Every songwriter has a goal they aim for in their craft. Some writers try to appeal to the widest group of people possible while others only seek to relay their personal experiences. Either goal works, but every writer has to find their own objective. According to Bruce Springsteen, he has a very specific goal he aims for when songwriting. Find out what that is, below.
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The Goal Bruce Springsteen Tries to Achieve in His Songwriting
Springsteen’s songs are rife with vibrant characters. Even when singing in first person, he paints himself into a caricature of sorts–a caricature of a working man with blue collar ideals. That, as it turns out, is an important step in Springsteen’s songwriting process.
“I see these situations happening when I sing them,” Springsteen once said. “I know the characters well. I use them in different songs and see them in shadows. They’re probably based on people I know or else they’re just there. There’s a lot of activity in my songs, a whole mess of people. It’s like if you’re walking down the street, that’s what you see, but a lot of the songs were written without any music at all. It’s just that I do like to sing the words!”
Through these characters, Springsteen hopes to create something universal. As most songwriters will tell you, a writer must start from their personal experiences. For Springsteen, his personal stories and ideologies were widened so that his listeners could connect with his lyrics.
[RELATED: 4 Pieces of Life Advice From Bruce Springsteen To Get You Through the Hardest of Times]
“All experience is personal so you have to start there, and then if you can connect in what’s happening with everyone, the universality of an experience, then you’re creating that alchemy where your audience is listening to it, they’re hearing what they’re feeling inside and they’re also feeling ‘I’m not alone,’ you know? And that’s what you’re trying to do,” Springsteen added elsewhere.
“Most of the songs were twisted autobiographies,” Springsteen continued. “People, places, hangouts and incidents I’d seen and things I’d lived. I wrote impressionistically and changed names to protect the guilty.”
It’s not hard to see this practice played out in Springsteen’s songs. We urge you to revisit Springsteen’s discography and, at the same time, revisit the many characters he has used to tell his stories.
(Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage)
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