How to Appreciate the Songs of Bruce Springsteen

An American icon to millions of fans around the globe, the appeal of Bruce Springsteen's music remains elusive to many non-fans. Whether you're the girlfriend trying to understand a boyfriend's infatuation with a fist-pumping, adrenaline-and-sweat-soaked rocker who was Born in the USA, or a husband who doesn't get his wife's preoccupation with a guy who was Born to Run, or maybe even a parent who can't fathom her young teen being in love with the songs of a guy who is eligible for retirement benefits, here is your nutshell guide to why Bruce Springsteen is the Boss of you.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Become a working class hero who is struggling just above or below the poverty line, a middle-class wage-earner who feels screwed by the current state of the economy, or a rich dude who likes to exercise, drink green-tea and hob-nob with famous rock stars from a working-class background.
2. If you appreciate the concept of the American Dream, then it is very easy to also appreciate the songs of Bruce Springsteen. He comes from a blue collar background, both parents constantly struggling to make ends meet and raise a family. Springsteen was a failure in school, so he learned how to play the cheap, Japanese-made guitar his mother bought for him one Christmas, even though the family budget couldn't afford it. Despite the initial and continual protestations of his father, Bruce Springsteen grew up to became rich and famous playing guitar and singing songs (usually about his rocky relationship with his father, who eventually said "That's the last time I tell anybody what to do").
3. Understand Freudian and Jungian psychology. Okay, so folk-rock may not be your thing, but if you actually read some of Springsteen's lyrics, and if you're at all concerned about the dynamics between parent-and-child, you're in for a treat. Here you will find constant reminders that fathers hinder and mothers enable, along with all the attendant odd imagery and rhyming couplets.
4. Finally, now it is time to see what all this means to you. Do you a) have a mother and a father, b) have a job and/or c) have a dream that takes you far, far away from all of the above only to bring you back to what truly matters one day? If you answered yes to all of the above, you are a Bruce Springsteen fan and you probably don't know it yet. If you answered no to any question you are a green-skinned Martian and will probably never understand the Boss.

Tips & Warnings

• Listen to more rock and roll and folk music.
• Give the little guys a break, because they might be famous one day.
• Never listen to smooth jazz or Muzak.
• Stay out of elevators.