The Reason Bruce Springsteen Calls This Bob Dylan Lyric His Favorite Ever—and Why He Got Immediately “Hooked”

Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen are two of music’s greatest songwriters. Thanks to their unofficial titles, it seems the two would have been in heavy correspondence for their careers, but that is seemingly not the case. Rather, Springsteen, like everybody else, is a Dylan fan who has admired his work from arm’s length. The two have only collaborated a mere one time, and that is when they played on stage at Dylan’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1995.

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Given their lack of public collaborations, Springsteen’s admiration mimics that of any other common Dylan fan. It’s an admiration outlined by amazement, inspiration, and musical religion. That being so, Springsteen has covered numerous Dylan songs and even disclosed his favorites. More specifically, he has divulged his very favorite lyric out of Dylan’s hundreds of thousands. It’s a cliché answer, but clichés are cliché for a reason—They are true.

Bruce Springsteen & “Like A Rolling Stone”

Amidst the height of the pandemic, Springsteen virtually sat down with Stephen Colbert to casually talk about whatever came to mind at the very moment. Thanks to this colloquial conversation, the two Dylan fanboys got to talking about their favorite song. Colbert asked Springsteen his, to which he reluctantly replied with far more than just one After all, that is like asking someone who their favorite family member is.

Nevertheless, Colbert became more specific and asked Springsteen his favorite lyric. Springsteen quickly recited, “Once upon a time a girl so fine threw the bums a dime in their prime. Didn’t you?” The lyric Springsteen recited are from Dylan’s classic hit, “Like a Rolling Stone.” Springsteen disclosed his reasoning, stating, “In the end, you were just like hooked” and “You were into that story so intensely and so quickly.”

Colbert didn’t allow Springsteen to expand, as if he could he seemingly would have given a dissertation about the lyric. But, in addition to the lyric, “Like A Rolling Stone” was one of the songs Springsteen named as his favorite. Saying, “It’s a history culture-changing piece of music” and “It’s also simply, a fantastic rock ‘n’ roll song.” Other songs Springsteen named included “Visions Of Johanna” and “Ring Them Bells.”

Bruce Springsteen’s choice is very on-brand, as Dylan’s lyric encompass a collaboration of wealth and poverty and the relationship that ensues. Springsteen has done much of the same, as he has often places two juxtaposing forces against one another to evoke philosophical and brain-scratching questions. In all, the parallels in the two’s lyrics are overtly present, and Springsteen’s answer just reinforces that fact.

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