57 Channels
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics

I bought a bourgeois house in the Hollywood hills
I bought an ostentatious and expensive house in a high-end neighbourhood in Los Angeles called Hollywood Hills.

With a truckload of hundred thousand dollar bills
I purchased the house with a substantial amount of money, consisting of one hundred thousand dollar bills.

Man came by to hook up my cable TV
An installer came to my house to set up my television cable connection.

We settled in for the night my baby and me
My partner and I decided to stay indoors for the evening and watch television.

We switched 'round and 'round 'til half-past dawn
We spent the whole night flipping through channels repeatedly until it was very late.

There was fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
Despite having access to fifty-seven channels, there was nothing worth watching on television.

Well now home entertainment was my baby's wish
My partner wanted to have a good variety of entertainment options available to us while staying at home.

So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
I went to the nearby town to purchase a satellite dish in order to gain access to more channels.

I tied it to the top of my Japanese car
I fastened the satellite dish onto the roof of my imported car from Japan.

I came home and I pointed it out into the stars
After returning home, I positioned and directed the satellite dish towards space to capture a better signal.

A message came back from the great beyond
I received a vague message from an unidentified source, possibly from an extra-terrestrial entity.

There's fifty-seven channels and nothin' on
The message suggested that, even after setting up the satellite dish, there were still no good television channels to watch.

Well we might'a made some friends with some billionaires
We could have possibly befriended some wealthy individuals.

We might'a got all nice and friendly
We might have socialized and gotten to know each other well.

If we'd made it upstairs
If we were invited to their home or private area.

All I got was a note that said "Bye-bye John
All I received was a brief letter saying that they no longer wanted any further contact or relationship with me.

Our love is fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
Their love or desire to connect with me was futile, much like how there were no good television channels to watch despite having access to many.

So I bought a .44 magnum it was solid steel cast
I purchased a powerful and sturdy gun called a .44 magnum, made entirely of solid steel.

And in the blessed name of Elvis well I just let it blast
Channeling the spirit of Elvis Presley, I fired the gun repeatedly and recklessly, destroying my television set in the process.

'Til my TV lay in pieces there at my feet
As a result of my actions, my television set was completely destroyed and shattered into multiple pieces.

And they busted me for disturbin' the almighty peace
The authorities arrested and charged me with disturbing the peace, due to the loud noise caused by the gunfire.

Judge said "What you got in your defense son?"
When I faced the judge in court, they inquired about my defense or justification for my actions.

"Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on"
I offered no defense or explanation, simply stating that even with many channels available, there was nothing worthwhile to watch on television.

I can see by your eyes friend you're just about gone
The artist senses that their friend (or the listener) is feeling weary or becoming uninterested in their story.

Fifty-seven channels and nothin' on...
The singer repeats the phrase to drive home the point that despite having numerous options, there was still no good television programming to watch.