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Bruce Springsteen, The Album Collection: Nebraska

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By Anthony “Zute” George

Nebraska was on released September 30th, 1982. One day after my birthday! At the time, it was vastly different than Bruce’s other albums. Nebraska followed the significant commercial success of The River Album. A tremendous double album that gave Springsteen his first number one album and top ten hit. That is an essential fact for many reasons. First, it followed a theme of how Bruce followed up tremendous pop chart success with an album that would be considered a more acquired taste in terms of top 40 music. Also, Baba Booey, of the Howard Stern Show, was a guest DJ on the Sirius XM channel E Street Radio. The Stern producer made the astonishing mistake of stating that Nebraska was the follow up to the Born in the USA album, Bruce’s most successful album in terms of sales. I still go to bed at night, wondering how such an error can be made.

With that said, the Nebraska recordings are where Born in the USA had its creation, albeit the version that made the 1984 album was very different. Unlike Born in the USA, there is no mistaken the meanings of the songs on the Nebraska album. Never before have you heard such visceral and often sorrowful lyrics. A great album indeed, but one that takes control of your emotions in a way that might not be for everyone. The following is a list of some of what I feel are the more poignant lyrics on the album. I will not name the song that the lyrics belong to, Springsteen fans will be able to identify them with ease. As well as tell me what song(s) I left out. Thank you once again Mr. Springsteen, for giving us a great musical gift, as well as a reason to believe:

1. There was a kid lyin’ on the floor lookin’ bad, bleedin’ hard from his head. There was a girl cryin’ at a table, and it was Frank they said.
2. Gotta find a gas station gotta find a payphone. This turnpike sure is spooky at night when you’re all alone.
3. Well I got a job and tried to put my money away. But I got debts that no honest man can pay.
4. Well if it was any other man, I’d put him straight away. But when it’s your brother sometimes you look the other way.
5. At night my daddy’d take me and we’d ride through the streets of a town so silent and still.
6. From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska with a sawed off .410 on my lap. Through to the badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path.
7. Radio’s jammed up with talk show stations. It’s just talk, talk, talk till you lose your patience
8. And watches the salesman stare at my old man’s hands. He’s tellin’ us all ’bout the break he’d give us if he could but he just can’t.
9. I awoke and I imagined the hard things that pulled us apart. Will never again sir tear us from each other’s hearts.
10. Ralph went out lookin’ for a job but he couldn’t find none. He came home too drunk from mixin’ Tanqueray and wine. He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call ‘m…
11. Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold. But with you forever I’ll stay
12. They declared me unfit to live said into that great void my soul’d be hurled.
13. I wish he’d just hit the gas and let out a cry and tell ’em all they can kiss our asses goodbye.

What are some of your favorite lines from the album? Songs? I look forward to hearing your responses.

Anthony “Zute” George is the Author of Tough Man: The Greg Haugen Story, a new boxing book that covers the skilled champion from Auburn, Washington, as well as the scope of the times during his days of pugilism.

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