What Rock and Roll Lets You Say

EDITOR'S NOTE: in 2018, Rolling Stone named their top 100 Bruce Springsteen songs. This one came in at number 34. As usual, RS had no idea what they were missing -- none. 

Springsteen may not have been "rock and roll future" , but this is, almost certainly, one of the greatest rock songs ever written.

Contrary to what Bono wrote, rock n roll is three chords and only some truth. With its emphasis on youth and beauty, rock shrinks from truths like those told in “Willie Roy (The Crippled Boy)”. Fixated on rebellion for its own sake, rock would never make room for stories like “The Fields Have Turned Brown” or “I’ve Just Seen the Rock Of Ages”.

For all that, bluegrass, too, shrinks from certain truths – like the ones told in this song.

Some people will listen to these lyrics and immediately fix on something or someone to blame – just like the father (said to be Springsteen’s own) in this song.

That such blame-placing is ultimately futile seems to be Springsteen’s message. Though we all have inherited baggage, we can choose whether to carry it or ask for help. Whether to watch someone carry a crippling load or offer help.

Cain had a choice. Adam did, too. “Adam Raised A Cain”.

Good Enough For Me

In his book, Bruce Springsteen FAQ: All That's Left To Know About the Boss, John D. Luerssen quotes Springsteen from a 2009 interview with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Jim Henke:

"I got thrown out [of British Invasion-inspired band, The Rogues] because they told me my guitar was too cheap. It kind of pissed me off. I remember I went home that night and I put on 'It's All Over Now' by The Rolling Stones and I forced myself to learn the lead."

By 1965, Luerssen writes, Springsteen was practicing six hours a day.

Yet, somehow, all that a lot of folks could find to say about Keith Richards' incendiary break was that it owed too much to Chuck Berry.

Honestly, who else was he supposed to imitate -- Perry Como?

I guess you can sit on the sidelines and make historically-uninformed remarks about someone's artistic choices, or you can do what Springsteen did.

The rest, as they say, is history.

BTW, I've never read Luerssen's book. I remembered Springsteen's story about this song from an interview he did many years ago, possibly with Rolling Stone. I remember reading a lot of rock criticism, and wondering if anything I liked was really any good. Then, Springsteen comes along and gives the thumbs-up to a guitar break that I, too, would have been playing over and over -- if I'd only had the record.

Here are The Rolling Stones with "It's All Over Now". Say what you will about the needlessly-controversial guitar break, but IMO, Richards sounds like he's in guitar-nerd heaven, and that's good enough for me.