Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American… Read Full Bio ↴Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originator of heartland rock, combining mainstream rock musical styles with narrative songs about working class American life. Nicknamed "the Boss", his career has spanned six decades. Springsteen is known for his poetic, socially conscious lyrics and energetic stage performances, sometimes lasting up to four hours.

In 1973, Springsteen released his first two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, neither of which earned him a large audience. He changed his style and reached worldwide popularity with Born to Run in 1975. It was followed by Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and The River (1980), which topped the US Billboard 200 chart. After the solo recording, Nebraska (1982), he reunited with the E Street Band for Born in the U.S.A. (1984), his most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums of all time. Seven of its singles reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100, including the title track. Springsteen recorded his next three albums, Tunnel of Love (1987), Human Touch (1992), and Lucky Town (1992) using mostly session musicians. He reassembled the E Street Band for 1995's Greatest Hits, then recorded the sparse acoustic The Ghost of Tom Joad, followed by the EP Blood Brothers (1996), his last release of the decade.

Springsteen dedicated his 2002 album The Rising to the victims of the September 11 attacks. He released two more folk albums, Devils & Dust (2005) and We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006), followed by two more albums with the E Street Band: Magic (2007) and Working on a Dream (2009). The next two, Wrecking Ball (2012) and High Hopes (2014), topped album charts worldwide. His latest releases include the solo Western Stars (2019), the E Street Band-featuring Letter to You (2020) and a solo cover album Only the Strong Survive (2022). When Letter to You went to No.2 in the US, Springsteen became the first artist to score a Top Five hit across six consecutive decades.

Among the album era's prominent acts, Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and more than 71 million in the United States, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Special Tony Award (for Springsteen on Broadway). Springsteen was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, named MusiCares person of the year in 2013, and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016. He ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Artists of All Time, which described him as being "the embodiment of rock & roll".

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Springsteen

Studio albums
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973)
Born to Run (1975)
Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)
The River (1980)
Nebraska (1982)
Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
Tunnel of Love (1987)
Human Touch (1992)
Lucky Town (1992)
The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995)
The Rising (2002)
Devils & Dust (2005)
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)
Magic (2007)
Working on a Dream (2009)
Wrecking Ball (2012)
High Hopes (2014)
Western Stars (2019)
Letter to You (2020)
Only the Strong Survive (2022)

12 Matamoros Banks
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Each year many die crossing the deserts,
Mountains and rivers of our southern border
In search of a better life. Here I follow the
Journey backwards, from the body at the
River bottom, to the man walking across
The desert towards the banks of the Rio Grande.)

For two days the river keeps you down

Then you rise to the light without a sound
Past the playgrounds and empty switching yards
The turtles eat the skin from your eyes, so they lay open to the stars

Your clothes give way to the current and river stone
'Till every trace of who you ever were is gone
And the things of the earth they make their claim
That the things of heaven may do the same

Goodbye, my darling, for your love I give God thanks,
Meet me on the Matamoros
Meet me on the Matamoros
Meet me on the Matamoros banks

Over rivers of stone and ancient ocean beds
I walk on sandals of twine and tire tread
My pockets full of dust, my mouth filled with cool stone
The pale moon opens the earth to its bones
I long, my darling, for your kiss, for your sweet love I give God thanks
The touch of your loving fingertips
Meet me on the Matamoros
Meet me on the Matamoros
Meet me on the Matamoros banks

Your sweet memory comes on the evenin' wind
I sleep and dream of holding you in my arms again
The lights of Brownsville, across the river shine
A shout rings out and into the silty red river I dive
I long, my darling, for your kiss, for your sweet love I give God thanks
A touch of your loving fingertips
Meet me on the Matamoros

Meet me on the Matamoros
Meet me on the Matamoros banks

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Matamoros Banks" by Bruce Springsteen tell the haunting story of a journey backwards - from the body of a man who died crossing the border at the bottom of a river, to the man's two-day journey through dangerous territories in an attempt to pursue a better life. The imagery used throughout the song reflects the struggles and tragic ends that many immigrants face while undertaking this journey, fleeing from poverty and violence. The river is personified as an overwhelming force that drags the man down, taking away everything he possessed and was before. The turtles in the water eating away at his eyes recall the macabre fate that awaits those who try to cross this border but fail, their bodies often remaining undiscovered for years.

The song highlights the separation of loved ones, as the man sings of his longing for his darling's kiss and dream of holding her in his arms once again. The desperation and the hopelessness of those who undertake such a journey are evident throughout the song, but it also makes it clear that despite the incredible odds, the immigrants remain resilient and determined to seek a better future for themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

For two days the river keeps you down
The journey across the river takes two days and is difficult and dangerous.

Then you rise to the light without a sound
After struggling underwater, the person emerges from the river and is silent.

Past the playgrounds and empty switching yards
The person moves on past areas of childhood play and abandoned industry.

The turtles eat the skin from your eyes, so they lay open to the stars
Turtles eat the flesh from the person's eyes, leaving only the exposed eyeballs to gaze up at the stars.

Your clothes give way to the current and river stone
The force of the water strips the clothing from the person, leaving them bare and vulnerable on the riverbed.

'Till every trace of who you ever were is gone
The journey erases any identity the person once had.

And the things of the earth they make their claim
The land claims the person's body as its own.

That the things of heaven may do the same
The person's spirit is free to ascend to heaven.

Goodbye, my darling, for your love I give God thanks,
The person is saying goodbye to a loved one and expressing gratitude to God for their love.

Meet me on the Matamoros
The person wants to reunite with their loved one in the city of Matamoros.

Over rivers of stone and ancient ocean beds
The person walks over rocky terrain that was once an ocean floor.

I walk on sandals of twine and tire tread
The person's shoes are made of twine and tire material, indicating poverty or desperation.

My pockets full of dust, my mouth filled with cool stone
The person has little to carry besides dust and rocks, and they have nothing to eat or drink.

The pale moon opens the earth to its bones
The moon illuminates the landscape, revealing its stark beauty.

Your sweet memory comes on the evenin' wind
The person remembers their loved one through the sensations of the evening wind.

I sleep and dream of holding you in my arms again
The person dreams of reuniting with their loved one.

The lights of Brownsville, across the river shine
The person can see the lights of the American town of Brownsville on the other side of the river.

A shout rings out and into the silty red river I dive
The person hears a shout and jumps into the river, possibly to flee from police or border patrol.

I long, my darling, for your kiss, for your sweet love I give God thanks
The person still yearns for their loved one and thanks God for their love.

A touch of your loving fingertips
The person desires to feel the touch of their loved one's fingertips.

Meet me on the Matamoros banks
Once again, the person implores their loved one to meet them in Matamoros.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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