Favorite Bruce Who Songs: Thunder Road (#7)

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Here comes another song on the list of my favorites either by people named Bruce or bands with Who in their names. This came from an unexpected additional album JJ received with an order by a guy named Bruce Who, and...well, things just spiraled from there, as they will with aliens like us. I suppose I should preface today’s selection with an apology for @JohnRoberts because he doesn’t particularly care for today’s artist. Sorry, John...go back and re-read the Ronstadt discussion. #7: Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen Yeah, he was gonna be left off the list. Actually, given that I’m only at the fourth song in this list, you’re probably thinking, “there are six more people named Bruce????? Who?!” Precisely. It’s easy to understand why Springsteen is a polarizing figure. He hasn’t changed subject matter in 45 years. And he gets too politically preachy on occasion. I would have been furious if I had been scheduled to attend the concert in North Carolina that he cancelled because of the controversy over the “bathroom bill.” (Then he played in Ohio and Texas, both of which have the exact same law on the books!) But I love Born to Run. It’s a certified classic. And this song, which opens the album, depicts the disparity of life in a small town brilliantly. It’s got beautiful analogies and descriptions in it (“like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays Roy Orbison singing for the lonely”) as a guy and his girl get in the car and leave on a journey that involves music (“I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk”) and liberation (“it’s a town full of losers, I’m pulling out of here to win”). Springsteen puts on one of the best shows you’ll ever see, even if you don’t care for a single song he sings. He gives his fans what they want, several hundred times over. Thunder Road Written by Bruce Springsteen Recorded by Bruce Springsteen From Born to Run, 1975 Here’s a terrific version with just Bruce and a piano: