Blow Away The Lies That Leave You Nothing But Lost and Brokenhearted

One of my favorite purchases of the past few years is Bruce Springsteen's re-release of his 1978 album, Darkness On The Edge Of Town.  While he's had other albums that have received more attention and accolades, this one resonates with me the most.  The "special edition" of this one truly is special, featuring a reproduction of the notebook he used to write out lyrics, chords, etc and sequence the album with.  It's enlightening because it allows you to take a glimpse into the artist's mind to see how he created his piece.  In addition, there are two extra discs of unreleased music (entitled The Promise) that are excellent, a documentary on the making of the album, a live performance by the E Street Band of the whole album (done when they were all older men in 2009), and a vintage concert from the late 70s.

In short, a dream for a big fan of Springsteen and of the album.

But why does this album resonate to me?  Why have I come to be such a fan of Springsteen?  So much of it rests in what is found on this album and throughout his work - an honesty that permeates his writings and music, characters that are real, and a cinematic scope.  All of that existed in his first big break, Born To Run.  When I first heard Thunder Road my jaw dropped not just because of the beauty of the music, but because of the beauty of the words:

"The screen door slams
Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside
darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me"

And so it goes as we begin an optimistic journey into a world full of hope and dreams.

But Darkness On The Edge Of Town, the next album, would not be so bright and cheery.  Springsteen went through a legal battle in between and his view of the world changed.  The optimism gave way to reality as he went through a bitter divorce with the manager that helped discover him.  He was unable to record for three years due to the troubles and had to fight to keep his music.  Yet Darkness is not a cynical album.  There's no giving up, just the reality that we often don't attain our dreams, at least not as we envision them.

There's original sin here ("Adam Raised A Cain"), some despair ("Something In The Night", "Racing In The Street"), and many fine lines drawn.  But the singer continually insists that when you get knocked down you stand back up, dust yourself off, and keep on fighting.

From Badlands:

"Talk about a dream
Try to make it real
You wake up in the night
With a fear so real
Spend your life waiting
For a moment that just don't come
Well, don't waste your time waiting

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good" 

As we journey through the album we do find characters that have given up.  In one case ("Racing In The Street"), the singer keeps fighting, racing every day after getting home from work while his girl sits on the porch with "her pretty dreams torn", but he has not given up on her.  He resolves at the end: "Tonight my baby and me we're gonna ride to the sea - And wash these sins off our hands" as he tries to bring her back from her depression.  

"Some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little, piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
And go racin' in the street"

It is in the finale, the track that the album is titled after, where the line is drawn.  The relationship has ended, but the singer can't give up the fight.  He realizes there's a darkness on the edge of town where people live in denial and unhappiness, silently succumbing to the ills of the world while trying to hide this fact:

"Everybody's got a secret Sonny
Something that they just can't face
Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it
They carry it with them every step that they take
Till some day they just cut it loose
Cut it loose or let it drag 'em down
Where no one asks any questions
Or looks too long in your face
In the darkness on the edge of town" 

That is a powerful lyric to me, made more powerful in the context of the music, the album, and the career of Springsteen.  There are a lot of uncomfortable truths in his work, but this comes from an artist who can examine himself and others around him.  It's there in his work up until the modern day.  Back in 1978, Springsteen outlined how secrets can bury us.  In the title track from his 2005 album, Devils & Dust, he also looks at fear and hits it dead on:

"I got God on my side
I'm just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love?
Fear's a powerful thing
It can turn your heart black you can trust
It'll take your God filled soul
And fill it with devils and dust"

Springsteen's work has its share of fun and truth.  I find him incredible to listen to because he covers the full gamut of emotions while also showing broad musical range, but Darkness On The Edge Of Town is the one record of his that truly brings it all home in my mind.  He's had many other great records, but this one hits me the hardest.