As are most of the songs in this top ten, Hungry Heart is one of the Springsteen tunes I enjoyed as a child and
Have loved ever since. Given my taste in music, I cannot imagine what it would be like to hear the opening
Lyrics of this song for the first time. "Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack, I went out for a ride and I never went back".
If ever there is an opening line of a song that drags you down in the dirt with it and demands your full attention,
Those words are the words to do it. I absolutely love the drum opening and the sound from Roy Bittan on piano, here.
The piano, especially, cuts deep with every single key and you can feel the hurt before Bruce even makes a sound.
There was this unexplainable groove about the song that tempted the band to speed the track up just slightly in the
Recording studio, giving it higher harmony, and that's what Chuck Plotkin (co-producer) did with the tape, and that's
The version you hear on the studio recording. While the original speed is fun to listen to, just to hear the song differently
Than I'm accustomed to, speeding up the recording just slightly was absolutely brilliant. It just makes the music and the
Lyrics cut even sharper and deeper. Joey Dee of the Ramones asked Bruce Springsteen to write a song for his band and
This is the song he wrote. Luckily, Jon Landau told him he'd be insane to give away such a brilliant piece of music. so
Bruce kept that one for himself, and I am glad he did, obviously... Think of what a huge fan of Springsteen I am, and look
At where Hungry Heart is on this list. Such a brilliant piece of music.
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody says
Ain't nobody like to be alone
Hungry Heart lyrics
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart
I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love I knew it had to end
We took what we had and we ripped it apart
Now here I am down in Kingstown again
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody says
Ain't nobody like to be alone
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart
We've reached the end. #1. Dancing In The Dark. The song that every die hard Bruce Springsteen fan would give
Most people shit for putting anywhere near the top ten. I understand why they might think it shouldn't be #1, but it's my
#1 for a variety of reasons... Childhood memories, which faded more and more every time I'd play the song as an
Adult... The hard times it got me through, the down-in-the-dumps style lyrics with the upbeat synthesizer and
Drumming that tell me "There's somethin' happenin' somewhere"... The impeccable timing of Frequent plays,
Where in my early 20s and discovering Bruce's entire catalog, I grew to develop a massive appreciation for this one. I
Was young, barely had my foot out the door in life, in the middle of discovering who I was as I progressed into being
A man. This song was the culmination of those discoveries. It provided a stable mindset for me to see things clearly
With every passing moment as I continued gaining life experience. When times were great, I played this song. When
Times got hard, I played this song. When I'd check my look in the mirror, I'd play this song. My radio was almost always
On, and I was always moving around the place. Even today, certain verses evolve into different meanings and certain
Verses mean more to me now than they did when I was in the middle of finding out who I was. Some verses worked
Better for me at 22 than 32, and vice-versa. I could be a completely different person if it weren't for this song. Little
Did I know that it would become so crucial into shaping who I am today. For all I know, I could be a completely different
Person if Dancing In The Dark wasn't constantly getting all that play time.
The thing about Bruce Springsteen is all of these songs on the list reach into me and pull out emotions that I never even
Knew existed, and each one of them succeeds in pulling those emotions out in so many different ways. I feel lucky to have
Grown up and entered manhood with these songs as my shield. As I've grown and learned about life (and continue to learn
About life) these songs were always there to guide me. I suppose as fate would have it, Dancing In The Dark just happened
To be the song from Bruce Springsteen that I played the most frequently during the most crucial points of my growth as a person.
For that reason, I cannot deny it #1.
You sit around getting older
There's a joke here somewhere and it's on me
I'll shake this world off my shoulders
Come on baby, the laugh's on me
Dancing In The Dark lyrics
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
You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Messages keeps getting clearer
Radio's on and I'm moving 'round the place
I check my look in the mirror
Wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
Man, I ain't getting nowhere, I'm just living in a dump like this
There's something happening somewhere
Baby, I just know that there is
You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
You sit around getting older
There's a joke here somewhere and it's on me
I'll shake this world off my shoulders
Come on baby, the laugh's on me
Stay on the streets of this town
And they'll be carving you up all right
They say you gotta stay hungry
Hey baby, I'm just about starving tonight
I'm dying for some action
I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book
I need a love reaction
Come on, now baby gimme just one look
You can't start a fire
Sitting 'round crying over a broken heart
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
You can't start a fire
Worrying about your little world falling apart
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
DancesWithWerewolves wrote:Am glad to see Born to Run isn't sitting at the top. Never understood why that song is so highly praised
I get it. It's really beautifully written, but the music just really never clicked for me in the way that so many others did, and I'm not about to bump it up 40 spots so it can be like most lists. Tried to make my preferences as accurate as possible.
Bruce released an album called Western Stars last year. It hit theaters and you could listen to the whole album and watch it as a sort of documentary. I, of course, went to theater. It was empty, only me. Got the whole theater to myself. Bittersweet in that I got the whole theater, but I'd like to have seen a packed house of people who came to see The Boss. It definitely isn't a theater-style movie, though. So I can understand why nobody showed up. This is the opening track to the album and the music video is how the documentary opened up.
DancesWithWerewolves wrote:Am glad to see Born to Run isn't sitting at the top. Never understood why that song is so highly praised
I get it. It's really beautifully written, but the music just really never clicked for me in the way that so many others did, and I'm not about to bump it up 40 spots so it can be like most lists. Tried to make my preferences as accurate as possible.
Born to Run is a good feel-good song, musically. It seems to resonate with people who are not Springsteen fans. Btw....so glad you picked Dancing in the Dark as your number one. When I feel meh, I listen to that song and it brightens my mood for some reason.
Jason wrote:Bruce released an album called Western Stars last year. It hit theaters and you could listen to the whole album and watch it as a sort of documentary. I, of course, went to theater. It was empty, only me. Got the whole theater to myself. Bittersweet in that I got the whole theater, but I'd like to have seen a packed house of people who came to see The Boss. It definitely isn't a theater-style movie, though. So I can understand why nobody showed up. This is the opening track to the album and the music video is how the documentary opened up.
People dont appreciate meaningful songs and talent anymore. They like songs like-
I wanna shake my butt. My butt.
Shake it shake it shake it.
My butt. Wanna shake my butt.
DancesWithWerewolves wrote:Am glad to see Born to Run isn't sitting at the top. Never understood why that song is so highly praised
I get it. It's really beautifully written, but the music just really never clicked for me in the way that so many others did, and I'm not about to bump it up 40 spots so it can be like most lists. Tried to make my preferences as accurate as possible.
Born to Run is a good feel-good song, musically. It seems to resonate with people who are not Springsteen fans. Btw....so glad you picked Dancing in the Dark as your number one. When I feel meh, I listen to that song and it brightens my mood for some reason.
He has so many feel-good songs. Dancing In The Dark never fails to inspire me when I'm at the bottom.
DancesWithWerewolves wrote:Am glad to see Born to Run isn't sitting at the top. Never understood why that song is so highly praised
I get it. It's really beautifully written, but the music just really never clicked for me in the way that so many others did, and I'm not about to bump it up 40 spots so it can be like most lists. Tried to make my preferences as accurate as possible.
Born to Run is a good feel-good song, musically. It seems to resonate with people who are not Springsteen fans. Btw....so glad you picked Dancing in the Dark as your number one. When I feel meh, I listen to that song and it brightens my mood for some reason.
He has so many feel-good songs. Dancing In The Dark never fails to inspire me when I'm at the bottom.
Jason wrote:Bruce released an album called Western Stars last year. It hit theaters and you could listen to the whole album and watch it as a sort of documentary. I, of course, went to theater. It was empty, only me. Got the whole theater to myself. Bittersweet in that I got the whole theater, but I'd like to have seen a packed house of people who came to see The Boss. It definitely isn't a theater-style movie, though. So I can understand why nobody showed up. This is the opening track to the album and the music video is how the documentary opened up.
People dont appreciate meaningful songs and talent anymore. They like songs like-
I wanna shake my butt. My butt.
Shake it shake it shake it.
My butt. Wanna shake my butt.
People are deaf when they listen to music. They can hear the instruments but never pay attention to the words. There are many songs I listened to a million times and when I finally paid attention to the words, I can hear it differently.
Jason wrote:Bruce released an album called Western Stars last year. It hit theaters and you could listen to the whole album and watch it as a sort of documentary. I, of course, went to theater. It was empty, only me. Got the whole theater to myself. Bittersweet in that I got the whole theater, but I'd like to have seen a packed house of people who came to see The Boss. It definitely isn't a theater-style movie, though. So I can understand why nobody showed up. This is the opening track to the album and the music video is how the documentary opened up.
People dont appreciate meaningful songs and talent anymore. They like songs like-
I wanna shake my butt. My butt.
Shake it shake it shake it.
My butt. Wanna shake my butt.
People are deaf when they listen to music. They can hear the instruments but never pay attention to the words. There are many songs I listened to a million times and when I finally paid attention to the words, I can hear it differently.
Jason wrote:Bruce released an album called Western Stars last year. It hit theaters and you could listen to the whole album and watch it as a sort of documentary. I, of course, went to theater. It was empty, only me. Got the whole theater to myself. Bittersweet in that I got the whole theater, but I'd like to have seen a packed house of people who came to see The Boss. It definitely isn't a theater-style movie, though. So I can understand why nobody showed up. This is the opening track to the album and the music video is how the documentary opened up.
People dont appreciate meaningful songs and talent anymore. They like songs like-
I wanna shake my butt. My butt.
Shake it shake it shake it.
My butt. Wanna shake my butt.
People are deaf when they listen to music. They can hear the instruments but never pay attention to the words. There are many songs I listened to a million times and when I finally paid attention to the words, I can hear it differently.
I’m pretty sure we crossed that bridge in the late 70s with disco and then burned the bridge completely with 80s pop music. Then rock music with broad appeal largely went off a cliff in the past 25 years, country became a complete joke and rap music cashed in its poetry roots for overproduction and anything that will make booties bounce. It’s not good.
I’m not including EDM because it isn’t music but that’s just for people who want to get fucked up on MDMA and sweatily hump each other.
my opinion, but my inability to find a lot of good or great music is a problem with me, and not with the state of music. granted, i'm talking about beyond popular and radio hits too.
