The Top 100 Bruce Springsteen Songs: 60-51
50% of the list is complete, ending with a song off The River that's just way too much fun to listen to.
60. Working On The Highway Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
“I work for the county out on 95 / All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by / In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss / Someday mister I’m gonna lead a better life than this / Working on the highway laying down the blacktop / Working on the highway all day long I don’t stop / Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock / Working on the highway, working on the highway.”
59. Stolen Car The River (1980)
There’s a beautiful juxtaposition at work here between the guitar and Bruce’s voice emoting the forlorn lyrics, and the high piano expressing this hopefulness that maybe there’s some way he can still get the love of his life back.
58. Rendezvous Tracks (1998)
“I had a dream our love would last forever / I had a dream, tonight my dream comes true / And if you’ll hold me tight / We’ll be riders, girl, on the night / Ooh, I want a rendezvous / Haven’t I told you, girl, how much I like you / I got a feeling that you like me too / Well if you hold me tight / We’ll be riders, girl, on the night / Ooh, I want a rendezvous.” It’s simple, just a nice little boy-meets-girl story, but put the E Street Band and Bruce’s vocals behind it, and it’s rock-and-roll magic.
57. My Love Will Not Let You Down Tracks (1998)
“At night I walk the streets looking for romance / But I always end up stumbling in a half-trance / I search for connection in some new eyes / But they’re hard for pretection from too many dreams passed by / I see you standing across the room watching me without a sound / Well I’m gonna push my way through that crowd, I’m gonna tear all your walls down / Tear all your walls down / My love will not let you down / My love will not let you down.”
56. Prove It All Night Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)
I suppose there’s a theme here. If there’s one thing Bruce does well - there are several, but if there were one thing - it’s love songs. “Tonight we’ll drive that dusty road from Monroe to Angeline / To buy you a gold ring and pretty dress of blue / Baby, just one kiss will get these things for you / A kiss to seal our fate tonight / A kiss to prove it all night.”
55. Atlantic City Nebraska (1982)
Songs that are directly about New Jersey automatically earn extra points, but there are two lines that absolutely make this song, for two very different reasons. The opening line - blowing up the chicken man in Philly last night - while it’s about mafia wars, is unintentionally hilarious. But the line in the chorus, “Well now everything dies baby that’s a fact / But maybe everything that dies someday comes back,” in its simplicity proves that Bruce is a master of songwriting.
54. Sherry Darling The River (1980)
“So you can tell her there’s a hot sun beatin’ on the black top / She keeps talkin’ she’ll be walkin’ that last block / She can take a subway back to the ghetto tonight / Well I got some beer and the highway’s free / And I got you, and baby you’ve got me / Hey, hey, hey, what do you say, Sherry Darling.”
53. Your Own Worst Enemy Magic (2007)
This song tells a story, and uses only one character to do so… “you”. “There’s a face you know / Staring back from the shop window / The condition you’re in / Now you just can’t get out of this skin.” Combine the storytelling with the powerful imagery, particularly in the very last line - “Your flag it flew so high / It drifted into the sky” - and you have what Bruce Springsteen is truly all about.
52. Cover Me Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
“The times are tough now, just getting tougher / This old world is rough, it’s just getting rougher / Cover me, come on baby, cover me / Well I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me / Promise me baby you won’t let them find us / Hold me in your arms, let’s let out love blind us / Cover me, shut the door and cover me / Well I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me.”
51. Crush On You The River (1980)
“Well now she might be the talk of high society / She’s probably got a lousy personality / She might be an heiress to a Rockefeller / She might be a waitress or a bank teller / She makes the Venus de Milo look like she’s got no style / She makes Sheena of the Jungle look meek and mild.” Bruce can spot a little stranger standing across the room and write a ditty that’s among the most fun you can have.
60. Working On The Highway Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
“I work for the county out on 95 / All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by / In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss / Someday mister I’m gonna lead a better life than this / Working on the highway laying down the blacktop / Working on the highway all day long I don’t stop / Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock / Working on the highway, working on the highway.”
59. Stolen Car The River (1980)
There’s a beautiful juxtaposition at work here between the guitar and Bruce’s voice emoting the forlorn lyrics, and the high piano expressing this hopefulness that maybe there’s some way he can still get the love of his life back.
58. Rendezvous Tracks (1998)
“I had a dream our love would last forever / I had a dream, tonight my dream comes true / And if you’ll hold me tight / We’ll be riders, girl, on the night / Ooh, I want a rendezvous / Haven’t I told you, girl, how much I like you / I got a feeling that you like me too / Well if you hold me tight / We’ll be riders, girl, on the night / Ooh, I want a rendezvous.” It’s simple, just a nice little boy-meets-girl story, but put the E Street Band and Bruce’s vocals behind it, and it’s rock-and-roll magic.
57. My Love Will Not Let You Down Tracks (1998)
“At night I walk the streets looking for romance / But I always end up stumbling in a half-trance / I search for connection in some new eyes / But they’re hard for pretection from too many dreams passed by / I see you standing across the room watching me without a sound / Well I’m gonna push my way through that crowd, I’m gonna tear all your walls down / Tear all your walls down / My love will not let you down / My love will not let you down.”
56. Prove It All Night Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)
I suppose there’s a theme here. If there’s one thing Bruce does well - there are several, but if there were one thing - it’s love songs. “Tonight we’ll drive that dusty road from Monroe to Angeline / To buy you a gold ring and pretty dress of blue / Baby, just one kiss will get these things for you / A kiss to seal our fate tonight / A kiss to prove it all night.”
55. Atlantic City Nebraska (1982)
Songs that are directly about New Jersey automatically earn extra points, but there are two lines that absolutely make this song, for two very different reasons. The opening line - blowing up the chicken man in Philly last night - while it’s about mafia wars, is unintentionally hilarious. But the line in the chorus, “Well now everything dies baby that’s a fact / But maybe everything that dies someday comes back,” in its simplicity proves that Bruce is a master of songwriting.
54. Sherry Darling The River (1980)
“So you can tell her there’s a hot sun beatin’ on the black top / She keeps talkin’ she’ll be walkin’ that last block / She can take a subway back to the ghetto tonight / Well I got some beer and the highway’s free / And I got you, and baby you’ve got me / Hey, hey, hey, what do you say, Sherry Darling.”
53. Your Own Worst Enemy Magic (2007)
This song tells a story, and uses only one character to do so… “you”. “There’s a face you know / Staring back from the shop window / The condition you’re in / Now you just can’t get out of this skin.” Combine the storytelling with the powerful imagery, particularly in the very last line - “Your flag it flew so high / It drifted into the sky” - and you have what Bruce Springsteen is truly all about.
52. Cover Me Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
“The times are tough now, just getting tougher / This old world is rough, it’s just getting rougher / Cover me, come on baby, cover me / Well I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me / Promise me baby you won’t let them find us / Hold me in your arms, let’s let out love blind us / Cover me, shut the door and cover me / Well I’m looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me.”
51. Crush On You The River (1980)
“Well now she might be the talk of high society / She’s probably got a lousy personality / She might be an heiress to a Rockefeller / She might be a waitress or a bank teller / She makes the Venus de Milo look like she’s got no style / She makes Sheena of the Jungle look meek and mild.” Bruce can spot a little stranger standing across the room and write a ditty that’s among the most fun you can have.