Lost song of the day

Bruce Springsteen -- "When You're Alone" off Tunnel of Love

Bruce Springsteen is another musician about which I have a bone to pick with my mother.   I have previously discussed on this space my father's vast musical knowledge of every song recorded from 1960-1966 (and his total disinterest of all music that came after that) and my mother's broad musical interests that made me curious and the music fan that I am.  

So it is her that I relied upon for exposure to rock and folk from 1967 going forward.  And she typically delivered, but failed miserably by never listening to Bruce Springsteen, who I really discovered about 10 years ago, but didn't fully appreciate until the last few years.  So, thanks mom.  I missed out on 15 years of Backstreets and Jungleland.

It's cliche to talk about the deep emotional place Bruce was in when he wrote Tunnel of Love -- it's all over the internet, the songs are soaked with loneliness and despair (amazingly even moreso than albums like Born to Run of Darkness on the Edge of Town).    "One Step Up" might be the gem of the album, but "When You're Alone" is my favorite.

Sometimes it's Bruce's storytelling that I really love, the narrative.  Sometimes it's the overly cheesy lyrics (like in Born to Run), usually it's the music and the energy.  On this song, though, it's his ability to succinctly hammer home a theme, both by repeating "When you're alone, you're alone" over and over again, and by delivering one of my favorite of his lyrics, "And man, I was gone, gone, gone"

I can't get enough of this song.  

Note: the above photo shows Bruce at his absolute preeningest.  It is both awesome and hilarious.