“The Buddha of my youth”: the musician Bono says “owns America’s heart”
Although they generally seem to follow their own instincts when embarking on any musical direction, U2 found great mentorship in Bruce Springsteen. In fact, playing on his well-earned moniker ‘The Boss’, they once claimed him to be the boss of the band, demonstrating the various ways they look up to the ‘Born to Run’ singer.
Musically, spotting Springsteen’s impact isn’t too difficult a venture – both artists have released their share of upbeat, rock-pop anthems that can and often do fill various spaces from cars to dancehalls. ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ both hold quintessential elements of melodic charm and basic rock sensibilities, which beckons a natural magnetism regardless of its polarising nature.
Where the two differ, however, is perhaps the junction at which commercial musicality and patriotism refuse to converge. U2 embarked on a career-long battle against accusations of artificiality, while Springsteen simultaneously represented and rejected nationalist values, resulting in a multifaceted and often misconstrued listenership.
Regardless of their similarities and differences, Springsteen and U2, particularly Bono, forged a close connection and mutual appreciation, the strength of which could likely be summarised in the pair’s respective inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, for Springsteen’s induction, Bono delivered a speech that demonstrated his deep admiration for The Boss and his impact on an entire generation of music lovers.
“Rock stars are supposed to make soap operas of their lives, aren’t they? If they don’t kill themselves first,” Bono said, delving into Springsteen’s rise to fame and noting all of the ways in which he diverted from the stereotypical rock star life. After discussing the ways Springsteen avoided several embarrassments and mishaps, he described the singer’s credibility. “You couldn’t have more unless you were dead,” he said.
According to Bono, Springsteen possessed an unparalleled level of authenticity that filtered through in his songwriting. He narrated his life in all its rawness and brutality. This was enough to set tabloids off course as they struggled to find stories, ones that he hadn’t already shared. “We could feel him free-falling,” Bono explained. “But it wasn’t in chaos or entropy – it was in love.”
Above all, however, Bono described Springsteen as “the Buddha of my youth”: in his view, he is someone who exists beyond their widely accepted nickname. “They call him the Boss; well, that’s a bunch of crap,” he stated, adding that he’s “more than a boss”. He’s the “owner because more than anyone else, Bruce Springsteen owns America’s heart”.
