# the greates Springsteen song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2019, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034 "2019-10-20T06:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/1 "2019-10-20T06:26:38Z")
In Ken Burns’ Country Music, they asked a number of people to name their favorite Jimmie Rodgers songs. I think it was Merle Haggard who said, “We narrowed it down to the top fifty.” In 1978 I was going through a very difficult time in high school, and that was the year Darkness on the Edge of Town was released. Adam Raised a Cain and Racing in the Streets and Darkness on the Edge of Time seemed to narrate my life. The live version of Racing in the Street is a candidate. So is Mansion on the Hill, on the acoustic Nebraska. My dad and I and my brothers did drive by the houses of the more well-off people in town. Used Cars is a favorite. Thunder Road. Backstreets. The River. Born in the USA But I am going to say “Lost in the Flood”, the live version, is the greatest Springsteen song. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/2 "2019-10-20T07:28:50Z")
“Born To Run” is his best _jam_, but as far as the song that best encompasses his oeuvre, I’d go with “The River”. ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/3 "2019-10-20T08:09:58Z")
Atlantic City. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/4 "2019-10-20T10:26:21Z")
> [@Unreconstructed\_Man](#): > > Atlantic City. It’s this. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/5 "2019-10-20T10:37:30Z")
Tunnel of Love, especially the video. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/6 "2019-10-20T10:40:00Z")
Or Racing in the Street. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/7 "2019-10-20T11:50:28Z")
I usually cite “ **For You** ” as my favorite. > [@](#): > > Crawl into my ambulance, your pulse is getting weak > Oh reveal yourself all now to me, girl, while you’ve got the strength to speak Runner up: **The Promised Land** : > [@](#): > > Well there’s a dark cloud rising from the desert floor > I packed my bags and I’m heading straight into the storm > Gonna be a twister to blow everything down > That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground > Blow away the dreams that tear you apart > Blow away the dreams that break your heart > Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/8 "2019-10-20T12:16:51Z")
“Rosalita,” which is transcendent. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/9 "2019-10-20T12:34:17Z")
The best bit in a Springsteen song is the sax part in _Jungleland_. But the rest of the song isn’t in the top five. So it’s down to _Born to Run, Badlands, 10th Avenue Freeze Out, Thunder Road, The Promised Land, Hungry Heart_, … (I’ll get back to you.) ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/10 "2019-10-20T12:47:04Z")
Personal favorites: Dancing in the Dark, Hungry Heart, 10th Avenue Freeze Out, Born to Run, My Hometown, Born in the USA, Thunder Road, Jungleland ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/11 "2019-10-20T13:09:23Z")
OH, oh, oh, oh **Thunder Road**. > [@](#): > > The screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways > Like a vision she dances across the porch, as the radio plays And it just keeps going from there, not a wasted [del]line[/del] word in the song. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/12 "2019-10-20T13:23:36Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > And it just keeps going from there, not a wasted [del]line[/del] word in the song. I was coming in here to make a case for wasted words; _“her and her husband Bobby, well, they split up — I guess it’s two years gone by now,”_ that’s perfect. They say some authors try to write the way people talk, and in GLORY DAYS Springsteen is out to sound like a downright conversational storyteller: wryly delivering sentiment as if he’s just now thinking it through, and putting it into words as he’s going along. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/13 "2019-10-20T13:23:43Z")
**Ramrod** [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BEhmiGQvjOY/maxresdefault.jpg "Ramrod") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEhmiGQvjOY) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Greenjeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.greenjeans/32/551_2.png) [@Mr.Greenjeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Greenjeans)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/14 "2019-10-20T13:31:43Z")
For me, this discussion starts and ends with Kitty’s Back. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/15 "2019-10-20T13:31:48Z")
Gotta be: [Girls in the Summer Clothes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CLEWGuCNcI) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/16 "2019-10-20T13:39:42Z")
_The Rising_. Sung from the POV of a New York City firefighter as he ascends one of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. It recounts his thoughts as he’s climbing and apparently his final thoughts as the building crumbles around him. _Can’t see nothin’ in front of me, Can’t see nothin’ coming up behind … I make my way through this darkness, I can’t feel nothing but this chain that binds me. Lost track of how far I’ve gone How far I’ve gone, how high I’ve climbed … On my back’s a 60-pound stone On my shoulder a half mile of line_ Despite the grim subject matter, it’s a light, almost joyous song that suggests a resurrection out of the rubble from 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/17 "2019-10-20T13:49:02Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > _The Rising_. Missed the edit window. [Link](https://youtu.be/6i-fiRgbpr4) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/18 "2019-10-20T14:29:12Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Gotta be: [Girls in the Summer Clothes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CLEWGuCNcI) That’s my ringtone, so it has to be way up there for me. I’d also include _Murder, Inc., The River, Prove It All Night (Live), Racing In the Street (Live),_ and _Meet Me In the City_. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/19 "2019-10-20T15:02:52Z")
I came in to say _Darkness on the Edge of Town_, especially done live, but I always find myself coming back to _Thunder Road_, acoustic or otherwise. He’s done a lot of great storytelling songs, but I especially love the story in _Meeting Across The River_ - the loser trying to get support for his meeting, trying to get out of a situation he’s never going to leave, and his fantasy of throwing the money down on his girl’s bed and showing her. He’s never getting that money. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034/20 "2019-10-20T15:15:34Z")
I love these threads. People just have to top each other with the most obscure song, just to show their cred. Yes, some song that never got one radio airplay is better than Born to Run or The River, or…well, anything else. So I nominate 57 Channels. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greates-springsteen-song/842034.md?page=2)