van Zandt was born as Steven Lento in Winthrop, Massachusetts. His mother, Mary Lento, remarried when he was young and Steven took the last name of his stepfather, William Van Zandt. The family moved from Massachusetts to Middletown Township, New Jersey when he was seven.
Van Zandt subsequently became a songwriter and producer for fellow Jersey shore act Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes in the mid- to late-1970s, penning their signature song "I Don't Wanna Go Home", co-writing other songs for them with Springsteen, and producing their most-acclaimed record, Hearts of Stone. As such, Van Zandt became a key contributor to the Jersey Shore sound. Van Zandt then went on to share production credits on the classic Springsteen albums Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River, and Born in the U.S.A..
Van Zandt has produced a number of other records, including an uncredited effort on the Iron City Houserockers' Have A Good Time (But Get Out Alive). Less successful was his work on Lone Justice's second album Shelter, which was a career-ending flop for the Los Angeles cowpunk band.
In 2004, he contributed the song "Baby Please Don't Go" to Nancy Sinatra's self-titled album
Van Zandt officially left the E Street Band in 1984 (Springsteen's song "Bobby Jean" is said to be inspired by the split) and has been involved in numerous solo musical projects and collaborations since then, ranging from soul music to hard rock to world music. In particular, he released four albums in the 1980s and one in 1999, sometimes fronting an on-and-off group known as Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. Van Zandt has written that these albums are each elements in a five-part concept cycle. The first of them, 1982's white soul Men Without Women, earned the most critical praise (Jay Cocks of TIME magazine dubbed it one of the ten best albums of the year), while its follow-up, 1984's Voice of America, did the best on the U.S. albums chart, although none of them were much of a commercial success. With Voice of America, his music became explicitly political, with the central theme being opposition to Ronald Reagan-era American foreign policy.
Continuing his involvement in issues of the day, in 1985 he created the music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid as an action against the Sun City resort in South Africa. Forty-nine top recording artists, including Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan and Run DMC, collaborated on a song called "Sun City" in which they pledged they would never perform at the resort. The effort was modestly successful. In 1987 he released the album Freedom - No Compromise, which continued the political messaging in an even more strident fashion. Some U.S. appearances in that year as opening act for U2's arena-and-stadium Joshua Tree Tour continued in the same vein – Oliver North was labelled a "criminal motherfucker" – but were not well-received by audiences, who found the sound overbearing and the performances lacking musicality. Both the record and his concerts were more popular in Europe, however. Little Steven's fourth album, 1989's Revolution, attracted little attention.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Van_Zandt
Inside Of Me
Little Steven Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And don't tell me everything we believe in has been washed away
Because something still remains
I known it still remains, because I'm still the same
And there ain't nothing gonna change my mind
Because I've spent my whole life just trying to find
Something I know I need but can't define
Everything I ever wanted is here baby
It never died inside of me
Everybody tells me, open up your eyes, it can never be like it used to be
I say to them, open up your heart, you see just what you want to see
Is it too much for you to see the truth
Every time you look in my face
Ain't it a little late in the game to throw your hand in
And ain't it a little late in the game to forget everything we've been
Trapped by the locked doors you never could get in
It's still alive inside of me
It never died inside of me
There was a moment in time, we could almost taste the adventure every day
Now I know that we're a little bit older
but that don't mean there's nothing new left to say
Now we spend the days walking away instead of trying to do something about it
You oughta be right by my side
Instead of trying to find a place to hide
Fighting to keep everything that we had baby
It's still alive inside of me
It never died inside of me
"Inside of Me" by Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul is a song that speaks to the enduring nature of love and friendship. The singer in the song is telling someone who is contemplating giving up on a relationship that even if things don't work out the way they hoped, all their hard work and effort weren't for nothing. They still have something to hold onto and cherish because they still have each other. The lyrics suggest that just because our lives may change, the core of who we are and what we value remains the same. It's an affirming message that encourages us to hold onto hope and appreciate what we have while we have it.
The second verse of "Inside of Me" has a more confrontational tone, with the singer pushing back against those who are telling them to give up or to accept defeat. They argue that it's never too late to keep fighting for what we believe in and that the truth is something that's always there for us to see if we choose to look for it. The song ends on a note of nostalgia and regret, with the singer lamenting the passing of time and the fact that they and their partner have grown apart. However, they still urge their partner to join them in embracing the future, to keep trying to make a life together, and to hold onto what they know is true.
Overall, "Inside of Me" is a song that celebrates the enduring nature of love and friendship, but also acknowledges that these things can be difficult to hold onto in our constantly changing world. The lyrics are encouraging, optimistic, and full of life, even as they acknowledge the challenges that we all face from time to time.
Line by Line Meaning
Even if it's all over, don't ever say it was all in vain
Don't believe that everything you've done so far was useless if the outcome is not in your favour.
And don't tell me everything we believe in has been washed away
Don't convince me that all the values, principles and morals that we stood up for all this time have disappeared or no longer hold true.
Because something still remains
There's always a part of what we left behind that lives on.
I known it still remains, because I'm still the same
I am still the same person who carried those beliefs with me, and they are still a part of me.
And there ain't nothing gonna change my mind
I am determined not to change my mind on what I believe in.
Because I've spent my whole life just trying to find
I have dedicated my entire life to finding what I believe in.
Something I know I need but can't define
I know what I need, but I can't describe it in words.
Everything I ever wanted is here baby
Everything that I have ever wanted is around me.
It's still alive inside of me
Those values, beliefs, and morals are still inside me, driving me forward.
It never died inside of me
No matter how much it might seem, nothing has ever been lost or gone entirely.
Everybody tells me, open up your eyes, it can never be like it used to be
People are trying to tell me to open my eyes and face the reality that things have changed immensely, and they will never be the same as they once were.
I say to them, open up your heart, you see just what you want to see
I, on the other hand, believe that you need to open your heart to discover what you seek truly.
Is it too much for you to see the truth
Why is it so hard for you to acknowledge the truth?
Every time you look in my face
Even when you look me in the eyes.
Ain't it a little late in the game to throw your hand in
It's too late to withdraw from the fight when we're so close to the endgame.
And ain't it a little late in the game to forget everything we've been
Forgetting all that we've gone through till now seems too late in the proceedings.
Trapped by the locked doors you never could get in
You felt trapped, trying to break into something you felt was out of your reach.
It's still alive inside of me
Those values, beliefs, and morals keep living inside all of us.
It never died inside of me
None of it has left me, etched in my memory, clear as day.
There was a moment in time, we could almost taste the adventure every day
Remember how it felt during that period, that we lived each day seeking adventure.
Now I know that we're a little bit older
But now, we understand we've grown old.
but that don't mean there's nothing new left to say
But that doesn't mean we don't have anything new to go about saying and doing.
Now we spend the days walking away instead of trying to do something about it
We end up spending time on trying to walk past those instances instead of trying to deal with them.
You oughta be right by my side
I hope that you're always around with me during those times.
Instead of trying to find a place to hide
Instead of walking away and hiding from the issues.
Fighting to keep everything that we had baby
I am always ready to fight for everything that was precious to us.
It's still alive inside of me
It still continues to flicker in the back of my mind.
It never died inside of me
None of it has left my thoughts, and they'll continue to flow around me.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Steven Van Zandt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind