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)
I Sold My Heart to the Junkman
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"...this is a very sad song, this next song we're gonna do.
The song is so sad that sometimes I have to leave the stage and
cry in the backstage a little bit while I'm singing this song. The reason
this song is so sad because this story happened to me just a little
while ago (not true, but true) (audience laughs) And it was, it was
a thing where I met this this beautiful girl, right? was she a
heart, every every bit, and she gave it back to me a month later all
beat up, so bad and so terrible looking that
I Sold My Heart To The Junkman !
Now I can never fall in love again...."
(starts song)
"...song, this is a very sad song, this next
song we're gonna do.
The song is so sad that sometimes I have to
leave the stage and cry in the backstage a
little bit while I'm singing this song.
The reason this song is so sad because this
story happened to me just a little while ago
(not true, but true) (audience laughs)
And it was, it was a thing where I met this
this beautiful girl, right? was she a
beautiful girl as she was, she was nice and ...
and I gave her my whole heart, every every bit,
and she gave it back to me a month later all
beat up, so bad and
so terrible looking that
I Sold My Heart To The Junkman !
Now I can never fall in love again...."
Well I gave my heart to you, open, so open and trusting
And you gave it back to me, it was broken up and busting
(sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman
(sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman
I can never fall in love again
Oh and I know you took my heart, you thought that you
could use it
When you gave it back like a toy
you broken and bruised
(sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman
(I sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman
I can never fall in love again
Now, it was a movie sad scene, I played my part
Ooh I wanted the happy ending, but all I got was
a broken heart
(all he got was a broken heart)
(I sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman(I sold my heart) I sold my
heart to the junkman
I can never fall in love again
Now I swear it was a movie setting, baby I played my part
And all I wanted was a happy ending,
but now I'm left with a broken heart
(now he's left with a broken heart)
(I sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman
(I sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman
I can never fall in love again
I gave my heart to you, so open and trusting
And you gave it back to me, it was broken up and busting
(so I sold) I sold my heart to the junkman
(yes I sold) I sold my heart to the junkman
I can never fall in love again
Yes I did sold my heart to the junkman
Yes I did, yes I did
Sold my heart to the junkman
Now I can never fall in love again
Since I sold my heart to the junkman.
The song "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" by Bruce Springsteen is a heart-wrenching ballad that talks about how the singer was in love with a girl and gave her his heart, but the girl eventually broke it and left him with nothing but tears. Springsteen adds an interlude before the song where he tells his audience how real the story is and how it happened to him, but unfortunately, it is not true. The song starts with the singer reminiscing his experience with the girl he fell in love with and how he gave her his heart, open and trusting. However, she eventually gave the heart back broken and busted, which led to the singer selling it to the junkman. He ends the song by saying he can never fall in love again.
The lyrics in the song are simple yet impactful and capture the pain and agony of the singer. It talks about how he was so open and trusting towards the girl but was left heartbroken in the end. The line "all he got was a broken heart" is a crucial line that represents the song's mood and essence. The last lines in the song, "Yes, I did sell my heart to the junkman, Now I can never fall in love again, Since I sold my heart to the junkman," show the singer's acceptance that he will never be the same again and has lost his heart to love.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I gave my heart to you, open, so open and trusting
He gave his heart to the girl, with an open and trusting attitude.
And you gave it back to me, it was broken up and busting
The girl returned his heart in a broken and damaged condition.
(sold my heart) I sold my heart to the junkman
Unable to cope with the emotional damage inflicted upon him, he sold his heart to the metaphorical 'junkman'.
I can never fall in love again
The emotional trauma was so great that he feels he can never love again.
Oh and I know you took my heart, you thought that you could use it
He feels that the girl took his heart with the intention of using and manipulating it.
When you gave it back like a toy you broken and bruised
When she returned his heart, it was damaged and no longer in its original condition.
Now, it was a movie sad scene, I played my part
He compares the situation to a sad scene in a movie, and feels like he played a role in it.
(now he's left with a broken heart)
He reiterates the fact that he is left with a broken heart.
I gave my heart to you, so open and trusting
He once again emphasizes that he gave his heart to her with an open and trusting attitude.
(so I sold) I sold my heart to the junkman
Unable to bear the emotional pain any longer, he sold his heart to the metaphorical 'junkman'.
Yes I did sold my heart to the junkman
He confirms the fact that he did indeed sell his heart to the 'junkman'.
Now I can never fall in love again
He reiterates the fact that he feels he can never love again in the aftermath of this heartbreak.
Contributed by Brooklyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
thewaitingape
"I have see Rock and Rolls future and its name is Bruce Springsteen." I found this as a bootleg when I was in High School(early 80's) It was like finding hidden treasure.
Timothy Bigham
thewaitingape I had this on tape for years....many tears.... Clarence, all our love.
aliasdyln33
Okay, I admit . . . there are many great cover tunes by the Masters. But this one . . . WOW!
stoneponyNJ
very nice.. i like when Bruce does those 1950 style songs !
Sharon Luongo
bruce, your age is showing. didn't even know you knew this song. love you singing it.
ColtonCernyMusic
Awesome post :) i have this concert but the sound quality is not nearly this good! Could you send me a link to this?
meesalikeu
good sound on this version, i have it with poor sound. there are two recordings and i guess unfortunately the not so good one was the better known version.
David
45 Years ago today! Day I was born... :-D
David
Day I was born - Thursday May 9th 1974!
2010dreamon
@ColtonCernyMusic Hi Colton, I will upload the show tomorrow and send you the link then. How's your recording coming along? I wish you a lot of success with your CD!