they step into that role. The film The Other F Word takes a look at punk rock musicians dealing with fatherhood.



At first this film simply seems like a comical look at seeing guys with tattoos deal with doing ordinary things like helping their daughters pick out clothes for the day. What is revealed however is that this is a group of men defying destiny to become great dads.

Punk is a genre of music that takes the rebellious themes of rock music and amplifies them with anger, hatred and an uncomfortable rawness. A lot of these emotions come out of the fact that these musicians had absent, abusive or emotionally distant fathers. This bitterness and anger led to their music but also their choices as fathers.

Art Alexakis of Everclear is featured playing “Father of Mine,” in this film as he tells the story of the relationship he had with his father.



This song tells the story of his father, leaving Art and his mother at a young age. Art fills out this story in the film talking about sexual abuse he suffered as a kid and the feelings of never being sane or safe which he sings about in the song.

You can hear anger in this song but there’s more than that. There’s a sadness and a determination as he sings towards the end, “With a child of my own . . . I swear I’m not going to let her know all the pain I have known. “ It’s seems somehow tragic but also triumphant as Art unpacks his feelings but then turns this frustration and hate into love.

The most powerful thing about "Father Of Mine," and The Other F Word is that shows us that no matter what we are born into, we are not destined to repeat the sins of our fathers.  It's not easy but its possible.  Abandoned children can become great parents, outcasts can contribute to our society by raising great children and anger can become love. 

Long As I Can See The Light by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Sometimes I feel like I don’t know where I’m going.

It’s kind of like that whole thing where you can feel alone even when you’re in a crowd. I have a general idea where my life is going. I’m lucky enough to be married and have a great job, which really brings a level of stability and predictability to life.  But then things happen that remind you that all of the plans we make don't give us a true sense of direction. 

It’s the things that you can’t control that throw your life off course, which are the most meaningful. If you really think about the moments that changed your life, it’s never things that you can predict or control. These moments are the sad ones like sickness and death but also the amazing ones like finding love and your wife getting pregnant.

These things are awesome and they make the world seem completely different but they also throw you off. Where do you find your point of orientation, how do keep on the path? For some people it’s God, for others it’s their family and for John Fogerty, it’s simply the light.



Fogerty’s music reflects life's journey. The music he did with Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a soloist speaks to finding peace and somewhere whether its’ out a back porch or simply in a sunny day.

“Long As I Can See The Light,” is a simple song. It only has one repeated section, there’s no bridge or chorus. Not very many artists can get away with this but the melody is beautifully crafter like Brandi Carlile’s “The Story,” that you don’t mind the repetitive nature of the song.

“The light,” can be interpreted literally as a bright window in the dark, but the song quickly hints at something deeper.  Fogerty sings about an inevitable journey that will eventually bring him home. He sings about a need to go out, explore and travel but also the need for this light to direct his path.

What’s revelatory about this song is that even though there is this deep unknown, there is a certainty that he will come home.  It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t know where he is going, he’ll find his way home.

Too often in life we think about our journeys as going somewhere. Fogerty reminds us that while our paths take us to strange and foreign lands, at the end they lead us right back home.

That’s a comforting thought, because I know that no matter how lost and scared I feel, at the end, life will lead me back home to Diana. The light in my life is whatever force brought us together and continues to lead us to each other when life's journeys pull us apart. 

Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel

“Mrs. Robinson” isn’t really about Mrs. Robinson.

The Graduate is one of the greatest films of all time. This film about a recent college graduate’s struggle to figure out his life reflects a shared experience and feeling that twenty-something's across generations experience.

Then of course there is Mrs. Robinson who seduces, the recent college graduate, Benjamin while he is going out with her daughter. The whole cross-generational affair is enough to cause controversy and interest in viewers, but it’s really not the point of the film. The point is . . . well. . . it’s complex and multilayered and you’re just going to have to watch it to figure it out for yourself.

Mike Nichols’ the director of The Graduate became obsessed with Simon & Garfunkel, and asked for three songs to be written for this film. Paul Simon came up with the shell of one about Mrs. Roosevelt, Joe DiMaggio and times past. After some lyric changes, a stripped down version without verse appeared in the film.

Later Simon & Garfunkel completed this song and released it on their 1968 album, Bookends. Along with “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” (which I discussed in this earlier post), “Mrs. Robinson” became one of Simon & Garfunkel’s signature songs and one of the most popular songs of the decade.



Now when I said that this song isn’t about Mrs. Robinson, it’s because, she’s really not a respected or heroic figure in the film. The lyrics of this song really don’t hold the depth that later Paul Simon songs do. He admitted that the Joe DiMaggio reference had more to do with syllables then meaning and also there’s the fact that it was originally Mrs. Roosevelt that he was singing about.

What we are left is really about gratitude, trying to convince someone how important and meaningful they are to the people around them. It’s a beautiful sentiment and every time the chorus rises, you feel a sense of warmth and love.

If you take this song as being separate from the film, it takes on a whole other level of meaning. It’s not about the loss and confusion of The Graduate, rather it’s a reassuring anthem to a person who doesn’t realize how special she is to the people in her life.

Watch The Graduate and sing along with “Mrs. Robinson.” Try not to get them mixed up with each other. Sometimes we find meaning when we put things together but other times we find even more meaning when we look at things separately.

Skipping by Eddie Vedder

I don’t know what it means to be a parent.

As a teacher I’m responsible for my “kids,” but at the end of the day, they go home to their parents and I go home to my wife and my dog.

I’ve talked to parents, read books about parents and I’m currently watching Parenthood on Netflix. Parenthood is something that is on my mind not only because of my profession but because it’s something that God-willing will be part of my future.

I first heard Eddie Vedder’s “Skipping,” in a funeral. Throughout the service stories of an 18-year old boy filled the church. A couple pews in front of me I could see between a mother’s grief as she listened to people talk about her son.



When I read in the program that an Eddie Vedder song would be played during the service, I was surprised. My exposure to Eddie Vedder was pretty limited and my main impression of him came from Pearl Jam’s controversial hit, “Jeremy.” But as the voice of a young girl squeaked out between a calming guitar line and Vedder’s distinctive baritone started, I realized I was listening to something very special.

Vedder wrote “Skipping,” for his daughter as part of the charity album, Every Mother Counts, dedicated to addressing the issue of maternal mortality during pregnancy. This song was one of the mother’s and the son’s favorites. As the song played, each lyrics seemed to be written about their relationship.

The simple act of holding hands, which we take for granted, was a central way that this mother and son communicated their love. Like the service, this song is full of thanksgiving and cherishing the moments that bring true meaning into life.

“Forever we’ll talk and forever we’ll drown in each other skipping around,” could not have meant more in that moment as we all sat there contemplating how forever could exist in the memories we hold in our hearts.

The most powerful story that was told during the service was about how the son would feel after surgery.  This boy had to go through many difficult medical procedures in his life and he would wake up confused after the operations, not understanding what had happened or where he was. Then his mom would reach through the jungle of tubes and wires to hold his hand. He would know immediately that it was his mom and he would calm down. As Vedder sings, “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,” could not keep this mom from holding her son’s hand.

This service and "Skipping," gave me a glimpse of the love between a mother and a child.  More than that it made me realize how much I don't understand about the human heart.  There's so much I have yet to experience in life and while that fact is intimidating, it's kind of exciting.

There's a lot of amazing things on this planet but I'm not sure I'll ever witness something quite as powerful and beautiful as the love I saw during that service of a parent for a child. 

Badlands by Bruce Springsteen

One of my friends jokingly said that Springsteen doesn’t sing his own songs in his concerts because the audience sings along. People pay big bucks to go to his shows sing in a big group like a live Karaoke band. 

Of course, I disagree with this.  Springsteen works harder on stage than most musicians, half his age.  But I didn't understand how meaningful his music really was until I heard "Badlands" at the end of a funeral service. 

Singing along to music can mean very different things to different people. Sometimes it’s nostalgia and other times it’s just loosing yourself in music through euphoric joy. You can have a song that is not that deep or meaningful and sing-along with a stadium full of people and have fun. It’s an amazing thing.  But with Bruce Springsteen, it’s more than that.

Imagine yourself at a Black Eyed Peas concert singing these lyrics along with the band:

I gotta feeling...
That tonight's gonna be a good night
That tonight's gonna be a good night
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night!

Now try to imagine singing these words along with Bruce and the E Street Band:

Lights out tonight,
trouble in the heartland.
Got a head-on collision,
smashin' in my guts, man.
I'm caught in a crossfire,
that I don't understand.

I’m not making the argument that the Black Eyed Peas are an inferior band (I did that in this earlier post). But they are doing something very different and singing along to “I Gotta Feeling,” means something different than singing along to “Badlands.”

Springsteen tells the story of a man who through struggles and hardships realizes some truths about life. The first verse talks about being in a figurative “head-on collision” and a “crossfire.” He’s fed up. He doesn’t care for the “same old played out scenes” and he wants something real. It’s the same fear and reservation that is expressed “Thunder Road,” of a life that may go to waste through inaction.

The chorus states that the sorrow and broken hearts of the past as a price that you have to pay to make these badlands, these rough times in our lives to “start treating us good.”  The second verse continues these conclusion that the protagonist has made:

Poor man wanna be rich
Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
Till he rules everything

These are the truths about human nature and greed. In understanding these things we realize that it’s love, faith and hope as Springsteen sings that will raise us up, not wealth.  The bridge is a stirring and proud declaration of unity and perseverance:

For the ones who had a notion,
A notion deep inside.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive,
I wanna find one face that ain't looking through me,
I wanna find one place, I wanna spit in the face of these badlands.

"Badlands" symbolizes all of the people who try to keep us down and Springsteen stirs the spirit inside of us to throw those shackles aside, be glad that we’re alive and search for meaning in the relationships that truly matter.

From the first opening riff, “Badlands,” is a celebration. The guitar solos and Clarence’s incredible saxophone solo are like the ending of “Thunder Road,” extended out into one amazing feeling of liberation.

Springsteen’s music and songs like “Badlands,” hold profound spiritual meaning for people. Singing along to these songs inspires people with strength and hope.

On my desk is a memorial card for a young man who died at the age of 18. On the front is his picture and on the back is information about the young man and the memorial service. About halfway down the back is a small cross and below the cross are these lyrics:

Well, I believe in the love
that you gave me.
I believe in the faith
that could save me.
I believe in the hope and
I pray that some day,
It may raise me
above these Badlands . . .

“Badlands,” isn’t just another pop song. Bruce Springsteen is not just another rock star. To this young man’s family, his words are an expression of what made this life that is now over, meaningful.  As I sat there in the church I couldn't help but softly sing-along, closer to a prayer than a song with grace and thanksgiving.

Some Nights by Fun

Where did this guy learn his dance moves? From One Direction? And what is he wearing? Why is he wearing a woman's trench coat and why is he wearing riding pants? The rise is all wrong, it's like down to his knees. And his pants are way too short for his shoes.

- Diana (my wife)

I got to admit that their fashion also distracted me from the fact that they were performing “Some Nights,” a great pop song with some revealing and insightful lyrics set in a unique musical landscape.

“Some Nights,” describes a man lost in the circumstances that life has put him in. The title line, “some nights,” sets our minds somewhere between the magic in the night that can uplift us and the darkness that haunts us.

Fun tells the story of a man unsure of his life and his surroundings. “What do I stand for?” echoes through the song as he questions the world that he lives in, which encourages us to reexamine our own lives.

The opening call is a glorious and confident musical statement. It sounds like a call to action, a call to war. It’s starts the song as a chorus for all to sing along with but the lyrics present an unexpected banner to unite behind.

By “cashing in” his bad luck he is saying that he is giving up on fighting. Sometimes he thinks his lips, his words can build things up, but other times he wishes that he would loose the power of speech all together. He is haunted by a ghost of someone he cares about and ends declaring for the entire world to hear, that he doesn’t know what he stands for.

What we stand for comes from our beliefs. More often than not we declare what we would like to believe as opposed to what we actually believe. In a sense, this song is asking up what we truly believe in.

Fun takes us through some different settings to help us explore our own beliefs. There is the setting of war, declaring that he doesn’t believe hype and the pressures of his peers, “I try twice as hard and I’m half as liked.” He wishes that, “this all would end,”so he could find himself in his friends.

The most powerful line in the song is when he considers his nephew and the fact that this amazing life came from a “terrible night.” This line brings different situations into our mind but instead of dwelling on what happened, we are left we the question in our minds. What if what we stand for can result in an outcome that we don’t expect? What if we are wrong?

All of these questions are set against a mash of 1980s rock vocals, march like percussion and dance-pop sounds. It initially doesn’t make any sense how such existential lyrics fit such glorious sounding music.

If you believe that values are not to be questioned and that you stand, unwavering in your belief than this song doesn’t really work. However if you’ve been in the world and encountered the lives of others you realize that the journey of life is all about questioning who we are and what we believe in. This is not something to be ashamed of or feared because this is something we all share.

The days when the world makes perfect sense and you know for sure what you stand for come right before the nights when this all comes into question.  Look forward to those nights because it is in those moments that you see the most amazing things.  

Thunder Road - Part 2: What else can we do now?

Sometimes life answers our prayers in ways that we don’t expect.

Yes, Mary can hide from the world, throw down the gift of roses and push away the boys that have tried to comfort her. She can wait for some figure, some savior to appear. What Mary doesn’t realize is that the person she is looking for is right in front of her.

He knows he’s no hero. The only way he can bring her “redemption,” bring meaning to her sins and her heartache is ride out into the open road, to escape and find freedom.



He can’t offer her the world but he can help her find it. In the simple joy of feeling the wind in her hair, and the possibility of the open road there is liberation. There’s a sense that anything can happen. With uncertainty mixed with excitement, they’ve got one more chance to strip their wings, the angelic visions of their dreams, for the reality of these wheels that can drive them to everything and anywhere. It’s a transformation from the dreams you’ve prayed for to the blessings you’ve never imagined.

The name “Thunder Road,” an allusion to a Robert Mitchum film brings images of romance, the unknown and mystery. Like a “killer in the sun,” a criminal with no where to hide they can make it to this magical place, their own personal promised land, if they run.

What does he really have to offer her? In a moment of childlike excitement he describes his guitar. There’s a sense that he is trying to impress her but then he quickly pulls back. He knows that it truly is a long walk from her front porch to his front seat. He explains that the ride isn’t free because he knows that there are things that he is asking her to sacrifice.

There are words that she longs to hear from him that he can't speak.  It’s in this acknowledgement that we realize that this is not the end of a journey but the beginning of one.  He will eventually say these words she needs to hear as he promises that he can provide her freedom.

This part of the song is all about the things that we hope for coming true in ways that we never expect. Life doesn’t always have a sense of urgency because it all seems infinite but it’s not.

We need to trade in our illusions, face the possibilities in our life and take whatever path will make our dreams come true.

Thunder Road - Part 1: Magic In The Night

To celebrate my 300th post on this blog I presented “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen.  I felt that post did this song justice embracing all of what this song meant to me by letting the song speak for itself.

Lately I’ve felt myself drawn to this song. It’s like I need this song in my life right now. Maybe it’s my grandmother dying, becoming comfortable being thirty, or the other changes in my life. I’m not sure. But I’m finding what I’m searching for in my life in this song now more than ever.

I have hesitated to write about this song because it so magical and I fear that I lack the skills to really articulate everything that this song is about. It’s time to not be afraid and to look deep within this song. To know what a song is about is to know what it means and it is within this meaning that we find ourselves.



It starts with an invitation, a guitar and piano ascending carefully, dancing and flowing in and out of each other. “Thunder Road’s” introduction is one of the most famous album openings. As the first track on Springsteen’s pivotal album Born To Run, “Thunder Road” was the entry point into a universe of characters that would encapsulate everything that is rock music.

With each line Springsteen paints a vivid picture. The sound of a screen door, the waving of a vision of grace as Mary comes into our world. Originally, this girl was Angelina and then Christina but in the end Springsteen settled on Mary. This name brings forth images of the innocent virgin carrying an unimaginable burden to the mother watching her only son suffer. These visions mix together with a girl standing nervously facing the road ahead.

One of the ways that you know that you are in love is when love songs begin to make sense. As our unnamed protagonist identifies with Orbison’s song for the lonely we know there is something immediate and powerful about his feelings. He begs for her not to leave him because he “can’t face myself alone again.” She’s turned him home and he’s tried to imagine his life without her that he can’t.

She has doubts. Maybe she’s not that young girl, the idea woman. He begs her to have faith and believe in him. When he says that she “ain’t a beauty,” he isn't saying that he doesn’t think she’s pretty. Instead he’s embracing what she is, not the woman she wishes she could be.

The song starts by setting a scene and switches perspectives through Orbison’s song to this man speaking to a girl. These words reveal a vulnerability and a passion. He’s trying to convince her to come with him because there is something that she brings to the way he sees himself that he can’t live without.  Also, he believes there is something that he can give her that no one else can.

In the opening of "Thunder Road," our main character embraces everything that this girl is, her doubts and her fears because he has faith.  He knows that there is something there between them and that there is magic in the night.

8th Grade Playlist: #4. Lonely Boy by The Black Keys

Music is a conversation. One artist says something through a song and then a different artist responds with his or her own song. Sometimes the response brings in a fresh idea and other times the response is a restatement, an elaboration on the first idea.

When I state that “Lonely Boy” is the one of the greatest modern Rolling Stones' songs, it’s meant as a complement. The blues inspired rock of the Rolling Stones with their profound lyrics are a statement that has been screamed down the decades of pop music and that continue to engender responses. The Black Keys did an amazing job doing just that, elaborating on what the Rolling Stones said while bring a fresh perspective.



It starts with a riff, a short musical idea that is repeated. This three-note pattern gives way to another riff, with contrasting musical colors and an upbeat groove. Each layers that is added has a grit, a dirtiness, reminiscent of “Rocks Off.” Alone these elements would be a musical train wreck, but the fact that they are tied together with a tight an infectious grooves makes something that should feel so wrong, feel so right.

Like the lyrics of “Under My Thumb,” there is a deeper story that is being told in this song. While the musical landscape of this song is aggressive and full of bravado, the lyrics reveal a sense of sorrow and insecurity.

The opening line is about a guy being “above” a girl. Despite the fact that he is so much better than her, he falls in love her anyways. She hurts him, but he says that “I don’t mind bleeding.”  If she was really that much below him than he wouldn’t be “bleeding,” and he definitely wouldn’t be waiting.

The second verse continues this insecurity as he insults her saying he should have left her like her dad did. This is a horribly mean thing to say but like the statement “Under My Thumb,” it is an overcompensating response. He has been hurt so badly by this girl that the only way he can try to save face is to go to extremes. This is not an abusive man but a scared, torn down soul.

There's heartbreak and a resignation by stating “I’m A Lonely Boy.” While he tries to embrace his reality but he is clearly in conflict. Even though there is a chorus of voices and a glorious rock sound, this is a break-up song. It’s a song about feeling tortured, and responding to these feeling through anger and bitterness while at the same time not being able to let go of love. This tension mirrors the messy riffs being held together tightly by the groove.

Why does this song make us feel so good? Because love, even when it drives people to dark places makes us feel alive.

8th Grade Playlist: #3. West Coast by Coconut Records

When you think of great sing along songs, you think about songs of joy and hope. These are upbeat songs like “Sweet Caroline,” and “More Than A Feeling.” So when I heard Jason Schwartzman (yes, the actor) of Coconut Records urge us to sing-along to “West Coast” I wasn’t quite sure it made sense.



This is a song about a man missing someone in his life. We’re not sure whether it’s a girlfriend, friend or family member. The circumstances of the distance between them isn’t made clear. It could be a break-up or someone making a career move.  It’s not clear who is to blame for the situation.

Does this sound like the kind of a song that works as a sing along? I wasn’t quite sure until I saw this video of Coconut Records performing live:



“West Coast” is a beautiful and intriguing song. It reminds me of “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire. Coconut Records has an indie rock flair mixed with a sense of story telling. “West Coast” is a song that takes us on a journey and brings us to a place we don't quite expect.

The song begins simple enough with a keyboard line, and then immediately draws us in with hints of a larger story told through fragments of thoughts. The verse is in 7/4, with the beat organized in a group of three and then a group of four. This metric pattern creates a subtle feeling of being unsettled as the melody doesn’t quite play out like you expect. The meter doesn’t bring attention to itself, rather it enforces the emotions of loss and longing in the lyrics.

After the second chorus, Jason calls to everybody to sing a soaring line that is sung over the verse music. There is a feeling of unity and freedom, almost a sense of flying as the words of the verse enter layering underneath. This section continues to build and then suddenly pulls back with the words “I miss you."

Music is about feeling comforted by knowing that there are other people in the world who share our emotions. When we sing along with a song we connect our own emotions with that song in an immediate and very real way. Sometimes those emotions are happy but other times they are not. “West Coast,” is a sad song but it reminds us that the feeling of missing someone is bittersweet. The only reason you miss someone is because of how great that person makes you feel and that is exactly what that soaring melody line is all about.

If you feel like singing along, than just sing along. It’s not about whether the song is happy or sad, it’s about the connection you feel with the artist.  In that moment you are sharing an emotional world that transcends time and space that only music can create.

8th Grade Playlist: #2. 50 Ways To Say Goodbye by Train

I asked my 8th graders to share me songs by their music heroes.  Here are my reactions to these songs.

Sometimes we forget that pop music can be funny. Growing up in the maelstrom of gangster rap and grundge music, I remember music getting really dark and serious. Even now, sometime it seems like pop musicians feel that the only way to be taken seriously is well to have music that is not all really all that much fun.

This is one of the reasons I love PSY's “Gangnum Style.”



People laugh at the ridiculousness of this music video and revel in it. It’s a breath of fresh air, but the thing is, most music videos of the 1980s were just as silly as this one and just as fun. Also “Gangnum Style,” is a great song.

When one of my 8th graders sent me “50 Ways To Say Goodbye” by Train, I was dreading having to listen to this song. Look, I acknowledge the catchiness of Train’s music but the nonsensical lyrics of “Hey, Soul Sister” drive me crazy (here is my post about that song). Well, my student made the effort to e-mail me about this song and it deserves my attention so here we go.



Wait a second, David Hasselhoff!! I LOVED this guy on Knight Rider. There’s a mariachi band and there’s lead singer Pat Monahan dropping any level of pretention and hamming it up for the camera! This is awesome AND the lyrics totally make sense.

Okay, the story is that a guy gets dumped and because of the shame and hurt, he can’t bear to tell his friends the truth so he makes up ridiculous explanations for his ex-girlfriend’s absence including being eaten by a lion and getting hit by a purple Scion.

Genius.

Look, this is exactly what great pop music is all about. Train is incorporating some cool sounds like a Mariachi band ala Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire.” Then they took a very sad and difficult feeling of being rejected and turned in it into a hilarious anthem.

Sometimes the only way to deal with difficult emotions is to make a joke out of it and Train effectively does this helping us work through these emotions by reflecting the ridiculousness of this reaction. At the same time Train makes us feel better about the impulse of hiding the truth by letting us know that we are not crazy for feeling a need to hide being dumped from our friends.

Train, you totally redeemed the nonsense of “Hey soul sister, ain’t that mister mister” with “She'll think I'm Superman, Not super minivan.”

Nicely Done.

. . . but we still got some work to do to get passed "Meet Virginia."

Waitin’ On A Sunny Day by Bruce Springsteen

One drop.

When it hit the top of my head, I ignored it thinking that it was just my imagination. But as Bruce continued to sing “Waitin’ On A Sunny Day” a fine mist blanketed Wrigley field.

I stood there Saturday in the second of two concerts Springsteen put on in Wrigley field. The concert had started with Springsteen laying into his harmonica blasting “Promised Land” across the city. He continued taking the audience on a journey that was the American experience.

We had seats on the field. The view of the stage was incredible but even better was the view of the stadium. You could turn around and see thousands of people rocking out in unison to the stories that Springsteen sang and the values that he preached.

I instantly recognized he opening chords to “Waitin’ On A Sunny Day.” I had played them countless times as I have made this song part of my 5th grade curriculum for the past two years.



“Waitin’ On A Sunny Day” came from Springsteen’s album The Rising.  This album dealt directly with the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. This light hearted and hopeful song uses about rain as a metaphor for life’s difficulties and the hope that is a sunny day.

It wasn’t lost on Springsteen as he played this song that the rain got harder and harder. Instead of hesitating in the weather, he leaned in and gave the audience even more. He pulled a girl up on stage and gave her the microphone to sing once through the chorus and joyously ran around the stage getting soaked along with the rest of us.

Before transitioning into the next part of the concert he played a solo version of Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop The Rain.” This was the only song he played without the band, which means he probably decided to play at that very second.


As the entire stadium sang the chorus “yeah, I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the rain,” it became clear that the rain may not stop and that wasn’t necessarily going to be a bad thing.

My wife and I found shelter in the back of the second deck of seats and watched Bruce perform the last half of the concert in the pouring rain. Rain has a way of dampening spirits and draining the energy out of a person but for Bruce it seemed to have a different effect. It was like the rain gave him even more energy and after and incredible twenty-seven song set, he left the audience with a renewed energy to believe.

Sometimes in life you can’t wait for a sunny day. Sometimes you just have to go out there and make the best of a rainy day.  Bruce showed us all last Saturday, that the hard times can become the celebrations that make life worth living. 

Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen

As I said goodbye to Allie, I tried to say something honest and real but instead all I could muster was awkward reassurances. Allie was moving away and like any big change in life, the feeling was bittersweet. There was the excitement of new opportunities mixed with letting go of the life that came before.

One of the things about going to a college that attracts people from all over the country is that you become friends with people who in the years after college move away.  My late twenties seemed to be marked with having to say goodbye to friends.

Saying goodbye always feels unfinished. There is never enough time to say what you want. You tell yourself that it doesn’t matter if you get it all out because you'll "be in touch," however that's not always the case.  As easy as a cell phone call or an e-mail can be, sometimes keeping in touch with those we care about fall to the corners of our lives.

While we said our goodbyes the silences between our words were filled with the joyous singing of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark.” Like a guiding spirit, his presence helped me get through that moment and listening to this song afterwards revealed to me feelings I always had but couldn't articulate.



“Dancing In The Dark,” is Springsteen’s most successful single that led to the sales of Born In The U.S.A. This song, packed with 1980s synthesizers feels completely different than the passionate and operatic rock of Born To Run. While people seemed to revel in this song, the happy melody and harmony juxtaposed against the disturbingly dark lyrics like “I want to change my clothes, my hair, my face,” never really made sense to me.

Something changed when I listened to this song and thought about Allie. The lines about the challenges of life seemed to take a back seat to the lyrics about hope:

Message keeps getting clearer . . . 
There’s something happening somewhere. . .
I’ll shake this world off my shoulders, come on baby this laughs on me.

These lines reflect why I admire Allie and why I am proud to be her friend.  While Allie has been blessed with a wonderful life, she has had challenges. When life has knocked her down, Allie gets right back up, and with a smile keeps on.  Never a victim, Allie lives life with the wind on her back and the sun upon her face.

In darkness, like in life there is much to fear.  You can’t predict the future and it’s impossible to truly see what’s around you in the darkness. So you have a choice: you can sit in the darkness petrified by uncertainty or you can stand up and dance.

Allie chooses to dance.

None of this came out as I said goodbye because I didn’t really want to think about what it meant for Allie to move away. Now that I have, I think it’s okay that things were left unfinished. This friendship isn’t ending so why should a goodbye feel complete?

Allie, best of luck in your new place with your new job, I’ll see you in September when Bruce rocks Wrigley.

I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) by The Proclaimers

Would you walk 500 miles to be with someone that you love?



Okay, let’s break this down. 500 miles is roughly the distance from Chicago, Illinois to Willmar, Minnesota. According to google maps it would take 165 hours to walk that distance. So let’s say seven miles of walking a day, and we have 23 days of walking. That’s like three weeks of doing nothing but walking!?!

I would totally walk for three weeks to fall down at my wife’s door, but I’m not sure I would walk 500 more. That’s like 6 weeks of walking. I’ve never done anything consistently in my life for six hours, so forget six weeks.

People making totally unrealistic statements of what they will do for someone they are in love with is something that makes absolutely no sense until you’ve been in love with someone.  It’s not like people who are in love have reached some higher plain of understanding, it’s quite the opposite. Somewhere between love-drunk and over-romanticized ideas of love there’s a level of passion that pushes logic aside and convince people like Romeo and Juliet that getting married in hiding and faking death will end well.

As being “in love” simmers into “loving” someone, logic enters back into the picture and people are able to make educated decisions about their future, hence why you should wait a reasonable amount of time before getting married.

Here’s the thing, as weird and crazy as that "in-love" stage is, it’s kind of fun which is why songs like “I’m Gonna Be,” stick with us. We want to go back to that crazy feeling and remember what it feels like to think that we would do anything for our love.

Something about this song has simmered in our pop culture like in this appearance from Family Guy:



To one of my favorite episodes, "Arrivederci, Fiero," from How I Met Your Mother, which prominently featured this song.

Even though the delivery of this song is a little forceful, it’s really catchy and it’s hard to believe that it was originally released so long ago in 1988.

What really works about this song is not so much the chorus that stretches logic but confidence in the verse of how he will be with her. This isn’t a question or something to ponder about. He will be next to her through the good and the bad. That’s not unrealistic and the craziness of walking for three weeks makes it even more powerful.

If you've been in love and understand this song then have fun with it.  If you haven't had that moment when all logic escapes your mind in the eyes of another, then come back to this song when that moments hits and you'll be singing along with this song.

Handwritten by The Gaslight Anthem

“And with this pen, I thee wed from my heart to your distress.”

The most important messages in my life are handwritten: the cards I’ve received from loved ones, the notes of devotion I write to Diana and the first letter I wrote to my niece Amelia.

Writing things by hand is a pain for me. I’m left handed so my hand often cramps up when I write for too long. My handwriting is naturally pretty messy so it takes a lot of effort for me to write in a way that is legible. Also, there’s the fact that I write much slower than I type and there’s the lack of ability to edit. But it’s worth it.

Everybody’s handwriting is like a fingerprint and through this expression we not only read the words but feel who they are. The title “Handwritten,” the new single from Gaslight Anthem takes this idea and delves deep into feelings of loss and the connections between us that save us in our darkest moments.



The first verse starts by describing a song that the protagonist has been crying to since a young age. The fact that this song is out there and expresses the pain he feels helps him know that he’s not alone. He believes that “they’re waiting to heal,” and through this faith’s “holding his breath,” hoping for something better.

The chorus begins with “sirens that never come,” help that never actually shows up. So they write by the moon, to “ease the loss of youth and how many years I’ve missed you.” The chorus touches upon that idea that through self-expression, whether its music or writing we can find salvation.

The second verse deepens this sense of connection. There’s the holding of hands and the acknowledgment that they have both been hurt in the same way. “There’s nothing like another soul that’s been cut up the same,” isn’t a “misery loves company” sentiment but an expression of relief like in the first verse knowing that someone isn’t alone in their feelings.

The bridge pushes all the pain aside and describes the feelings of love through the beauty of the night.

Here, in the dark,
I cherish the moonlight
I'm in love with the way you're in love with the night
And it travels from heart, to limb, to pen.

He loves her and appreciates what is central to what she loves: the moonlight. This is foreshadowed in the early choruses “And we only write by the moon."  It comes straight form his heart to the pen, the way that he expresses in more than any other way his love.

One of the things I love about The Gaslight Anthem is the way they play around with the verse chorus form. Often just when you think they are going to end a song or simply repeat a chorus in the a way you expect that they do it in a slightly different way mirroring the journey their characters go on in their music.

The bridge has a different texture without drums and a thinner instrumentation. This isn’t really unexpected, but what they do coming out of this sections is creative and powerful. Instead of simply going straight back into the chorus, they sing the first two lines of the chorus slower with a different melodic line. They don’t finish the chorus but instead they build up to the introductory guitar riff.  The song continues to build to one of the most beautiful lines I’ve heard in a rock song in recent memory: “And with this pen, I thee wed from my heart to your distress.”

The music video is a triumph as well.  It follows the creation of song into a record, which is then passed around. This video is subtle and powerful, with moments of deep emotion illustrating the different personal meanings one song can bring to many people. 

Next time you need to write someone a note, pick up a pen and write it by hand. It may or may not feel that different for the recipient but it will feel different for you.  These words will mean more to you and to those who read your words by capturing feelings and memories that the heart sometimes forgets but the soul yearns to remember.

I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meat Loaf

Somewhere between Broadway show tunes, 1970s rock, and the melodrama of opera there is Meat Loaf.

I genuinely love Meat Loaf as a musician and actor. Sometimes articles about Meat Loaf and reviews look at him as a guilty pleasure, something that you know is not very good but you enjoy regardless.

The more I think about it, the more I dislike the idea of a guilty pleasure. It implies that you are ashamed of liking something. The only way that you can explain your love of a guilty pleasure is by admitting to people it isn’t very good so you aren’t embarrassed. But you should never feel embarrassed for enjoying a piece of art. And if someone makes fun of you for liking something they think is garbage, it’s there loss.

I’m here to say that Meat Loaf is a fantastic singer and his music, most of which was written by Jim Steinmen (who was also responsible for “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” and “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”) creates masterful, remarkable and powerful pop music. I don’t us the term “pop music” as a derogatory term but rather as a way approach this piece of art. Art needs to be analyzed for what it is, not what it’s not. The strength of a song is determined by uncovering the intention of an artist and then, figuring out how well they did that.

If someone is making a horror film and it’s really scary, it’s a great movie. If someone intends to make a romantic comedy and you analyze it as a horror movie, it’s not going to get very good reviews.

The reason why I’m starting my look at Meat Loaf with “I Would Do Anything For Love” is because this was my introduction to Meat Loaf and the world of Jim Steinmen. I agree that Bat Out Of Hell is a better album, but it was Bat Out Of Hell II and the lead single “I Would Do Anything For Love” that captured my imagination as an 11-year-old as one of the most influential albums in my life.



Let me get the obvious and over-discussed question out of the way. When Meat Loaf sings, “I would do anything for love but I won’t do that,” he is saying he would do anything to feel love and be loved except for cheat on his girlfriend and have an affair.  Meat Loaf played around with this during interviews of the time but it doesn’t really take much explication to figure out what this song is about.

The lyrics are very straightforward. In other songs like “Bat Out Of Hell,” Steinmen layers imagery and symbolism to create passionate melodrama.  In this song, it’s just one person stating his commitment to love and the lines he’s not willing to cross. In describing  there’s something he wouldn’t do for love, it defines what love truly is and the relationship that he holds sacred.

Yes, this is a long song. The trimmed down single version is about eight minutes and the album version is twelve minutes long. Is that too long? I find it interesting when people talk about how big a deal a song longer than five minutes is in pop music when movements in classical music often are at longer lengths. Yes, it can be reasonably argued that there are places that this song could be cut down, but if you put aside any expectations of length and let this song reveal itself, it really works at its longer length.

Meat Loaf is a powerful singer and a magnetic performer. Here is a performer who can’t possibly put more into every note he sings. His rich, intense, tortured voice is unlike anything in pop music. “I Would Do Anything For Love” is the perfect marriage of a song to a performer. There’s no one else who could really sell the melodrama of this song. When Meat Loaf sings “no one else can save me now but you,” it’s heartbreaking.

I’m convinced that often we stand in the way of letting ourselves enjoy art. We tell ourselves that things aren’t good, or that because something fits within a stereotype that we won’t like it. When we do this we make it so that we can’t enjoy something. If all you do in life is focus on the multitude of reason to not enjoy something, than that’s all you are left with.

If you don’t like this song. That’s fine, but make sure that you don’t like it for the right reasons.

People didn’t want to admit that they loved this song when it was out. I didn’t understand back then why people couldn’t celebrate their love of this song and I still don’t quite get it. Be proud. Music is not about being cool or going with the crowd. It’s about reveling in your own passion and through someone else’s expression, experiencing part of yourself.

I’m proud to say that Meat Loaf’s music continues to take me to that beautiful place where passion and love reigns supreme. There’s no social commentary and there’s no instruments or musical techniques that draw attention to themselves as musical innovations. It’s a fantasy world where all you need is love and the power of melodrama sweeps away cynicism and leaves you with the grandeur and magic of rock music.

Breakthru by Queen

When I first started to go out with Diana I made mix CDs for her. I put a lot of thought into each of these CDs (I talked about this process in this earlier post). I don’t really remember the reasons why I picked most of the songs for those CDs I made for her almost ten years ago but for some of the songs I do. And one of those songs is “Breakthru.”



This late masterpiece by Queen was released in 1989, two years before the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury. While most people think of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You,” when the think of Queen, I think of later songs like this and “Under Pressure” (which I discussed in this earlier post). With “Breakthru,” and many of these later songs, Queen wrote music that really spoke to the spirit of liberation and freedom. Instead of being an anthem for the sake of rocking out, these songs were anthems that talked about the deeper meaning of life.

At the time that this song was recorded, Mercury was feeling the effects of AIDs and lead guitarist Brian May was suffering from depression. Instead of creating music that reflected these feelings, Queen rallied and created a song that aimed to lift others out of these dark feelings. Starting with a slower, almost improvised vocalization, Mercury creates a dark and eerie musical landscape and out of that like the train in the music video comes a driving and pulsating beat.

The lyrics are beautiful expressions of love and adoration.  Mercury delivers them with a level of intimacy and charm. At first you feel that he isn’t so much singing but talking straight to you and as the chorus hits, his voice soars. You can feel the joy that this band had in creating this music. It’s in Freddie’s voice, the amazing groove and the ease at which Brian May play  his guitar solo. While Mercury sings about trying to make “you” smile, you can’t help but smile yourself.

I put this song on that mix CD for Diana because I wanted to tell her how much I wanted to get to know her better. I wanted her to know how excited I was to make that breakthrough, make her smile and know her. I wanted to her to know that the uncontrollable smile I feel when I listened to “Breakthru” was the same one I had on my face when I thought of her.

Ten years later “Breakthru” brings me back to that early part in our relationship, and the excitement of getting to know someone. Are there still breakthroughs to make in our relationship?  Not in the same sense as in the beginning of our relationship.  Instead of the breakthroughs being in getting to know each other, it's in sharing new experiences in life.  The same excitement I felt with wanting to get to know Diana, I feel whenever Diana and I enter a new adventure in life together.

As I got to know Diana, everything I found out about her made me want to get to know her even better and with every adventure we share together it makes me look forward to each breakthrough we share.