Springsteen released his first two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, in 1973. Although both were well-received by critics, neither earned him a large audience. He then changed his style and achieved worldwide popularity with Born to Run (1975). This was followed by Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and The River (1980), Springsteen's first album to top the Billboard 200 chart. After the solo effort Nebraska (1982), he recorded Born in the U.S.A. (1984) with the E Street Band, which became his most commercially successful album and the 23rd-best selling album of all time as of 2024. All seven singles from Born in the U.S.A. reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, including the title track. Springsteen mostly hired session musicians for the recording of his next three albums, Tunnel of Love (1987), Human Touch (1992), and Lucky Town (1992). He reassembled the E Street Band for Greatest Hits (1995), then solo recorded the acoustic album The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995), and the EP Blood Brothers (1996).
Springsteen dedicated The Rising (2002) 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 albums, Wrecking Ball (2012) and High Hopes (2014), topped album charts worldwide. From 2017 to 2018, and again in 2021, Springsteen performed a critically acclaimed show Springsteen on Broadway, in which he performed some of his songs and told stories from his 2016 autobiography; an album version from the Broadway performances was released in 2018. He then released the solo Western Stars (2019), Letter to You (2020) with the E Street Band, and a solo covers album Only the Strong Survive (2022). Letter to You reached No. 2 in the U.S., making Springsteen the first artist to release a Top 5 album across six consecutive decades.
One of the album era's most prominent musicians, Springsteen has sold more than 71 million albums in the U.S. and over 140 million worldwide, making him the 27th best-selling music artist of all time as of 2024. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Special Tony Award. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, was named MusiCares person of the year in 2013, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and the National Medal of Arts in 2023. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked him 23rd on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", which described him as being "the embodiment of rock & roll".
Hungry Heart
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your partEverybody's got a h-h-hungry heart
Oh
I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love, I knew it had to end
We took what we had and we ripped it apart
Now here I am down in Kingstown again
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a h-h-hungry heart
La-la-la-la-la-la, oh yeah
La-la-la-la-la-la
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody says
Ain't nobody like to be alone
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a h-h-hungry heart
(Everybody's got a hungry heart)
Oh yeah
(Everybody's got a hungry heart)
(Lay down your money and you play your part)
Oh yeah
(Everybody's got a hungry heart)
La-la-la-la-la-la
Ooh yeah
La-la-la-la-la-la
The lyrics to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's song Hungry Heart speak to the universal experience of an unsatisfied longing deep within the heart. The song tells the story of a man who leaves his wife and kids in Baltimore, and without a clear direction in mind, he goes on a ride that he never returns from. The lyrics depict the man as being like a river that has lost its way, and though he took a wrong turn, he kept going down that path.
The lyrics paint a picture of a man who is restless, and who always feels the need to keep moving. He falls in love with a woman he meets in a bar in Kingstown, but he knows deep down that their love will not last. They eventually rip apart what they had, and the man finds himself back in Kingstown again. The chorus of the song emphasizes the point that everybody has a hungry heart, and that we all have to play our part and lay down our money to satisfy that hunger.
Overall, the song Hungry Heart is a powerful reminder that we all have an insatiable hunger within us, and that we are constantly seeking ways to satisfy that hunger. The lyrics speak to the universal experience of human longing and desire, and the need for connection and meaning in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack
I'm married and have kids in Baltimore, but I left without notice for an unknown destination.
I went out for a ride and I never went back
I left my home and my family behind after going out for a ride.
Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I lost my sense of direction and didn't know where I was going.
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going
I made a mistake by taking a wrong turn, but I continued moving forward.
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everyone has an inner desire or an unfulfilled longing.
Lay down your money and you play your part
Money will buy you a place in someone's heart or attention.
Oh
Interjection expressing excitement or emotion.
I met her in a Kingstown bar
I met a girl in a bar in Kingstown, and we fell in love.
We fell in love, I knew it had to end
I knew our love had an expiration date, and it could not last.
We took what we had and we ripped it apart
We separated, ending our relationship in a violent way.
Now here I am down in Kingstown again
I returned to Kingstown, the place where I fell in love and separated.
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everyone needs a comfortable and safe place to stay.
Everybody wants to have a home
Everyone desires to have a permanent place to live.
Don't make no difference what nobody says
It doesn't matter what others think or say about it.
Ain't nobody like to be alone
No one likes to be lonely or isolated.
(Everybody's got a hungry heart)
Rephrasing the chorus, showing that everyone desires something.
La-la-la-la-la-la, oh yeah
Syllabic sounds expressing excitement or emotion.
Ooh yeah
Exclamation expressing excitement or agreement.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@wavy8117
Lyrics:
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going
[Chorus:]
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart
I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love. I knew it had to end
We took what we had and we ripped it apart
Now here I am down in Kingstown again
[Chorus]
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody says
Ain't nobody like to be alone
[Chorus]
@qying123
My father loved this song. He passed away in June last year. Today I was working on his house fixing it up for the first time since his passing. While playing music on my aux cord my car randomly switched to the radio station which has never happened before and the aux cord did not disconnect. I believe this was him giving me a sign to listen to this song and know that he’s there and proud of what I’m doing for my family.
@serendavies7375
Sorry for your loss, honey 🍯
@atworkstation
Hugs
@bretkindell6887
that was definitely a sign quincy. when weird stuff happens like that after a death and especially with something electronic or a wire of some kind sign is in front of your soul. you just got to put 2 and 2 together. I say this because I hear to many of stories that can't be explained like yours and always a year or less after a passing. get that house project done sir and thanks for posting your story
@deenah1509
I love your story.. ❤️.
@allanendaya1291
I'm a father too......and got four daughters..
@Sianybosh
My daughters favourite Bruce Springsteen song. She was 11 years old and we played it at her funeral. Taken from us far too soon. We love you Angel, keep singing and dancing in heaven xxx
@NitishSinghchin2
My condolences. She is in a much better place now.
@Sianybosh
@@NitishSinghchin2 Thank you, I just wish she was here with me. It’s very hard to believe she is in a better place if we don’t know where she is? I’m not a religious person, but I do believe our soul goes somewhere else. Xx
@NitishSinghchin2
It's an unimaginable loss. But, as my mother always says - Time is the best healer. Stay strong. Stay positive. Better times are yet to come.