Thunder Road (song)
 | This article possibly contains original research. |
| "Thunder Road" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Bruce Springsteen | ||
| From the album Born to Run | ||
| Album released | August 25, 1975 | |
| Recorded | 1975 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Song Length | 4:49 | |
| Record label | Columbia / Sony | |
| Producer | Bruce Springsteen and Jon Landau | |
| Track Number | 1 | |
"Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and the opening track on his 1975 breakthrough album Born to Run. It is constantly ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and one of the top rock songs of all time.
History
The song underwent considerable evolution as it was written, with an early version titled "Wings For Wheels", a phrase that would be used in the final version of the lyrics. The original version also mentions a girl named "Christine" or "Angelina" rather than the studio homage to "Mary".
Lyrics and music
"Thunder Road" can be considered a true American short story with its perfectly concise plot depicting a young woman named Mary, her suitor, their desperate lives and their "one last chance to make it real." Thematically, it reads as a nostalgic companion piece to "Born to Run".
From the opening nod to the director John Ford ("The screen door slams" evokes The Searchers) to the romanticized look at American blue collar life ("You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright") the song transcends Springsteen's earlier works like "4th of July, Asbury Park, Sandy" on his previous album which seems in retrospect to be a sprawling, rough draft for this more concise song. It is widely interpreted that at the end Springsteen's character is looking for the good life ("pulling out of here to win") in a materialistic sense, but it is more likely he is searching for it in a broader spiritual sense. The song is also an ode to the open road and rock'n'roll in general, both strong themes in American rock, country and folk music; each genre being represented to some extent in this song.
Musically, the song opens with a quiet piano and harmonica introduction, meant, as Springsteen said years later in the Wings For Wheels documentary, as a welcoming to both the track and the album, a signifier that something was about to happen. Eschewing a traditional verse-and-chorus structure, the song's arrangement gradually ramps up in instrumentation, tempo and intensity, like an automobile shifting up in gears. The title phrase is not used until the middle section of the song, and then is not used again. Finally, after the closing line there is a celebratory saxophone-and-piano duet in the instrumental coda.
In this song, Springsteen mentions Roy Orbison "singing for the lonely" on the radio. Orbison, whose best-known song is "Only the Lonely," was a huge influence on Springsteen.
The song's title comes from the Robert Mitchum film Thunder Road. Springsteen declared that he was somehow inspired from the movie even if, as he says, "I never saw the movie, I only saw the poster."[1]
Acclaim
In 2004, it was ranked #1 in WXPN's list of "The 885 All-Time Greatest Songs".[2] Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time placed it at #86.[3] The song came in at #226 in Q's list of the "1001 Greatest Songs Ever" in 2003, in which they described the song as "best for pleading on the porch." Julia Roberts, when asked which song lyric described her most accurately, chose "Thunder Road"'s "You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright." The song is featured in the book 31 Songs by British author Nick Hornby.
This song is one of the defining Bruce Springsteen songs and remains a fan favorite and live staple to this day. In 1970s concerts, Springsteen sometimes played the song in solo piano versions or as a segue out of some other more dirge-like song such as "Racing in the Street". In concert in the 1980s, the song was often played to close out the first set; the coda was stretched out to showcase E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, then Clemons and Springsteen would charge at each other from opposite ends of the stage, with Springsteen sliding into Clemons in a triumphant embrace. By the late 1990s Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour, "Thunder Road" was played as celebratory from start to finish, with Springsteen pointing to people he knew or to attractive females in the front rows during the extended outro.
"Thunder Road" is generally regarded as a classic rock staple, and has been covered by artists as diverse as Melissa Etheridge, Badly Drawn Boy, Mary Lou Lord and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy with Tortoise.
Sequel
Sometime after the release of Born to Run, Springsteen wrote a follow-up to "Thunder Road" called "The Promise", which explicitly mentions the first song by name but reveals a far more pessimistic outlook on the narrator's life and future. Although early studio recordings were never released, "The Promise" gained considerable legend for its 1978 Tour performances; it finally materialized in a re-recorded version on 1999's 18 Tracks.
References
- ^ Springsteen, Bruce. Concert. Passaic, NJ. 19 Sept. 1978. Source
- ^ "885 All Time Greatest Songs". Retrieved 2006-11-12.
- ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2006-11-12.