The Bruce Springsteen song that told “the exciting story of my life”
Bruce Springsteen is widely regarded as one of the quintessential American musicians, yet his appeal extends far beyond the patriotism of The Star-Spangled Banner. As one of the richest storytellers in music history, Springsteen stands out not only for reflecting the strengths and struggles of an entire nation but also for addressing themes that resonate with people everywhere.
At the crux of his appeal lies a man who openly embraces and connects with the working class ethos, no matter where in the world this may be. For instance, Springsteen knows more than most about the struggles of pursuing your dreams and the discouragement of the quest for personal dignity. This is why, despite the traditional American foundations his music uses as a springboard, he forges deep connections with those from all over.
This is also why a pure-blooded American hailing from New Jersey can stand in front of 45,000 fans at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, exchanging perils of wisdom about grief being the price for loving well and feeling entirely at home. Even after a soggy set that would have put a damper on my musician’s ego, the ‘Born to Run’ star only had words of praise, later reflecting, “I realised these are my people.”
But the connection is always already there, lurking in Springsteen’s music in the multitude of fictional characters and stories based on events that were once real. Springsteen is a musical mastermind not only because of his on-stage charm but also because of the worlds he pulls you into. The red and white striped America is merely a canvas for his creative exploration rather than a restricted space open exclusively to those born there.
In opening up his world, Springsteen has perfected extracting the deep troubles of his past and upbringing, like his relationship with his father, and how that both damaged and shaped him as a person. He explored this in ‘Growin’ Up’, ‘Factory’, ‘Mansion On The Hill’, and ‘Used Cars’, the latter of which arguably appears the most poignant as it takes a look at the cyclical nature of his father’s infatuation with buying good-for-nothing used cars.
“Now my ma she fingers her wedding band / And watches the salesman stare at my old man’s hands / He’s tellin’ us all ’bout the break he’d give us / If he could but he just can’t,” Springsteen sings, inviting meaning where there may be none, the mundanity of his mother’s reality converging with his father’s in a seemingly normal yet potentially detrimental exchange between the two men.
When introducing the song to an audience of fans in 2005, Springsteen revealed that the track was “the exciting story of my own personal life”. Describing how his father “had every kind of used car possible,” he reflected on being a child in his bedroom listening to him attempt to start one car that wasn’t playing along. “I’d hear him in the morning out on that ice-cold ground in the middle of winter trying to get the thing started,” he said.
Continuing, Springsteen added: “Then he would take us on a forced march on Sunday – our family day – and we would go for a ride. It was brutal. The used car without the muffler, when we passed a police car, he used to have to turn the thing off and coast by.”
There are many other Springsteen songs that seem to reveal more about his upbringing and his relationship with his father, but what makes ‘Used Cars’ one of the more profound narratives is the fact that he focuses on one aspect of his father while simultaneously commenting on several parts of his personality. Bordering on obsessed, the cars became his father’s livelihood, his family merely bystanders as he focussed on nothing more than the next used car, everything else becoming background noise.
