Blinded by the light / Revved up like a deuce / Another runner in the night, the words cut through the shimmering synth-driven opener like a hot knife. The iconic lyrics belong to “Blinded by the Light.” The song quickly became a rock classic under the tutelage of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, who scored the song’s writer, his first and so far only No. 1 hit single.
Who Wrote It?
“Blinded by the Light” was written by rock icon Bruce Springsteen. The song appeared on his 1973 debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
Videos by American Songwriter
The song is semi-autobiographical and several of the lyrics make reference to Springsteen’s youth with lyrics like Indians in the summer calling back to the artist’s little league baseball team. In the dumps with the mumps recalling getting sick with the mumps, Boulder on my shoulder and Some all hot, half-shot, heading for a hot spot, snapping fingers clapping his hands illustrates a kid with big dreams and chip on the shoulder.
Watch Springsteen break down the song during a VH1 Storytellers installment below.
The Manfred Mann’s Earth Band Version
The song did not take off for Springsteen as it did for the rock group Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, who covered the song and released it on their 1976 album, The Roaring Silence.
The band took liberties with the song, stripping the original of its swelling jazz-flecked rock arrangement and adding in synth-flourishes, choir-like harmonies, as well as the “Chopsticks” piano melody to the bridge.
They even put their own spin on the lyrics, altering the chorus from the original lines Blinded by the light / Cut loose like a Deuce / Another runner in the night to Revved up like a Deuce / Another runner in the night. In Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s version of the song, however, “Deuce” is often misheard as “douche.”
“I have a feeling that is why the song skyrocketed to number one, but it worked y’know,” Springsteen jokes in the above video. “Deuce was like Little Deuce Coupe, as in a two-seater hot rod, and a douche is a feminine hygienic procedure. So they are different. What can I say? The public spoke, and they were right y’know.”
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images
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