Some all-hot half-shot was headin’ for the hot spot, snappin’ his fingers, clappin’ his handsĪnd some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover’s knot with a whatnot in her handĪnd now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sandĪnd some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers, “Daddy’s within earshot, save the buckshot, turn up the band”And she was blinded by the lightĬut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing, the calliope crashed to the ground With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin’ kinda older, I tripped the merry-go-round In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat The Earth Band definitely made the song their own and honestly, it wasn’t until many, many years later I knew this was actually a Bruce Springsteen song. They even threw a little “Chopsticks” melody in to the mix for good measure. The band also extended the song to 7 minutes from the original 5 minutes in length which allowed the song to breathe so to speak. That little change probably put the song over the top and made it successful…at least that is what Bruce joked about one time. Everyone thought they were saying “Wrapped up like a Douche”, yes, the feminine product. That change made the song one of the most misheard lyrics in history. A line in the original song was “Cut loose like a deuce” and the band changed it to “Revved up like a deuce”. The biggest change they made was actually a small one. It had a cool guitar riff that would pop in through out the song to help get that repeating feeling that seems to grab the audiences attention.
The song replaced the horns with keyboards and had these angelic voices layered in to give it a more heavenly feel. The band started the song out with the Chorus rather than jumping straight in to all those lyrics. It is more polished and better produced for a more radio friendly version of the song. Manfred Mann’s version is quite different than Bruce’s. For that reason, it is really tough for me to like this song as I am not sure if I am to focus on Bruce or the band. They feel like they are competing for the same space. The band seems to be playing a different song than Bruce is singing. And I think they are part of the problem with this one.
The horns and keyboards are a plenty in the song and the E Street band is jamming away. Musically, it was is one of only two songs on the first album to feature Clarence Clemons on Saxophone.
#Blinded by the light bruce springsteen full#
Bruce vocals are done in a singing / speaking format rather than full on singing which is typical Bruce. The chorus was catchy, no doubt, but it is a difficult song to get in to with the way it is presented. No person listening to the radio could remember all the words. and it was probably because it had so many words. BRUCE SPRINGSTEENĪs I said, the song flopped in the U.S. He went nuts with the words and threw everything in, but I don’t see the kitchen sink. So, sitting in his bedroom with a rhyming dictionary, Bruce threw so many words together and came up with this beast. The song came about because the record company felt he needed a single. There were a ton of references to friends, his youth experiences and even him getting sick. The song was very auto-biographical for Bruce. It took someone performing his song for him to get a #1 song…interesting considering how much he is acclaimed as being The Boss. And…it flopped! Manfred Mann’s version was released in 1977 and went all the way to #1 and I believe it was Bruce’s first #1 song and his only. off his 1973 debut album, Greeting From Asbury Park, N.J. For Bruce, it was his first single in the U.S. The Cover, we are going to explore the Bruce Springsteen song “Blinded by the Light” which was later covered by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.