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)

How Can I Keep From Singing
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

My life goes on in endless song
Above earth's lamentation.
I hear the real, though, far off hymn
That hails the new creation

What through the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth, it liveth.
What through the darkness round me close,

Songs in the night it giveth.

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
And hear their death-knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near,
How can I keep from singing?

No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that rock I'm clinging.

Since love is lord of Heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?

Overall Meaning

Bruce Springsteen's "How Can I Keep from Singing" is a hymn-like song that conveys the singer's hope for a better future despite the current hardships that they face. The lyrics suggest that even though there may be lamentation and tempestuous storms in life, there is still a song that can be heard above it all, a hymn that celebrates a new creation. This might refer to the idea of personal growth and change or a broader social transformation. The hymn is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope for something better.

As the song progresses, the singer notes that even a tyrant's demise does not shake their inner calm, and they continue to sing in the face of such fear. This could be a metaphor for overcoming personal and systemic oppression and standing firm in the face of adversity. The repetition of the title phrase, "How Can I Keep from Singing," emphasizes the song's central message: that music has the power to lift the human spirit and provide hope for a better tomorrow.

The final lines of the song express the singer's conviction that love is what provides the foundation for hope and calm in the face of hardship. The song suggests that love is the most powerful force in the world, capable of providing strength and inner peace even when everything else is falling apart.

Line by Line Meaning

My life goes on in endless song
My life is an unending melody

Above earth's lamentation.
I sing above the lamentations of the earth

I hear the real, though, far off hymn
I hear the true and distant hymn

That hails the new creation.
That celebrates the creation of something new

What through the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth amidst the loud roars of the storm

I hear the truth, it liveth.
I hear the truth and it is alive

What through the darkness round me close,
I hear songs in the night despite the darkness that surrounds me

Songs in the night it giveth.
It provides me with songs even in the darkest of times

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
Tyrants become fearful and tremble

And hear their death-knell ringing,
When they hear the sound of their demise

When friends rejoice both far and near,
But when friends rejoice, whether far or near,