Born in the USA

First I would like to start this post by saying: IT’S THE WEEKEND!!!!!

You may be wondering why I am celebrating the arrival of this weekend more than I have celebrated the weekends of the past.. The answer is simple: Sorority Invite.

Oh, I know, now you’re excited.

This may seem like a silly thing to get excited about.  Prom you say: Been there.  Done that.  Threw up twice.  But college sorority invites are a special breed of social event.  Here is the night that only comes around twice a semester, where girls and boys of the row look a little nicer and drink a little more.  As if the latter is possible.

Anyways in order to properly start off the night at two in the afternoon, I wanted to listen to a little Bruce Springsteen.  There’s no rock artist that says, “Celebrate your youth.  Go a little wild.  Love America” quite like Bruce.   

Because Bruce Springsteen makes me think of my dad, I had to start off with “Jungleland.”  This song reminds me of my middle school days when I told my father that I hated Bruce Springsteen.  Offended that I could dislike his favorite artist so intensely, he decided to give me a lesson in Springsteen.  That lesson involved driving through our tiny town with the windows down, blaring, “Born in the USA.”  I sat in the passenger seat, crouched down below the window, trying to hide my face lest someone in our 2 square mile town see me and associate me with this man.  And this music. 

When I look back on that day, I smile… At the time, I was mortified.

Needless to say I didn’t share my opinions on Bruce Springsteen with my father again.  Which meant, inevitably, that there was a lot more Bruce blaring out of our speakers at home after that.  Like all good things, however, his music began to grow on me.  So today, with an open mind and open heart, I took a listen to some Springsteen songs that I had never given a chance before. 

And it was then that I remembered why I said I didn’t like Bruce Springsteen. His songs like “Shackled and Drawn” and “We Take Care of OurOwn” were not my cup of tea.

But then I listened to “Devils and Dust,” and there was that damned spark again.  Will I ever be able to decide whether I like his music or not?!  Who knows.  Perhaps one of the problems is that Bruce Springsteen has been making music since the 70s, and he’s been making a lot of it.  Therefore, as one might imagine, I am bound dislike plenty of it. 

What I learned from Bruce today is that you’ll love some artists just because of the memories attached to them.  Even though I can’t say that him and I always get along, there is no other artist who reminds me of my father so strongly.  Or the times he tried to teach me a little bit about life through Springsteen’s songs.  I feel blessed to have both of these men in my life.    

Songs that made me happy today:

Black Cowboys

Thunder Road

Born to Run 

Hungry Heart

Thanks Bruce.