The Murder Mystery That Inspired Bruce Springsteen’s Self-Proclaimed Masterpiece ‘Nebraska’

Bruce Springsteen or “The Boss,” is about as honest of a famous artist as you get. Between admitting that he was “tinged with a bit of fraud” in his memoir Born To Run, as well as pouring out heartfelt stories on his Netflix special, Springsteen on Broadway. The artist is about as real as any “real” person is.

Recently, Springsteen sat down with Jim Axelrdod and CBS Sunday Morning to speak about one of the darkest times in his life. During that time, Springsteen produced what he believes to be his best album—Nebraska. The interview takes twists and turns and articulates Springsteen’s life at the time. Given Springsteen’s authenticity, he leaves all out on the table with a fresh sense of vulnerability.

Before Inspiration Struck

“If I had to pick one album and say ‘this is going to represent you 50 years from now,’ I’d pick Nebraska,” Springsteen told Axelrod. Recorded in a rented farmhouse bedroom, Axlerod and Springsteen went back to the bedroom to dissect the feelings Springsteen felt 41 years after the recording.

After rehashing the success Springsteen reached in his twenties. He stated, “Suddenly I looked around and said, ‘Where is everything?’” “Everything” refers to the comfortable life Springsteen missed out on in his early rock ‘n’ roll years. Springsteen, yearning for a life he hadn’t lived, retreated to the farmhouse to sort himself out. What followed was his self-proclaimed masterpiece.

The Flicking of the Switch

Oddly enough, Springsteen was watching TV one night when he came across the 1973 film, Badlands. Inspired by the real-life killers Charles Starkweather and Caril-Ann Fugate in Nebraska and Wyoming. Following the film, a switch flicked, and Springsteen found his next subject.

“I tried to locate where their humanity was as best as I could,” Springsteen said. This snippet is seemingly what drove Springsteen to create the 10-track album. However, the direct correlation between Springsteen’s hardship and the murder mystery is as complex as can be.

What Nebraska Meant to Him

According to the interview, it seems Springsteen was fed up with filling stadiums and creating dance hits. “I’m trying to tell a bigger story,” Springsteen shared with Axelrod. Springsteen does indeed tell a more nuanced story with Nebraska, however, the connection between serial killers and catharsis is unclear.

Whether Springsteen planned to release childhood trauma or reinvent his art, fans will never know the exact answer as to why the murders brought him meaning. Nevertheless, the album reportedly means the world to Bruce Springsteen and it also has most certainly provided that same sentiment to some of his fans.

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