If you asked a casual fan to sum up Bruce Springsteen‘s music, you’d likely get a lot of “anthems” or “working-class hero” descriptors. Springsteen’s music has developed into a paradigm of sorts. It’s not entirely definable, but you know a Springsteen-esque song when you hear it.
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Despite what some may think, Springsteen’s career has not been “one note” by any means. There is no better proof of that than his 1982 album, Nebraska. Uncover the story behind Springsteen’s starkest and strangest album below.
The Story Behind Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’
“If I had to pick one album out and say, ‘This is going to represent you 50 years from now,’ I’d pick ‘Nebraska,’” Springsteen once said of this record. The monumental success of Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A. kinda blows that hope out of the water. Nevertheless, we see where he is coming from.
Nebraska stands in stark contrast to the rest of Springsteen’s catalog. Instead of jubilant vignettes of the American dream, this record deals in darkness–telling depressing stories that don’t do much good for the psyche.
“I just hit some sort of personal wall that I didn’t even know was there,” Springsteen added in the same interview. “It was my first real major depression where I realized, ‘Oh, I’ve got to do something about it.’”
To do “something about it,” Springsteen tried to remind himself of his roots. “The first thing I gotta do as soon as I get home is remind myself of who I am and where I came from,” he said.
Springsteen took to his home in Colts Neck, New Jersey, to write Nebraska. He mirrored this new thematic direction with a stripped-down sound. Recorded on a four-track recorder, Nebraska consists of ten intimate songs that only an artist who truly knew himself could drum up. Springsteen said to hell with label or audience expectations. He followed only his will while creating what many consider his masterpiece.
The Story
While there are many stories on Nebraska, the driving force behind this record was Springsteen’s uncontented life. Despite his runaway success, he felt he was missing the things that mattered.
“I think in your 20s, a lotta things work for you,” Springsteen once said. “You’re 30s is where you start to become an adult. Suddenly I looked around and said, ‘Where is everything? Where is my home? Where is my partner? Where are the sons or daughters that I thought I might have someday?’ And I realized none of those things are there.”
The hole in Springsteen’s life is evident in these somber tracks. You can’t help but feel a little empty yourself while listening to them. That said, many of Springsteen’s fans must be gluttons for punishment, given the high praise this record has received. It may not have the crowd-pleasers that many of his other records can boast, but it is Springsteen at his most introspective. It’s a rare look into the life of a lonely, unfulfilled artist. Not many rockers would have the guts to admit something like that.
(Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)
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