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)
Down in the Hole
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I get dressed and I go back again
The rain keeps on falling on twisted bones and dirt
I'm buried to my heart here in this hurt
Fire keeps on burning, you're waiting in the cold
Down in the hole
Dark and bloody autumn pierces my heart
The sky above is turning, the world below's gone gray
I thought that I could turn and walk away
Fire keeps on burning, and I'm working in the cold
Down in the hole
Radio's crackling with the headlines, wind in the phone lines
The sun upon your shoulder, empty city skylines
The day rips apart, a dark and bloody arrow pierced my heart
I got nothing but heart and sky and sunshine, the things you left behind
I wake to find my city's gone to black
The days just keep on falling, your voice it keeps on calling
I'm gonna dig right here until I get you back
Fires keep on burning, I'm here with you in the cold
Down in the hole
Down in the hole
Bruce Springsteen's song Down in the Hole is a reflection on heartache and the inability to move on from a past relationship. The opening lines of the song – "Sun comes every morning but it ain't no friend / I get dressed and I go back again" – suggest the routine of daily life and the painful monotony of trying to function after a significant loss. The rain falling on "twisted bones and dirt" paints a picture of a desolate landscape that reflects the singer's internal turmoil. They are "buried to [their] heart" in grief and cannot escape it.
The chorus of the song, "Fire keeps on burning, you're waiting in the cold / Down in the hole," reflects the idea that the intensity of the emotions related to the previous relationship continues to burn within the singer, while the object of his affection remains distantly cold. The second verse adds further to the notion of a world turned gray and twisted by grief. The singer cannot forget the memory of the "kiss" that is "tearing [him] apart." He thought he could "turn and walk away," but the "fire keeps on burning." The radio crackles with headlines, and the world keeps spinning, but it is all taking place in the cold – the world of emotions where the singer is stuck.
In the final verse, the singer declares his willingness to continue digging to reclaim what he has lost. The chorus here asserts that the fires continue to burn, and the singer remains willing to continue on this emotional journey. The city, once familiar, has turned black, and the days seem to pass without meaning. But the singer's voice continues calling, and he cannot escape his desire to be reunited with his object of affection.
Line by Line Meaning
Sun comes every morning but it ain't no friend
Even though the sun rises every day, it doesn't bring any solace or relief
I get dressed and I go back again
Despite feeling trapped and unhappy, I continue with my daily routine
The rain keeps on falling on twisted bones and dirt
The rain falls heavily on this desolate and barren land
I'm buried to my heart here in this hurt
I'm deeply entrenched in my sadness and can't seem to escape its grip
Fire keeps on burning, you're waiting in the cold
Despite the flames burning around me, I'm left feeling alone and cold
Down in the hole
I'm trapped in a depressing, hopeless situation
Dark and bloody autumn pierces my heart
As the season changes, my heart aches with sorrow and pain
The memory of your kiss tears me apart
The thought of the love that was lost is breaking me apart
The sky above is turning, the world below's gone gray
Even nature is mirroring my sadness and everything seems bleak and lifeless
I thought that I could turn and walk away
I had hoped to move on from this pain, but it's too deep to escape
Fire keeps on burning, and I'm working in the cold
The flames of pain continue to rage on as I toil away in the frigid loneliness
Radio's crackling with the headlines, wind in the phone lines
The news from the outside world is distant and unimportant, carried only by the rustling wind
The sun upon your shoulder, empty city skylines
As the sun sets on the city, it reflects on the emptiness that surrounds me
The day rips apart, a dark and bloody arrow pierced my heart
As the day wears on, I become more and more consumed by my own inner turmoil
I got nothing but heart and sky and sunshine, the things you left behind
I'm left with only my own emotions and the remnants of what once brought me joy
I wake to find my city's gone to black
The darkness of my own despair has seeped into everything around me
The days just keep on falling, your voice it keeps on calling
Time is moving on, but I can still hear the faint echoes of a lost love
I'm gonna dig right here until I get you back
I won't stop trying until I find a way to return to the happiness that was lost
Fires keep on burning, I'm here with you in the cold
Despite everything, I remain steadfast in my love and commitment, even in the face of isolation and hardship
Down in the hole
I'm trapped in my own gloom, unable to escape my pain
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dan Madry
The first verse made me cry, reminds me of the son I lost. Bruce hits that spot in many songs happy sad or just plane Jane. This one makes me listen over and over and over.....
Mark Levasseur
A man of many masterpieces...
Mallory Carll
A legend to the very end. One of my favorites when I first heard it, and still a favorite now. Keep rocking, Boss.
Tami Camlin
Love the way he changes the sound of the song at the 1:42 mark - pure genius. This may be my favorite song from the album.
Tami Camlin
Me too Paul! I have a long drive to work and I get to listen to a lot of it!
Tami Camlin
Yes Nikola I agree. I play it over and over!!
sskyyyeee
***** Thanks for this....was watching Making of High Hopes....been out of loop a few....but I can't stop listening to this...
Tami Camlin
Love it! Been listening to it in my car all the time!! Can't get enough of The Boss!!
Tami Camlin
Lucky!!!!!
The Sneaky Street
This is by far the best song on his new album....Thanks again Bruce