Episode 8 | “Working on the Highway”

Today on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet, we’re somehow in the Bs and in the Ws with “Working on the Highway,” the jangly rocker off Born in the USA.We dig into what makes it move, what it’s really saying about love and work, and why the union hall matters more than you’d think.We also talk about what makes for good songwriting, which Jon Favreau movies this is exactly like, and some personal stories along the way. Plus, as usual, we talk about making records and other silly stuff with your friends.Head over to alphabeticalspringstee.substack.com to leave your own song rating.Check out the video episode here: https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/working-on-the-highwayLeave your own rating in the comments, please!Chapters02:59 Exploring the Song’s Musical Elements05:54 Lyrics Analysis and Themes08:55 Discussion on Songwriting and Recording Process12:01 Character and Story Development in Lyrics15:00 Cultural References and Context18:10 Final Thoughts and Ratings This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

Driving into Darlington County with two hundred dollars in your pocket. What a feeling!? Two fellas drive into a new town looking for a good time. How does it end for our two protagonists this time?It’s fun. It’s raucous. It’s rock’n’roll.Is it good? Certainly. But is it important? We’re not giving away the ending in the show notes.We ask the real questions this week.And we honor Dolly because this episode was recorded weeks ago.Leave your rating in the episode comments at https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/episode-7-darlington-county Upgrade your subscription for video episodes (usually a week early!).https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribeChapters01:04 — Bruce’s birthday03:06 — Meeting famous people without making things awkward07:20 — Remembering Dolly Parton10:01 — Could Dolly have covered “Darlington County”?11:08 — Basic Facts!13:23 — The music18:11 — The album’s characters, insecurity, and disappointment20:25 — Breaking down the lyrics29:32 — Ratings and final thoughts32:13 — How to follow and support the show This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet, Rob and JB talk about Donna Summer’s almost disco hit, Cover Me.Believe it or not, Bruce originally wrote this song at Quincy Jones request, but you’ll have to listen to the ep for all the details.This Billboard top 10 single sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and definitely put Bruce on the pop fan’s radar (but there’s still plenty of muscular rock’n’roll guitar, don’t worry, fellas).We decide if the lyrics are deep, shallow, or if that even matters. Talk about what a Donna cover would sound like, and hand out disco balls.For more from Rob and JB (including video episodes) head over to alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com.00:00 Opening banter—and some thoughts about choreography01:08 The origins of “Cover Me”06:55 How the song developed and was recorded12:56 Chart performance and reception17:19 Rock, disco, and the song’s musical influences23:03 Bruce’s guitar work26:00 Moving from political themes to personal ones27:10 Mood, vibe, and emotional impact29:54 Whether simple lyrics can still have depth34:01 The subversive history of disco37:00 Final thoughts and ratings This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

Today on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet: We kick things off with a world-wide unanimous banger from the boss.The song is as famous for its perceived patriotism as it is for its cease and desist letters to presidential campaigns. It’s somehow patriotic and ironically patriotic all at once. A satire packaged inside a genuine, heart-felt, sing along of a pop rock song.While this song feels like a case of, “What hasn’t been said about this song,” it turns out we found plenty to say.We’d also be interested in hearing what you have to say. Please shoot us a line or drop your rating in one of the feeds.As always, if you think a friend would enjoy this, pass it along:https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/born-in-the-usa?r=44wa19&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

Some people hear this one and file it away as a slow, sexy love song. It is not a love song. It is about Abu Ghraib.Side two, track two. The last song on the EP and the last day of American Beauty Week.We get into:The trick Bruce is pulling: pedal steel, twinkly piano, a whisper in your ear, before he walks you straight into the worst thing we’ve ever done. Genesis chapter three. One of the few times Bruce swears on a record and exactly why it hits. JB coins the phrase "sexy doubt.” And the decade old rumor that Tom Morello is going to cover this someday.Heads up, this one has the explicit tag, and we spend a good while on what the song was about then and what it is about now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

Coming at you with a friggin’ power-pop song today. Hurry Up Sundown may seem like a shimmery, empty, late-summer dream, but Rob drops a homily in here that would make even the harshest shut-up-and-singer reconsider.Since it’s side two, track one, Bruce reminds us that we are supposed to be having a good time here. It is a wall of sound power pop song, it is almost entirely one guy playing everything he could find in the room, and it has never been performed live for a human audience. Not once. We have thoughts about that.Is it a straightforward pop song, or is it an ode to the plight of the worker and cry for the night that follows a hard day? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

What does the album High Hopes, Tony Toni Toné, Record Store Day, and the Farfisa have to do with each other? This song. Kind of.Join us for the second song in our track-by-track exploration of Bruce Springsteen's American Beauty EP.We also revisit Rob's campaign to have Dream Baby Dream scratched from the historical record and why JB played an out of tune piano with a bottle of Evan Williams in a fur cap.Anyway, seems like there might be something about Mary (Mary). Let's go find out. Maybe she's over in Charlestown. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

Subscribe on our Substack here: https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/ or on your favorite podcast app!Follow us on Instagram: @alphabeticalspringsteen This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

Hello Bruce fans. In case you’ve been wondering, “Are JB and Rob dead?” The answer is no. We are in fact alive and better than ever. Here’s the real question, does being better mentally and physically lead to more entertaining podcasts? Probably not. But who knows?All that to say, we’re back to the Bosscast and we’re excited to talk about music, (WITH YOU!) again. We missed you. Seriously, all of you. The ones we knew, the ones we didn’t, and they ones we haven’t met yet.So buckle up, enjoy the ride, and let us know what you think—about the music, about the latest tour, about your life for the last five years. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe

The final episode of our original run. We thought we were done... but we were wrong! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe