I believe few musicians had a more impressive career than Bruce Springsteen. ‘The Boss’, often backed by the E Street Band, has released a remarkable 21 studio albums over the course of six decades, some of which rank among the greatest albums ever released. With such an extensive repertoire, it isn’t easy to pick Springsteen’s 10 greatest songs. But I decided to give it a try anyway. For this article, I’ve ranked Bruce Springsteen’s 10 best songs, mainly based on personal preference and cultural importance.
10. Stolen Car
I start this list with “Stolen Car”. The song isn’t among Bruce Springsteen’s most celebrated songs – many don’t even know it – but I believe it ranks with Springsteen’s very best. “Stolen Car” only has 2 chords, accompanied by Springsteen’s distinctive voice, and a beautiful raindrop-like piano arrangement. The song was released on The River and is – in my opinion – a truly underrated gem.
9. I’m On Fire
We jump from the relatively unknown “Stolen Car” to one of Bruce Springsteen’s most famous songs: “I’m On Fire”. The song was released as the fourth single of the highly successful Born in the U.S.A. and became a worldwide hit. Part of the song’s popularity came from “I’m On Fire’s” music video, which received heavy airplay on MTV and even won an MTV award for Best Male Video.
The main reason I like the song so much is because of the amazing muted guitar riff in the background of the song, which gives “I’m On Fire” its driving motion.
8. Atlantic City
On January 3, 1982, Bruce Springsteen recorded 15 demo songs on a 4-track cassette recorder at his house. 10 of those demo recordings eventually formed the basis of Springsteen’s 1982 release Nebraska. One of the most celebrated songs on the album is the raw “Atlantic City”. I believe the lyrics of the song, which address a young couple’s risky move to Atlantic City to escape their dire circumstances, rank among Springsteen’s best lyrics.
7. Dancing In The Dark
For number 7 I picked “Dancing In The Dark”. The upbeat song may not sound like a typical Springsteen record, but underneath the poppy sound lie a set of pretty dark lyrics. They address Springsteen’s feelings of isolation, difficulties, and frustration as a musician. “Dancing In The Dark” was released as Born in the U.S.A.’s lead single and became Springsteen’s most commercially successful song.
Read more: The Story Behind “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen
6. Badlands
“Badlands” was released as the second single of Bruce Springsteen’s fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town. Although the song is considered to be one of Springsteen’s most essential tracks, it knew little commercial success upon its release. But the high-energy rock anthem probably works better as a live song, as it is one of Springsteen’s most-played concert songs with good reason.
5. Born in the U.S.A.
For number 5 I picked “Born in the U.S.A.”. The song is known for its anthemic sound and patriotic-sounding chorus and is therefore often misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem. In actuality, “Born in the U.S.A.” is a critical commentary on America’s treatment of veterans. The song was released as a single at the end of 1984 and sold over 3 million copies in the US alone.
4. Jungleland
You may wonder why I haven’t mentioned any songs from Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough album Born to Run yet. Well, it’s because they’re yet to come, starting with “Jungeland”. The 9-and-a-half-minute-long epic is Born to Run’s closing track and features – according to Springsteen – E Street Band’s saxophonist Clarence Clemons’ greatest recorded moment. He’s of course talking about Clemons’ iconic saxophone solo.
3. Thunder Road
We move from Born to Run’s closing track to its opening track “Thunder Road”. According to Bruce Springsteen, the song introduces the album’s central proposition: ‘Do you want to take a chance? On us? On life?’
“Thunder Road” was never released as a single, but nevertheless grew out to be one of Springsteen’s most celebrated songs. It’s a true fan favorite and often one of the highlights of Springsteen’s amazing live shows.
2. The River
“The River” is easily one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs. Released on the album with the same name, the song’s moving harmonica intro and touching lyrics never fail to impress me. The song was inspired by Springsteen’s sister Ginny’s early relationship with her husband Mickey and depicts how their dreams were interrupted by life’s reality.
1. Born To Run
My number 1 pick for the greatest Bruce Springsteen song is “Born To Run”. After Springsteen’s first two albums gave him no commercial success, he had grandiose ideas for his third album’s title track. With only one album left on his contract, Springsteen felt “Born to Run” was a case of all-or-nothing.
“I wanted to craft a record that sounded like the last record on Earth, like the last record you might hear… the last one you’d ever NEED to hear,” Springsteen reflected.
Lyrically, “Born to Run” tells a similar all-or-nothing story. The narrator invites a girl named Wendy to escape the small town they live in to search for something better. The all-or-nothing case of “Born To Run” – both the song and the album – turned out to be a case of all. It became Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough album and gave him nationwide fame. And I believe that the album’s lead single, “Born To Run”, is Springsteen’s very best song!
Read more: The Story Behind “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen
That is my list of the 10 best Bruce Springsteen songs. Given Springsteen’s great repertoire, I certainly left out songs that could have easily ranked on this list, such as “Glory Days”, “Hungry Heart”, “Rosalita”, and “Human Touch”, among others. So, what’s your opinion of my list? What would you change? And what does your top 10 look like? Please let me know in the comments below!
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