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)
The Price You Pay
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads they'd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay
Now they'd come so far and they'd waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of the day
And you've gotta stand and fight for the price you pay
Woah, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay
Hey, oh
Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay
So let the games start, you better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay
And girl before the end of the day
I'm gonna tear it down and throw it away
The lyrics of Bruce Springsteen's song "The Price You Pay" are full of meaning and metaphor. At its core, the song talks about the risks and sacrifices one has to make to pursue their dreams, and how even when one reaches the destination they have been striving for, they might still find themselves caught up in a never-ending cycle of struggle and survival. The first verse sets the stage for the song and establishes the theme. It talks about how a person makes up their mind and takes the chances that come their way. They ride on the open road until they learn to accept the price they have to pay for their dreams.
The second verse delves deeper into the consequences of taking risks to achieve one's goals. The imagery of people driving until their death is a poignant reminder of the cost of chasing something that might never be within reach. The chorus repeats the phrase "the price you pay" in a haunting repetition that emphasizes the thematic importance of the phrase. The third verse switches perspectives, talking about how people might find themselves caught up in a situation they never expected. Even when things go wrong, however, one still has to stand and fight for the price they pay.
The last verse brings the story to a close with an allusion to the biblical story of Moses and the Israelites. The stranger passing through puts up a sign that counts the men fallen away to the price you pay, which likely refers to a tally of people who did not make it to the promised land. The final line is a declaration of hope and determination to tear down the sign that holds back progress and to move forward without any hindrances.
Overall, "The Price You Pay" is a powerful song about the cost of chasing one's dreams and the resilience required to keep going. The lyrics are full of metaphors and symbols that add depth to the themes explored.
Line by Line Meaning
You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You decide your own fate and take risks based on your own choices
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
You go as far as the road takes you, even if it means facing difficulties
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You keep moving forward on a journey without an endpoint
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay
You get used to the burden of your choices and the consequences that come with them
Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
People aspire for better things and aim for higher goals
And in one last breath they built the roads they'd ride to their death
Despite knowing the risks, they still push through and make choices which may lead to their downfall
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
People keep going despite feeling trapped or stuck on their journey
From the restless pull of the price you pay
The burden of their choices is like a force that keeps pulling them, causing them to feel restlessness.
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay
You are forced to face the consequences of your choices, and there's no turning back
Now they'd come so far and they'd waited so long
People take long journeys and go through hardships to achieve their goals
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Despite their efforts, sometimes things don't turn out the way they thought they would
Where the dark of night holds back the light of the day
Difficult circumstances sometimes make it hard to see the light of hope
And you've gotta stand and fight for the price you pay
In order to survive, you have to be willing to fight to overcome the consequences of your choices
Little girl down on the strand, with that pretty little baby in your hands
A woman with a baby in her arms is seen by the singer
Do you remember the story of the promised land
A reference to the biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites to the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands and could not enter the chosen land
Moses went through great struggle but was still not able to achieve his own goal
On the banks of the river he stayed, to face the price you pay
Moses was forced to stop and face the consequences of his actions
So let the games start, you better run you little wild heart
The singer is telling someone to brace themselves for what's to come
You can run through all the nights and all the days
Someone can try to escape their problems, but it's hard to avoid the consequences of their actions
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
Someone else has witnessed the consequences of the character's choices
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay
The sign highlights how many others faced the same consequences because of their reckless behavior
And girl before the end of the day, I'm gonna tear it down and throw it away
The singer promises to rid the world of the sign that reminds people of the consequences of their choices
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind