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)
Tokyo
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the soldier boys were returning home screaming "Bonzai!"
And the kids are still playing their games,
Getting hustled and rustled out in the rain
As I sat inside listening to the broadcast.
Oh save my soul sweet rock and roll 'cuz I'm sinking fast.
And then the band played.
(Everybody)
(Everybody)
Well now the legendary chaplain of the fighting 51st
Was getting ready to go.
I said "Padre do you know a cheap virgin who likes to tango?"
He said "You can try Linda Lee;
Around the corner and across the sea.
Oh word is out, word is out she's fast."
Oh blow me down now Linda, 'cuz I'm sinking fast.
Yes and them cats are sure getting fat down in the trainyard.
And the sandman brings them dreams they ship out in boxcars.
The union says hold; break out the dice, break out the gold.
It's lunchtime at last.
And old big mama said George Raff's tonight on the late show.
She sits straddling the kitchen chair really gung-ho
She shivers with chills, wet with slotcar thrills
Hypnotically lost in the glass
And we all sighed...
With the sunrise
As we watched the credits pass.
And the little blue dot went away.
And then the morning cloak fell down like a hoax over sleepytown
And garbage truck Big Lenny's out drinking the last round
He hurriedly sipped his beer, and poking fun of the queer
And threatened to kick his ass.
And the bell rang
And the horn blows
And he's outside pumping gas
But things were moving so slow tonight
So the kid goes back inside the station
And turns on the radio to his local AM station
And the band played
Right on the radio
It's on the radio
And he listened to the bass line
And the boys in the band sang
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(They're so excited about it)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(Everybody alright)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(And the band played)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(and the band played)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
(Everybody)
Whoa, whoa whoa-wo
Bruce Springsteen's 'Tokyo' is a song that narrates a series of different, seemingly unrelated experiences and observations made by the singer, all unified by one theme - the need for rock and roll. The song opens with the singer observing the moon over Shanghai, as he listens to a broadcast and realizes that he's sinking fast. He then hears a band play out of nowhere, giving him some momentary respite.
The second verse deals with the singer asking a chaplain for a virgin who likes to tango, and being directed to Linda Lee. The verse references the "fighting 51st," implying that the chaplain may be a military man. The next verse delves into the lives of people in a trainyard who are getting fat, gambling with the union, and watching George Raff's late show. It ends with the singer watching the credit roll, as the little blue dot goes away.
The final verse is the singer listening to a band on the radio, as he sees Lenny from the garbage truck drinking the last round. The song ends with the band playing on the radio, as the kid listens to the bass line, and everybody getting excited about it.
Line by Line Meaning
The moon hung like a shadow on a rung over Shanghai
The moon was visible in the sky and appeared like a shadow on a rung over the city of Shanghai.
And the soldier boys were returning home screaming 'Bonzai!'
The soldiers were coming back home and shouting 'Bonzai!' in excitement.
And the kids are still playing their games, Getting hustled and rustled out in the rain
Despite the weather, the kids were playing their games outside and getting kicked around in the rain.
As I sat inside listening to the broadcast. Oh save my soul sweet rock and roll 'cuz I'm sinking fast.
The artist was indoors listening to the radio broadcast and feeling like they were sinking fast; they needed rock and roll to lift their spirits.
And then the band played. (Out of nowhere) (Everybody) (Everybody)
The band started playing suddenly and everybody started getting into the music.
Well now the legendary chaplain of the fighting 51st Was getting ready to go.
The famous chaplain of the fighting 51st was preparing to leave.
I said 'Padre do you know a cheap virgin who likes to tango?' He said 'You can try Linda Lee; Around the corner and across the sea.
The singer asked the chaplain if he knew of a cheap virgin who enjoyed dancing the tango. The chaplain suggested Linda Lee who could be found just around the corner and across the sea.
Oh word is out, word is out she's fast.'Oh blow me down now Linda, 'cuz I'm sinking fast.
There were rumors that Linda was fast, and as the artist was sinking fast, they hoped that Linda could help them out.
Yes and them cats are sure getting fat down in the trainyard. And the sandman brings them dreams they ship out in boxcars. The union says hold; break out the dice, break out the gold.
The cats were getting fat down in the trainyard, while they dreamed of shipping out in boxcars. The union was advising them to hold and bring out the dice and gold.
It's lunchtime at last. And old big mama said George Raff's tonight on the late show. She sits straddling the kitchen chair really gung-ho
It was finally lunchtime, and Big Mama announced that George Raff was going to be on the late show. She was sitting in the kitchen chair with immense energy and excitement.
She shivers with chills, wet with slotcar thrills Hypnotically lost in the glass
Big Mama was experiencing chills and thrills while playing with slotcars, getting lost in the moment.
And we all sighed...With the sunrise As we watched the credits pass. And the little blue dot went away.
As the sun rose and the credits passed, everyone let out a sigh. A small blue dot disappeared.
And then the morning cloak fell down like a hoax over sleepytown And garbage truck Big Lenny's out drinking the last round
The morning descended over the sleeping town like a hoax, and Big Lenny, the garbage truck driver, went out to drink his last round.
He hurriedly sipped his beer, and poking fun of the queer And threatened to kick his ass.
Big Lenny quickly drank his beer and started teasing the gay person, threatening to beat them up.
And the bell rang And the horn blows And he's outside pumping gas But things were moving so slow tonight So the kid goes back inside the station And turns on the radio to his local AM station
The bell rang and the horn blew, indicating that it was time for Big Lenny to pump gas. However, things were moving slowly, so a kid went back inside the station and turned on the radio to a local AM station.
And the band played Right on the radio It's on the radio And he listened to the bass line And the boys in the band sang Whoa, whoa whoa-wo Whoa, whoa whoa-wo (They're so excited about it) Whoa, whoa whoa-wo (Everybody alright) Whoa, whoa whoa-wo (And the band played) Whoa, whoa whoa-wo (and the band played) Whoa, whoa whoa-wo (Everybody)
The radio played music by the band, and the kid listened to the bass line as the boys in the band sang. They were all very excited and enjoying the music together.
Contributed by Elizabeth B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.