The people of Pittsburgh undoubtedly spent last night and maybe some of this morning rightly drinking and reveling in celebration of the Steelers' Super Bowl victory. (Then again, Pittsburghers need an excuse to drink like Tyler Perry needs an excuse to dress in women's clothes.) As a native Pittsburgher with very fond childhood memories of Myron Cope and Terrible Towels and polka songs about Jack Lambert and Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, I took a great deal of pleasure in the game - which I'd argue was even more thrilling than last year's, if such a thing is possible.But I found almost as thrilling Bruce Springsteen's halftime performance, a burst of endless energy that a guy approaching 60 just isn't supposed to have.
Then again, Bruce is no ordinary man. Blessed with an indomitable spirit, a tireless work ethic, and an engaging charisma, he's spent 35-plus years reflecting, celebrating, and analyzing everymen's lives, giving a voice to the voiceless with a depth I don't think any other American artist has approached (though John Mellencamp's had his moments).
And one of the best examples of his populist embrace is a song I hadn't even thought to consider when trying to guess which songs he'd perform last night. I anticipated "Born to Run" and his glaringly inferior new effort "Working on a Dream," but was not expecting the happiest song ever written about regret.
"Glory Days" is giddy, even though it's about dreams deferred. People who wanted the lives of stars, who instead settled for the lives of bars - and indeed, all three of the song's verses use drinking as the means - the excuse? - to launch into looking back. I have been sitting here at my computer for over half an hour trying to apprehend Bruce's mixed message: for a guy who's spent his whole life working on a dream (yes) and making it real, it's funny that he should have such a jolly Buddha laugh as he chides those who didn't do what they would have had to do to make their dreams happen. I guess I'm just more judgmental than the Boss is - to my detriment.
PS: Who did he learn that wind-up from, Paul Byrd?
2 comments:
I don't think Bruce is "chiding" anyone in the lyrics to GD -- it's a song about how sooner or later, all you have is memories. Sometines thru no fault of your own.
BTW, there's a fourth verse that Bruce added later on and sometimes does in concert:
My old man worked 20 years on the line
and they let him go
Now everywhere he goes out looking for work
they just tell him that he's too old
I was 9 nine years old and he was working at the
Metuchen Ford plant assembly line
Now he just sits on a stool down at the Legion hall
but I can tell what's on his mind
Glory days yeah goin back
Glory days aw he ain't never had
Glory days, glory days
Wow - that verse is powerful.
It's these sorts of exchanges that make me glad I'm maintaining this blog.
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