Who’s the Boss?

Each time I drive through Boss country on the New Jersey Turnpike between New York and D.C. I hear “Born to Run” or “Thunder Road” on the radio at least once. Maybe it’s because I’m from New York but I’ve never been a big Springsteen fan and I much prefer the Boss’ later work to his early records. (What can I say? I like my songwriters well seasoned.) You may not know it but Springsteen is still writing songs (good songs) and making albums, and- since the death of James Brown- I imagine the Boss may be the hardest working man in show business.

Every couple of years I discover another Springsteen song I like (this year it’s “None But the Brave”) but there is no Springsteen album I love. But wait. That’s not quite true. A few years ago some friends and I spent the weekend in a rustic cabin where we found an old cassette tape copy of Tunnel of Love. We played that tape over and over so perhaps I should say Tunnel is my favorite Boss album. I should probably listen to that album again. I think what I like most about Bruce Springsteen is his words. The guy has things to say- sometimes deep and spiritual things- and he sings with dignity and respect about what’s really happening in hometowns and souls all across the world.

For me the Boss is at his best when he’s rapping about human nature and there is a real religious dimension to many of his songs because man by his nature is a religious animal. I have no idea whether Springsteen is a practicing Christian or not but the guy has a knack for writing about the pain and weight of original sin; the battle between good and evil in our hearts; and the infinite desires of finite beings trying to survive in dead end towns, dead end jobs, and dead end relationships. His narrators are all too human: funny, honest, and self-deprecating. They know how far they've fallen and what they must do in order to achieve salvation- they just want to get a few things off their chest first. Here are my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs. Enjoy!

01. Bruce Springsteen – “Born in the U.S.A.” (1984)

02. Bruce Springsteen – “Radio Nowhere” (2007)

03. Bruce Springsteen – “Glory Days” (1984)

04. Bruce Springsteen – “I’m Goin’ Down” (1984)

05. Bruce Springsteen – “Hungry Heart” (1980)

06. Bruce Springsteen – “Dancing in the Dark” (1984)

07. Bruce Springsteen – “None But the Brave (Studio Outtake)” (1983)

08. Bruce Springsteen – “Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix)” (2008)

09. Bruce Springsteen – “The River” (1980)

10. Bruce Springsteen – “My Hometown” (1984)

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