Satire –\u00a0Commentary \u2022 Opinion \u2022 ISSUE 48\u202249 \u2022 Dec 4, 2012
\nBy Bruce Springsteen<\/p>\n
When you think of Bruce Springsteen, what\u2019s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it\u2019s the heartland rock music of your youth, or the E Street Band. Perhaps you think of New Jersey\u2014heck, a lot of people do. But I have to admit I chuckle every time I hear that, because honest to God, I\u2019ve only been to the place maybe three, four times tops.<\/p>\n
Crazy, right? You throw a few details about seaside boardwalks
\nand Atlantic City into your lyrics and suddenly people start calling you Mr. New Jersey.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s see, I was there twice in the \u201970s, once in the \u201980s, and then I think I passed through on my way to Pennsylvania a few years ago\u2014that\u2019s it. Which is not to say I don\u2019t like the place. It seems okay from the little I\u2019ve seen of it, but nothing special, you know? I\u2019ve always been more of a sunshine and palm trees kind of guy myself.<\/p>\n
You see, the whole New Jersey thing really started off by accident. Growing up the son of a cinematographer in a comfortably middle-class Los Angeles suburb, I didn\u2019t know the first thing about the best drag-racing back roads on the Jersey Shore or the gritty factory towns up and down the New Jersey Turnpike. Back then I was too busy working on my tan and surfing every day to care about the economic struggles of union folk, let alone the crude, workaday laborers from northern New Jersey whom people seem to associate me with.<\/p>\n
But that all started to change in the summer of 1972, the first time I ever stepped foot in the state. I was in Cherry Hill visiting my aunt, and something about a song I was writing at the time\u2014one about riding my scooter through West Hollywood\u2014just wasn\u2019t clicking. Then it occurred to me: Why not set the thing right there in New Jersey? It seemed crazy at the time, but I figured what the hell.<\/p>\n
On a whim I pulled out a map, picked some dinky road in the middle of the state, and half-jokingly scribbled, \u201cAt night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines \/ Sprung from cages out on Highway 9.\u201d Those words later became \u201cBorn To Run.\u201d Maybe you\u2019ve heard it.<\/p>\n
Man, it still cracks me up whenever anyone refers to that song as a \u201cNew Jersey anthem.\u201d<\/p>\n
After some more research, lyrics I\u2019d written about Beverly Hills were changed to some backwater place called Freehold, Santa Monica Boulevard was switched to Thunder Road, and my dad\u2019s agent Armand became Crazy Janey. Easy as pie. By the end of that weekend, I had cranked out enough material to fill both Darkness On The Edge Of Town and The River.<\/p>\n
And let me tell you, all you have to do is mention any old ocean-side carnival ride or pull the name of one blue-collar bar out of the North Jersey Yellow Pages and New Jerseyans will lap it right up and claim you as one of their own. It\u2019s kind of pathetic, actually.<\/p>\n
Now I can\u2019t go anywhere without people asking me things about New Jersey as if I were some sort of authority on the place. For the record: No, I don\u2019t know the best place to eat in Asbury Park. I only named my first album after that city because I liked the way it sounded. No, I don\u2019t know how the Devils are doing this season. No, I don\u2019t know the fastest way to get from Long Branch to the Parkway.<\/p>\n
Frankly, I don\u2019t even know what the Parkway is.<\/p>\n
As much fun as I\u2019ve had with this whole Jersey thing, I have to admit I\u2019m growing a little tired of it and am looking forward to delving into some new territory. In fact, I\u2019ve got an album in mind about the everyday lives of theme park employees in the Orlando area. I\u2019ve always loved that part of the country. The tropical breezes, the stucco houses\u2014it really sums me up in a nutshell. So keep an eye out for Florida Dreaming in 2013.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be the first to admit that while I know little to nothing about New Jersey\u2014aside from the fact that I sure as hell don\u2019t want to live there\u2014my career has gotten a lot of mileage out of the state. But I still can\u2019t wipe the smile from my face when I think that millions of people will always picture me barreling down a Jersey Shore avenue in a vintage Chevy, windows down, the wind in my hair. Maybe I\u2019ll try that someday if, for God knows what reason, I\u2019m ever back in that part of the country. Like, if I have a long layover or something.<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll have to wait for a while, though. At least until someone teaches me how to drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Satire –\u00a0Commentary \u2022 Opinion \u2022 ISSUE 48\u202249 \u2022 Dec 4, 2012 By Bruce Springsteen When you think of Bruce Springsteen, what\u2019s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe it\u2019s the heartland rock music of your youth, or the E … Continue reading