In 1973, the Bubs celebrated their tenth reunion at Cambridge’s Sheraton Commander Hotel. Unfortunately, the mid-‘70’s brought harder times. Larger issues such as the Vietnam War, the Watergate Scandal, and the oil crisis resulted in less enthusiasm and opportunity for extra-curricular campus activities. Fortunately, a small but dedicated group of undergraduate singers, with the help of the Beelzebubs Alumni Association, managed to keep the group alive and strong by singing, traveling, and recording. Because the group survived these times, the Bubs remain Tufts’ longest running student organization. During the ‘70’s, the Bubs also began adding popular music to their usual repertoire of barbershop, doo-wop, gospel, and jazz.
The 1980’s brought prosperous times for the Bubs. Each year, the gigging schedule grew larger while tour destinations became increasingly farther from Tufts. By the end of the ‘80’s, the group’s most distant destinations included Florida, California, Colorado, and England. Also, on-campus enthusiasm for the group increased, resulting in stronger audition pools and more complex musical arrangements.
In the early 1990’s, the Bubs made several developments that not only changed the group’s own style but also permanently affected the characteristics of collegiate and contemporary a cappella. The 1991 album Foster St. almost completely abandoned the traditional arranging styles of glee club, doo-wop, and barbershop music and introduced a new brand of arranging which aimed to capture the driving nature of contemporary popular music.
Throughout the 1990’s and into the new millennium, the Bubs have continued to develop this new style while also performing some music of the group’s past. To date, the Bubs have recorded 25 studio and 3 live albums and have won several awards for performing and recording. They also boast an active alumni association whose Bubs Foundation raises funds for music in Boston’s public schools. The Bubs have traveled to nearly every corner of the United States and have toured Europe on several occasions. They have performed at colleges, corporate gigs, public and private elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, bar mitzvahs, wedding showers, restaurants, hospitals, churches, Fenway Park, the Bank North Garden, Disneyworld, Disneyland, Eurodisney, the United States embassies in France and England, on Late Night with David Letterman and back home in Goddard Chapel at the top of the hill in Medford, MA.
boulevard of broken dreams
Tufts Beelzebubs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fiohmtoekteadream
S
Where the city wln
Nonl ynwpo bjr gerfre
Ai walk alonge
I aleone
I alwalpk alonee: ERmfogmk
Pfsokwgoejniu9renthis gehadow only won ithaieifonobeiside me
I9neoorihntshot wheart
Theonlny whbreatheing
The beiotmps0ktohin
Find me
Tiolmthis ne rkh eewalk oapooneEEEEEEEE
The lyrics of Tufts Beelzebubs's song Boulevard of Broken Dreams, a cover of Green Day's song with the same title, describe a lonely individual walking on a deserted street in the middle of the night. The singer feels completely isolated and lost as he walks, with only his shadow for company. The street is empty and devoid of people, highlighting his loneliness. The lyrics of the chorus, "I walk alone, I walk alone, I walk alone, I walk alone," further emphasize the singer's solitude and isolation, with each repetition adding to the despair and hopeless tone of the song.
The second verse of the song reveals the singer wishing for someone to find him and bring him back to life - "My shadow's the only one that walks beside me, My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating, Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me, Till then I walk alone." This verse highlights the singer's desire for connection and companionship, as well as his sense of longing and desperation. The use of first-person singular pronouns like "my" and "I" throughout the song intensifies the sense of solitude and emotional isolation.
Line by Line Meaning
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
In this place of disappointment and failure
Where the city sleeps
When the town is silent and inactive
And I'm the only one and I walk a...
I wander down the sidewalk by myself,
...my shadow's the only one that walks beside me
and my shadow is my lone companion.
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
My heart beats emptily and meaninglessly
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
I yearn for someone to come and seek me out
'Til then I walk alone
Until then, I roam without company
Writer(s): Billie Joe Armstrong, Frank Wright, Michael Pritchard
Contributed by Emily M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.