“I did write about it once”: The song that revealed how Bruce Springsteen really felt about ‘The Boss’ nickname
No other nickname ever seemed more suitable for Bruce Springsteen than ‘The Boss’. Although the moniker emerged for a slightly different reason than expected, its connotations capture everything the New Jersey rock legend came to epitomise: authenticity, forward-thinking, and a deep-seated connection with the working-class communities of the world.
Although Springsteen seemed fated to have such a reputation, achieving a name like ‘The Boss’ settled in early when the musician became responsible for organising the E-Street Band’s finances. They started fondly addressing him as such before it stuck and bled into other facets of his artistry. As Andrew Delahunty said: “In the early days when he and the E-Street Band played gigs in small venues, it was Bruce’s job to collect the money and pay the rest of the band. This led them to start calling him The Boss.”
While the name became fitting for several reasons, its transition from internal spaces to mainstream vernacular occurred organically, with a particular explosion around the release of Born To Run. At this juncture, Springsteen embodied ‘The Boss’ not because of his organisational adeptness but because he represented the everyday man and knew how to speak about their struggles with purpose. He was a titan, but only because he understood exactly what people were going through.
However, it wasn’t just his themes and messages that enabled him to fit the name; he also knew the power of bridging the gap between nostalgia and innovation, culminating in a sound many struggled to put their finger on. This didn’t hinder his art, rather it drew people in further, beckoned by his seemingly indescribable ability to converge the cultural zeitgeist with sounds that felt familiar but completely new.
For the most part, Tunnel of Love hinged on some of Springsteen’s heavier explorations, but ‘Ain’t Got You’ showcased his affinity for and ability to harken back to old, well-loved sounds whenever he wanted. With tropes reminiscent of 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, ‘Ain’t Got You’ utilised the typical “money can’t buy love” theme of the era to reflect several personal afflictions he was experiencing at the time, namely his struggling marriage to his first wife.
While writing the song, Springsteen was also consciously aware of the title he had been attached to and how being labelled ‘The Boss’ made him reflect on both his influence as a musician and how he grappled with such expectations in the spotlight and behind the scenes. As a result, ‘Ain’t Got You’ spotlighted a rarity with Springsteen leaning into his unwarranted persona with a lamentation about how richness, in every sense of the word, doesn’t always equate to love and fulfilment.
Springsteen elaborated on this once, just before playing the show during a concert in 2005 in Philadelphia. He noted that he’ll often get approached and asked about his experience with being ascribed such a godlike nickname, to which he usually regurgitates his well-rehearsed script, all while knowing how he really feels about it. “When I’m approached out on the streets, I’m often asked the same question,” he said. “I’m often asked, ‘What is it like to be the Boss?'”
He continued: “I have a standard bullshit humble answer that I always give. It goes something like: ‘It’s no big deal, somebody’s gotta do it, it’s just like anything else.’ Lies, lies, all lies. I don’t want to lord it over anybody. I like to do that in private. But I did write about it once.”
As a result, the song lightheartedly toys with exterior perception and matters of the heart, and how even a label as machismo as ‘The Boss’ won’t always be the answer to everything. As he sings in the song: “I’m still the biggest fool honey this world ever knew / ‘Cause the only thing I ain’t got baby I ain’t got you.”
