Stay Lucky: I Can Feel My Heart Begin To Pound or How I Became A Bruce Springsteen Fan

The first major impression I remember of having of Bruce Springsteen was when Born In The USA was released in 1984 and I was 14 years old—an emerging punk rocker concerned with my combat boots and The Clash. I remember hearing the songs, especially the title track, as sort of “Go America” anthems, and I dismissed them outright. Of course, in retrospect, I was totally wrong. However, 14-year-olds aren’t always known for their ability to look into the subtleties of situations.

After that, I really didn’t think about Springsteen or his music that much. Sure, I saw the videos and heard the songs on the radio, so I knew the hits—especially his most epic tunes such as “Born To Run.”

This all changed with the release of The Rising. This is the album that really connected me to Bruce Springsteen and started me on my way to explore his music. Really, I bought this album, more because it was the first major artistic response to September 11, than because it was a Springsteen album or his re-uniting with The E-Street Band. Listening to The Rising in the car right after I purchased it, “Into The Fire” came on and its words “May your strength give us strength / May your faith give us faith / May your hope give us hope / May your love give us love” caused tears to start flowing from my eyes and I had to pull over. They connected to this place of hurt that had existed since that terrible day in September. And somehow with those words, along with the rest of The Rising, some part of me felt better.

I knew any artist that could elicit this response from me deserved to be listened to. So I began to listen to Bruce Springsteen’s music and read about him. The more I listened, the more I liked the music, which is straight up, the most important thing. There’s such an intimacy to so many of the lyrics at the same time the songs are played in such an epic way. “Born To Run” is the perfect example of this. The video for the song, with the audience’s hands and arms all moving and swaying is the visual representation of this. (See below for the video.) And as I said to The Young Man last night, "That's the power of music." (Now in my family The Young Man is a major Bruce Springsteen fan, too.)

Also, Springsteen is a populist, with left leaning politics that I identify with. So he’s not just telling stories in his songs, he’s creating a narrative dealing with the American Dream and how it seems certain types of people always end up coming up short. " Or as he has said at some points while introducing songs, "Nobody wins unless everybody wins."

Now I find it hard to imagine that I haven't been listening to Bruce Springsteen for my whole life. But it's certainly better late than never to find new music to love. And when it speaks to you deeply and makes you want to live a fuller life, then it's a gift. Certainly one to be thankful for with every listen.

As hard as it is narrow it down, here are some of my favorites.

Born To Run