He received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Jessie's Girl", which proved to be a career breakout moment. He followed with four more top 10 U.S. rock hits: "I've Done Everything for You", "Don't Talk to Strangers", "Affair of the Heart", and "Love Somebody". His two U.S. top 10 albums are 1981's 'Working Class Dog' and 1982's 'Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet', releases featuring an energetic sound earning both commercial and critical successes. As an actor, he portrayed the popular Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama 'General Hospital' from 1981 to 1983, and he sprang back into the role during 2005 to 2008 and 2012, returning again in 2013 for the show's 50th anniversary with his son (and fellow actor) Liam Springthorpe.
Though having gigantic success in the early to mid-80s, Springfield felt totally exhausted with the pressures of stardom. He would end up devoting more time to his personal and family life, though still releasing albums through the late 80s and onward. In 2010, Springfield published his well-received autobiography, titled 'Late, Late at Night: A Memoir', which detailed these struggles.
Born Richard Lewis Springthorpe, later adopting "Rick Springfield" in his performing days, in South Wentworthville on 23 August 1949, he spent the early part of his life around the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The son of Eileen and Norman Springthorpe, the latter a Australian Army career officer, he also has an older brother, Mike Springthorpe. Due to his father's Army career, the Springthorpe family moved to London, England, where they lived between 1960 to 1962. The family moved back to Australia in June 1962, where they settled in the Melbourne suburb of Ormond.
Inspired by the 60s pop rock boom around him, the young Rick Springfield took naturally to singing and songwriting. However, commercial success would come in sudden bursts for him, with the performer facing bouts of 'teen idol' worship (even spending a time doing music for kids as a sort of cartoon Mister Rogers from 1973 to 1975, with those songs put into his 'Mission Magic!' album) that concealed his desire to be taken seriously as a musician. Fully embracing a power pop and new wave sound, as played by contemporaries such as Cheap Trick, The Cars, and others, finally helped him hit the big time in a dramatic way. As well, in October 1984, Springfield married his longtime girlfriend, Barbara Porter, in his family's church in Australia.
When being interviewed about his autobiography, Springfield admitted that he dated while married, and that it was a problem that he has overcome. He mentioned in particular dating Linda Blair, Demi Moore, Connie Hamzy, Morgana Welch, and Geraldine Edwards (the inspiration for Penny Lane in 'Almost Famous'). Though on top of the world for a time, things proved unstable and uncertain. In 1985, when his first son was born and after the release of his 'Tao' album, Springfield took a break from his musical career to spend more time with his family, as stated before. He also resolved to deal with the off-and-on depression that had affected him since his adolescence. Springfield had suffered much in the 70s due to both the serious illness of his father, who died on 24 April 1981, and difficulties dealing with people in the music industry.
Recently, a new feature documentary, titled 'An Affair of the Heart: The Journey of Rick Springfield and his Devoted Fans, was filmed in 2010. The movie started on the film festival circuit in the spring of 2012. The performer's latest work is 2015's 'Stripped Down', a combination of covers, new material, and re-recorded tracks from his past that has attracted some critical praise.
BOP
Rick Springfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the hot city
Keep on workin' day and night
Don't stop 'til you get what you want
Bop 'til you drop
'Til you're sick with it
Burn the candle burn it bright
Love won't
You wake up wired
And draw on your make-up
And the city breathes
And the city comes to life
Lately it seems
Your time is all used up
Chasin' dreams
Of money and the good life
But there is somethin'
You're thinkin' of
Lately you're feelin'
The power of love
Everybody says it's
So hard to hold
The alarm rings
You gotta get up
You gotta get up
Bop 'til you drop
In the hot city
Keep on workin' day and night
Don't stop 'til you get what you want
Bop 'til you drop
'Til you're sick with it
Burn the candle burn it bright
Love won't
Love won't wait
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
You say you're the lucky one
But you don't believe it
And you want to stop
And you want to take some time
To source out a feeling
And look for a reason
And the flesh is weak
But the spirit is willing
Cause there is somethin'
You've been thinkin' of
Lately you're feelin'
The power of love
Everybody says it's so
So hard to hold
The alarm rings
You gotta get up
You gotta get up
Bop 'til you drop
In the hot city
Keep on workin' day and night
Don't stop 'til you get what you want
Bop 'til you drop
'Til you're sick with it
Burn the candle burn it bright
Love won't
Love won't wait
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot
There is somethin'
You've been thinkin' of
Lately you're feelin'
The power of love
Everybody says it's so
So hard to hold
The alarm rings
You gotta get up
You gotta get up
Bop 'til you drop
In the hot city
Keep on workin' day and night
(Bop 'til you drop)
(Bop)
(Bop 'til you drop)
(Bop)
(Bop 'til you drop)
(Bop)
(Bop 'til you drop)
Bop 'til you drop
In the hot city
Keep on workin' day and night
Don't stop 'til you get what you want
Bop 'til you drop
'Til you're sick with it
Burn the candle burn it bright
Love won't
Love won't wait
Bop 'til you drop
In the hot city
Keep on workin' day and night
Don't stop 'til you get what you want
Bop 'til you drop
'Til you're sick with it
Burn the candle burn it bright
Love won't
Love won't wait
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh
(Bop 'til you drop)
The song "Bop" by Rick Springfield is a motivational tune about the importance of hard work and perseverance. The lyrics encourage listeners to keep pushing forward, even when things get tough. They urge people to "Bop 'til you drop" and to continue "workin' day and night" in order to achieve their goals. The song acknowledges the difficulties of chasing dreams, particularly in a fast-paced city environment. The lyrics suggest that love can be a motivating force, but also that it won't wait around forever, so it's important to keep moving forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Bop 'til you drop
Keep moving and dancing until you can't anymore
In the hot city
In an urban area full of opportunities
Keep on workin' day and night
Stay focused and dedicated every single day
Don't stop 'til you get what you want
Don't give up until you achieve your goals
'Til you're sick with it
Keep doing it until it consumes you entirely
Burn the candle burn it bright
Push yourself and give it your all
Love won't
You can't wait for love
Love won't wait
You must go after love when you feel it
You wake up wired
You wake up feeling energized
And draw on your make-up
You apply makeup to face the world
And the city breathes
The city is alive and thriving
And the city comes to life
The city buzzes with opportunities
Lately it seems
Recently, you feel like you're out of time
Your time is all used up
You don't have much time left
Chasin' dreams
Pursuing your aspirations
Of money and the good life
Dreaming of financial success and a prosperous life
But there is somethin'
You feel like there's more to life
You're thinkin' of
You're always pondering
Lately you're feelin'
You're recently experiencing
The power of love
The force that moves worlds
Everybody says it's
People think it's hard
So hard to hold
It's difficult to maintain or keep a hold of
The alarm rings
The clock goes off
You gotta get up
You need to wake up
You say you're the lucky one
You believe you're fortunate
But you don't believe it
You don't have much confidence in yourself
And you want to stop
You want to pause for a moment
And you want to take some time
You want to slow down and relax for a while
To source out a feeling
To find that gut feeling
And look for a reason
To search for a motive
And the flesh is weak
The body is tired
But the spirit is willing
But the mind is still determined
Doot-doot-doot-doot
Nonsense syllables
(Bop)
Sound made when dancing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: RICK SPRINGFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The Bearded Seeker
i love how these 80s dystopian sci-fi visions of the future is basically our lives now.
M n M
We win!
Jason Greene
It's basically a song about working in an Amazon warehouse!
lovinstitch
It's songs like this that makes me so thankful that I am a child of the 80's and graduated in 1985. :)
mychal belcher
What do you find amusing about this? Honest answers only don't be an asshole
ClineFamilyof5
Class of ‘86 here. We had awesome music and movies! It’s 2021 and Rick Springfield is doing a US tour…!! #GenX
Dan A.
89 here bro
Luis Colón
I was graduated from SHS in '85. Nice music!
Jon Weems
1985 was a great year to graduate! :)
DatBlackMinotaur
Who’s here because of the new Jimmy Eat World video?