What with the holiday specificity of this track, you'd think it would be more popular at this time of year, but you don't really hear this one around, do you?
See the video on Youtube.
Showing posts with label independence day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label independence day. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2011
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Bruce Springsteen “Walk Like A Man”
PJ is taking some time off for the birth of his second child. Friend of mvyradio Susan McDonald and singer-songwriter and former Fresh Produce Artist, Phil Ayoub, both major Springsteen Fans, fill in.
Five Great Bruce Springsteen Songs About Fathers And Sons.
Much has been made of Bruce Springsteen’s stormy relationship with his dad in the early years, and he has perpetuated the image in his storytelling in live performances. It’s never been quite clear how much of that was for art’s sake, and how much of it was real. But Bruce was 37 when he wrote “Walk Like A Man”, and although he claims the songs on Tunnel of Love are not autobiographical, it’s almost reassuring to find a sweet and loving tribute to a dad. There’s a hint of admiration for his dad and maybe some understanding of what he went through as a father, as Bruce seemingly began to shift his focus from looking back to looking ahead to his own house and family.
There are many types of relationships on display at a wedding. But in “Walk Like A Man” Springsteen explores a relationship that is often overlooked on a wedding day…that of a father and son. “I remember how rough your hand felt on mine, on my wedding day.” Bruce begins with those small details that convey so much—the emotion between father and son, the comfort of the physical touch, and the feeling of a hand toughened from a life filled with hard work and pain. And, as he moves through the bigger story of the love-as-a-dark-ride theme of much of Tunnel of Love, he frames it with that father/son bond.
These are wonderful lines that perfectly portray the beginnings of that bond—-the beach, the little boy and his father, and the wordplay of “walk like a man”. And as he traces this relationship through both their lives, there’s a tender acknowledgment that maybe his father didn’t live the life that he had intended to when he sings “I saw your best steps stolen away from you” near the end of the song, and “I’ll do what I can, I’ll walk like a man.” One can’t help but think that his father might have often told him to walk or act like a man at different times in his life.
“And I’ll keep on walkin’.”
“Walk Like A Man” has only been performed twice since the Tunnel of Love tour. This is from the Devils and Dust tour, August 1, 2005 in Cleveland, Ohio
Five Great Bruce Springsteen Songs About Fathers And Sons.
Much has been made of Bruce Springsteen’s stormy relationship with his dad in the early years, and he has perpetuated the image in his storytelling in live performances. It’s never been quite clear how much of that was for art’s sake, and how much of it was real. But Bruce was 37 when he wrote “Walk Like A Man”, and although he claims the songs on Tunnel of Love are not autobiographical, it’s almost reassuring to find a sweet and loving tribute to a dad. There’s a hint of admiration for his dad and maybe some understanding of what he went through as a father, as Bruce seemingly began to shift his focus from looking back to looking ahead to his own house and family.
There are many types of relationships on display at a wedding. But in “Walk Like A Man” Springsteen explores a relationship that is often overlooked on a wedding day…that of a father and son. “I remember how rough your hand felt on mine, on my wedding day.” Bruce begins with those small details that convey so much—the emotion between father and son, the comfort of the physical touch, and the feeling of a hand toughened from a life filled with hard work and pain. And, as he moves through the bigger story of the love-as-a-dark-ride theme of much of Tunnel of Love, he frames it with that father/son bond.
All I can think of is being five years old
Following behind you at the beach
Tracing your footprints in the sand
Trying to walk like a man
These are wonderful lines that perfectly portray the beginnings of that bond—-the beach, the little boy and his father, and the wordplay of “walk like a man”. And as he traces this relationship through both their lives, there’s a tender acknowledgment that maybe his father didn’t live the life that he had intended to when he sings “I saw your best steps stolen away from you” near the end of the song, and “I’ll do what I can, I’ll walk like a man.” One can’t help but think that his father might have often told him to walk or act like a man at different times in his life.
“And I’ll keep on walkin’.”
“Walk Like A Man” has only been performed twice since the Tunnel of Love tour. This is from the Devils and Dust tour, August 1, 2005 in Cleveland, Ohio
Monday, April 19, 2010
Bruce Springsteen “Independence Day”
PJ is taking some time off for the birth of his second child. Friend of mvyradio Susan McDonald and singer-songwriter and former Fresh Produce Artist, Phil Ayoub, both major Springsteen Fans, fill in.
Five Great Bruce Springsteen Songs About Fathers And Sons.
Early in his career, Bruce Springsteen wrote about “growin’ up,” often with words and music filled with anger and bravado. In “Independence Day,” it all seems to mellow to a quiet, resigned declaration of independence. It is a poignant narrative of a son breaking free from his father and most likely draws on a lot of real life experience from Springsteen.
The opening organ strains and the lyrics hint at the bittersweet nature of this independence. There doesn’t seem to be any joy in it; this is no “pulling out of here to win,” but rather a story of leaving because your old man is driving you crazy, the town you live in has left him beaten down and defeated, and that’s not going to happen to you. At the heart of the song is the sad realization that his own happiness can only be found by leaving his father behind.
Still, there’s an acceptance of some of the blame (“we were just too much of the same kind”), and a tender tone created by the role-reversal of lines like “Papa go to bed now, it’s getting late” and “so say goodbye, it’s Independence Day.” (Springsteen walks dangerously close to the line of obvious cliché with the “Independence Day” double meaning, but he is skilled enough not to cross that line.)
The song ends with the lines “Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say…I swear I never meant to take those things away.” And yet, he’s “leaving in the morning from Saint Mary’s Gate,” most likely taking many of those things with him (and, yes, Bruce does manage to work “Mary” into yet another song!).
All that being said, this is a song whose impact is not just lyrical. The organ, the sax solo, the tempo, and the lyrics, combine to create a whole that is more than the sum of its parts—stirring, emotional, tender, painful and sad, but very real.
“Independence Day”, November 8, 2009 at Madison Square Garden. It was played as part of a performance of the entire album of "The River":
Five Great Bruce Springsteen Songs About Fathers And Sons.
Early in his career, Bruce Springsteen wrote about “growin’ up,” often with words and music filled with anger and bravado. In “Independence Day,” it all seems to mellow to a quiet, resigned declaration of independence. It is a poignant narrative of a son breaking free from his father and most likely draws on a lot of real life experience from Springsteen.
The opening organ strains and the lyrics hint at the bittersweet nature of this independence. There doesn’t seem to be any joy in it; this is no “pulling out of here to win,” but rather a story of leaving because your old man is driving you crazy, the town you live in has left him beaten down and defeated, and that’s not going to happen to you. At the heart of the song is the sad realization that his own happiness can only be found by leaving his father behind.
Still, there’s an acceptance of some of the blame (“we were just too much of the same kind”), and a tender tone created by the role-reversal of lines like “Papa go to bed now, it’s getting late” and “so say goodbye, it’s Independence Day.” (Springsteen walks dangerously close to the line of obvious cliché with the “Independence Day” double meaning, but he is skilled enough not to cross that line.)
The song ends with the lines “Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say…I swear I never meant to take those things away.” And yet, he’s “leaving in the morning from Saint Mary’s Gate,” most likely taking many of those things with him (and, yes, Bruce does manage to work “Mary” into yet another song!).
All that being said, this is a song whose impact is not just lyrical. The organ, the sax solo, the tempo, and the lyrics, combine to create a whole that is more than the sum of its parts—stirring, emotional, tender, painful and sad, but very real.
“Independence Day”, November 8, 2009 at Madison Square Garden. It was played as part of a performance of the entire album of "The River":
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