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)
Independence Day
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
I'll be leaving in the morning from Saint Mary's Gate
We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow
'Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
But they can't touch me now
And you can't touch me now
What I watched them do to you
So say goodbye it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day
All down the line
Just say goodbye it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day this time
Now I don't know what it always was with us
We chose the words, and yeah, we drew the lines
There was just no way this house could hold the two of us
I guess that we were just too much of the same kind
Well say goodbye it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day all boys must run away
So say goodbye it's Independence Day
All men must make their way come Independence Day
Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint
And the highway she's deserted down to Breaker's Point
There's a lot of people leaving town now
Leaving their friends, their homes
At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone
Well Papa go to bed now it's getting late
Nothing we can say can change anything now
Because there's just different people coming down here now
And they see things in different ways
And soon everything we've known will just be swept away
So say goodbye it's Independence Day
Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
But won't you just say goodbye it's Independence Day
I swear I never meant to take those things away
The song Independence Day by Bruce Springsteen presents a powerful and emotional story about the relationship between a father and his son. The main character, the singer of the song, is leaving his home and his troubled relationship with his father to start a new life. The song takes place on Independence Day, a day that represents freedom and liberation, but also marks as a symbolic day when the singer is leaving his past behind and starting anew.
The song presents the idea that sometimes moving on from one's past is the only way to find true freedom. The character realizes that in order for him to find independence, he needs to leave the darkness of his hometown and his negative relationship with his father. The singer sees his departure as an opportunity to break free from his past and start a new life independent of the old problems that he was facing. It is a difficult decision for him but necessary for him to find true freedom.
The song also deals with the idea of different generations seeing things in different ways. The father and son have their own ideas about independence and what it means to them. The singer realizes that his father's generation sees things differently, and this new perspective helps him move on and start over. The song emphasizes the importance of letting go of the past to find real freedom, and that the only way to achieve this is to leave it behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Well Papa go to bed now it's getting late
Father, it is now late at night and you must go to bed.
Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
Any words we say cannot undo the past or present.
I'll be leaving in the morning from Saint Mary's Gate
I will be departing tomorrow from Saint Mary's Gate.
We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow
Even if given the power, we would not change the situation.
'Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
The darkness within this household has deeply affected us.
There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
The town itself is also enveloped by darkness.
But they can't touch me now
I have become untouchable to them.
And you can't touch me now
They cannot reach me anymore.
They ain't gonna do to me
They will not do to me.
What I watched them do to you
What I witnessed them do to you.
So say goodbye it's Independence Day
It's time to bid farewell and embrace Independence Day.
It's Independence Day
A day symbolizing freedom and independence.
All down the line
Continuing throughout the journey ahead.
Now I don't know what it always was with us
I am unsure of what peculiarly bound us together.
We chose the words, and yeah, we drew the lines
We deliberately selected our words and actions.
There was just no way this house could hold the two of us
This house was too small to accommodate us.
I guess that we were just too much of the same kind
Perhaps we had too much in common.
It's Independence Day all boys must run away
On Independence Day, all boys must eventually leave home.
All men must make their way come Independence Day
All men must finally make their own path on Independence Day.
Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint
Frankie's joint is now devoid of any occupants.
And the highway she's deserted down to Breaker's Point
The highway leading to Breaker's Point is abandoned.
There's a lot of people leaving town now
Many people are now departing from this place.
Leaving their friends, their homes
Abandoning their social ties and homes.
At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone
In the darkness of the night, they venture down the dusty highway all alone.
Papa now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
Father, I now perceive the things you desired but remained unsaid.
But won't you just say goodbye it's Independence Day
But for once, can you let go and bid farewell on Independence Day?
I swear I never meant to take those things away
I swear I never intended to deprive you of those things.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind