Blinded by the light
| Blinded by the light | |
|---|---|
| Bruce Springsteen | |
| publication | February 1973 |
| length | 5:06 |
| Genre (s) | skirt |
| text | Bruce Springsteen |
| music | Bruce Springsteen |
| album | Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ |
| Cover versions | |
| 1974 | Allan Clarke |
| 1976 | Manfred Mann's Earth Band |
| 2002 | Funkstar Deluxe |
Blinded by the Light is a song originally composed and recorded by Bruce Springsteen and released on the 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ . A cover version of Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and was a top ten hit in the UK , New Zealand and Canada .
history
The song came about after Clive Davis , then President of Columbia , heard an early version of Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ and said the album lacked a potential single. Springsteen then wrote Blinded by the Light and Spirit in the Night .
Blinded by the Light was the first song on Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ and the first release from the album. The Springsteen version was not commercially successful and did not reach any chart positions.
text
According to his own statement, Springsteen came up with the idea for the song while looking for suitable words in a rhyming dictionary. The first line of the song “Madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summers with a teenage diplomat” is autobiographical: “Madman Drummers” is an allusion to the drummer Vini Lopez , known as “Mad Man” (later he called himself “Mad Dog "); “Indians in the summer” refers to the name of Springsteen's Little League team and “teenage diplomat” refers to himself. The rest of the song is about various unrelated events, the chorus then goes "Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night".
The recording of Manfred Mann's Earth Band contains a number of text changes. The most significant is the refrain, (instead of "cut loose like a deuce" started as a Deuce ) at Springsteen says the amended "revved up like a deuce" ( get up to speed as a Deuce ).
This passage is often misunderstood as "wrapped up like a douche" ( wrapped up like a vaginal douche ). The V in “revved” is hardly emphasized and the C in “deuce” sounds more like an SH, also because of a distinct lisp .
Springsteen himself joked about this controversy, claiming that it was only the change in the text to include monthly hygiene that made the play a success.
Cover versions and re-releases
For his 1974 solo album Sideshow , Allan Clarke of the Hollies recorded a version of the song. At the same time he recorded several other pieces by Springsteen with the Hollies, some of which became hits for the group.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band released the piece on their album The Roaring Silence . This version reached the first places on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM charts. Manfred Mann's Earth Band recording of Blinded by the Light was the only number 1 single that Springsteen had as a songwriter on the Hot 100.
In 2002 the Danish group Funkstar Deluxe brought out a disc version of the piece. In 2007 Springsteen released a jazzed version on Live in Dublin , which he recorded with The Sessions Band. The Sessions Band is a rotating group that Springsteen has worked with occasionally since 1997.
The song also appears in the feature films Blow and Krass .
Occupations
Original version
- Bruce Springsteen - vocals, guitar, electric bass, keyboard
- Vini Lopez - drums, backing vocals
- Clarence Clemons - saxophone, backing vocals
- Harold Wheeler - piano
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
- Manfred Mann - organ, piano, keyboard, backing vocals
- Colin Pattenden - electric bass
- Dave Flett - guitar
- Chris Thompson - vocals, guitar
- Chris Slade - drums, backing vocals
- Doreen Chanter - backing vocals
- Irene Chanter - backing vocals
- Susanne Lynch - backing vocals
Chart placements
Version of Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Weekly charts
| Chart (1976–1977) | Highest position |
|---|---|
| Australia KMR | 11 |
| Canada RPM | 1 |
| Netherlands | 19th |
| New Zealand | 8th |
| Great Britain | 6th |
| Germany | 42 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Cashbox Top 100 | 1 |
Annual charts
| Charts (1976) | position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 88 |
| Great Britain | 77 |
| Charts (1977) | position |
|---|---|
| Canada | 28 |
| American Top 40 Year-End | 27 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 36 |
| US cash box | 52 |
Web links
- Blinded by the light . Lyrics on Bruce Springsteen's official website
- Lyrics and detailed information on different versions of the lyrics on SpringsteenLyrics.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Mike Buzzelli: Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night . In: Observer-Reporter . April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- ↑ VH1 Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen . Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- ↑ The word Deuce in both versions refers to a Ford Model B from 1932.
- ↑ Search results for misheard lyrics at kissthisguy.com
- ↑ Q: “Blinded By the Light, Revved Up Like a…” What? ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Blogcritics Music
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
- ↑ 50.6.195.142 ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ David Kent's “Australian Chart Book 1970-1992”
- ↑ uk-charts.top-source.info
- ↑ bac-lac.gc.ca
- ↑ American Top 40 - "The Top 100 Hits of 1977" (Part 2) (PDF)
- ↑ musicoutfitters.com ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 50.6.195.142 ( Memento of the original from October 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
