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)
Wreck on the Highway
Bruce Springsteen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coming home at the end of the working day
I was riding alone through the drizzling rain
On a deserted stretch of a county two-lane
When I came upon a wreck on the highway
Now there was blood and glass all over
And there was nobody there but me
I seen a young man lying by the side of the road
He cried Mister, won't you help me please
An ambulance finally came and took him to Riverside
I watched as they drove him away
And I thought of a girlfriend or a young wife
And a state trooper knocking in the middle of the night
To say your baby died in a wreck on the highway
Sometimes I sit up in the darkness
And I watch my baby as she sleeps
Then I climb in bed and I hold her tight
I just lay there awake in the middle of the night
Thinking 'bout the wreck on the highway
The lyrics to Bruce Springsteen's song "Wreck on the Highway" tell the story of a man who witnesses a serious car accident and is haunted by its aftermath. The song begins with the singer driving home from work, alone in the rain. He comes across the scene of the accident and sees "blood and glass all over" but no one else around. He discovers a young man lying on the side of the road and helps him until an ambulance arrives to take him away.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on the tragedy he witnessed and the impact it might have had on other people's lives. He thinks about the victim's loved ones, imagining a state trooper delivering the news of a lost child or spouse. The final verse finds the singer lying awake at night, holding his own child and unable to forget what he has seen.
Overall, "Wreck on the Highway" is a haunting meditation on the fragility of life and the way that one moment of tragedy can affect so many people.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night I was out driving
The singer was driving alone last night.
Coming home at the end of the working day
The singer was coming home after finishing work for the day.
I was riding alone through the drizzling rain
The singer was driving alone in light rain.
On a deserted stretch of a county two-lane
The artist was driving on a quiet two-lane road in a rural area.
When I came upon a wreck on the highway
The artist found an accident on the road.
Now there was blood and glass all over
The accident was serious and there were signs of injury.
And there was nobody there but me
The singer was the only person at the scene of the accident.
As the rain tumbled down hard and cold
It was raining heavily and the artist was getting wet.
I seen a young man lying by the side of the road
The artist saw a young man lying on the ground near the accident.
He cried Mister, won't you help me please
The young man asked the artist for help.
An ambulance finally came and took him to Riverside
An ambulance arrived and took the young man to a nearby hospital.
I watched as they drove him away
The artist saw the ambulance drive away with the young man inside.
And I thought of a girlfriend or a young wife
The singer imagined the young man's loved ones worrying about him.
And a state trooper knocking in the middle of the night
The singer imagined a police officer delivering bad news to the young man's family in the middle of the night.
To say your baby died in a wreck on the highway
The police officer would have to inform the young man's family that he was killed in the accident.
Sometimes I sit up in the darkness
Sometimes the artist wakes up in the middle of the night.
And I watch my baby as she sleeps
The artist stays awake to watch over their loved one while they sleep.
Then I climb in bed and I hold her tight
The singer goes to bed and cuddles their loved one.
I just lay there awake in the middle of the night
The singer can't fall asleep because they're thinking about the accident.
Thinking 'bout the wreck on the highway
The artist is still reflecting on the accident and its impact on their life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind