This Gun's for Hire
By Anne ChudobiakI was going to tell you about Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” It’s currently at the top of my Most Played list, much to my surprise. I’m not a fan of The Boss, not consciously. I’ve never owned an album or gone to a concert of his. I don’t know what motivated me to download one of his songs in the first place. It was a strange choice.
You wouldn’t know it from the video, where Bruce is smiling and dancing away, but the song is about an unhappy relationship with the blank page:
I get up in the evening
and I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the morning
I go to bed feeling the same way
I ain't nothing but tired
Man I'm just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help
Bruce was under pressure from his manager to produce a hit when he wrote it, but you can’t start a fire without a spark. Or can you? “Dancing in the Dark” won him his first Grammy.
I was going to tell you all this and more, but then I found another blog with an old post on the same topic, and suddenly, I didn’t feel as though I should be telling anyone anything anymore.
So you tell me, what should I download next?
Pictured: The young Courteney Cox on the verge of celebrity (“Dancing in the Dark” video).
posted by Anne C. | 9:26 pm
5 Comments:
I love that song! Why shouldn't you write about it, too? By the way, I didn't know it was about his frustration over having to come up with a guaranteed hit. I got something different out of it when I first heard it -- more related to relationships.
hey, i commented but am on the "new blogger" god, anyway, she doesn't have blue eyes, could it be that she wears contacts!?? and I love the boss, I'm with tricia, it was about relationships and loss and moving past them, to something new..this guns for hire...xo
Beautiful aricle, Anne. I adore Bruce Springsteen and his music. This quiet, soft spoken song writer is all that it means to be literary for me. Love him.
Oops, "anonymous" is Diane Smith from the Maple Room.
I check in here once in awhile to read.
Interesting how we make songs what we want them to be: Every Breath you Take is about stalking an ex and yet so many couples include it in their wedding song list. Born in the USA was a bitter and ironic song; Little Pink Houses was also a mad-at-America song but politicians tried to use them as party slogans... Burton Cummings insisted American Woman was apolitical, do you believe him? ;)
What should you download next? How about some Bob Dylan? When I'm not writing much, I love to listen to Highway 61 Revisited. I couldn't tell you my favourite song on it, I love the whole record, insanely. And who knows what his lyrics mean, but it doesn't matter. If you're so inclined head to bobdylan.com for free downloads.
I'm gonna go listen to some Bob now!
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