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 Wish I Were Blind
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the early spring
I love to see the message of love
That the bluebird brings
But when I see you walkin' with him
Down along the strand
I wish I were blind
I love to see your hair shining
In the long summer's light
I love to watch the stars fill the sky
On a summer night
The music plays you take his hand
I watch how you touch him as you start to dance
And I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
We struggle here but all our love's in vain
And these eyes that once filled me with your beauty
Now fill me with pain
And the light that once entered here
Is banished from me
And this darkness is all baby that my heart sees
And though the world is filled
With the grace and beauty of God's hand
Oh I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
The song, "I Wish I Were Blind" by Bruce Springsteen, is an emotional ballad about unrequited love and heartbreak. The lyrics speak to a narrator who is unable to look past the pain caused by seeing the person he loves with someone else. Springsteen uses vivid imagery to paint a picture of the beauty of nature and the world around him, but this beauty is ultimately overshadowed by the singer's suffering. The cottonwood blossoms and bluebirds represent the hope and optimism of new beginnings, but when the singer sees his love with another man, he wishes he were blind. The summer nights and stars filling the sky are symbols of romance and passion, but when the music plays and his love takes the other man's hand, the pain becomes unbearable.
The lines "We struggle here but all our love's in vain / And these eyes that once filled me with your beauty / Now fill me with pain" encapsulate the conflicting feelings of love and heartbreak that the singer is experiencing. The love that once brought joy and light to his life has now become a source of pain and darkness. Despite the beauty and grace of the world, the singer wishes to be blind when he sees his love with another man. This final line brings the song full circle, emphasizing the power of love and the devastation it can cause when it is not returned.
Line by Line Meaning
I love to see the cottonwood blossom
In the early spring
I enjoy the beauty of nature in the springtime, witnessing the blooming of the cottonwood trees
I love to see the message of love
That the bluebird brings
I appreciate the romantic symbolism associated with bluebirds and the message of love they represent
But when I see you walkin' with him
Down along the strand
Despite my observations of nature, my mood is disrupted when I see you walking with him along the beach
I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
The sight of you with your significant other causes me great pain and I wish I didn't have to see it
I love to see your hair shining
In the long summer's light
I appreciate the beauty of your hair glistening in the sunlight during the summer
I love to watch the stars fill the sky
On a summer night
I enjoy admiring the starry night sky during the summertime
The music plays you take his hand
I watch how you touch him as you start to dance
I witness you and your significant other dancing to music and observe the way you interact with each other
And I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
The sight of you together causes me intense pain and I wish I didn't have to witness it
We struggle here but all our love's in vain
And these eyes that once filled me with your beauty
Now fill me with pain
Our love is difficult and unsuccessful, and instead of admiring your beauty, seeing you with another causes me emotional turmoil
And the light that once entered here
Is banished from me
And this darkness is all baby that my heart sees
My heart once felt hopeful and inspired by you, but now it is consumed by sadness and darkness
And though the world is filled
With the grace and beauty of God's hand
Oh I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
Despite the beauty of the world, my pain over seeing you with someone else is so great that I wish I could not see it, even if it means missing out on all other beauty as well
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@wesselkerssies857
I love to see the cottonwood blossom
In the early spring
I love to see the message of love
That the bluebird brings
But when I see you walkin' with him
Down along the strand
I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
I love to see your hair shining
In the long summer's light
I love to watch the stars fill the sky
On a summer night
The music plays you take his hand
I watch how you touch him as you start to dance
And I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
We struggle here but all our love's in vain
Oh these eyes that once filled me with your beauty
Now fill me with pain
And the light that once entered here
Is banished from me
And this darkness is all baby that my heart sees
And though this world is filled
With the grace and beauty of God's hand
Oh I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man
@mikemcf33
this is just a masterpiece on every level. Its heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. The musicianship all around is stunning. I believe this is Bruce Springsteen’s most underrated song.
@mirjamkoler4746
So do I believe...
@valquiriapaulinobueno627
É simplesmente linda 💖 EU AMOOOOOOOO 💘 Love You Bruce 💘💯💯🔥🇧🇷
@mikemcf33
@@valquiriapaulinobueno627 English please ?
@valquiriapaulinobueno627
@@mikemcf33 love Bruce sprengsteem 💘
@derektodd2933
Agree , It's brilliant , he should play it live more.
@terrymurphy7836
What a beautiful song. Bruce puts his whole heart in his music. You can just feel every emotion.
@joycebunn6045
True
@markquarry3843
One of my favorite Bruce songs. Amazing how he can combine the pain and heartbreak subject of the song yet make it so beautiful.
@babyblues7799
The truth.