Kentonville.com > Lyrical Lists > Female Names in Songs > Bruce Springsteen

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Bruce Springsteen: Songs with Girls, Women and Ladies Names in Titles and Lyrics

Angel, Angeline, Annie, Betty Lou, Billie, Bobbie, Bobby Jean, Candy, Carol, Cassiopeia, Catherine, Charlotte, Cherry, Caroline, Cynthia, Delilah, Dinah, Doreen, Eve, Fiona, Frankie, Gloria, Isabella, Jackie, Jane, Janey, Jenny, Joan, Juliet, Kate, Kitty, Leah, Lena, Linda, Lorraine, Louisa, Lynette, Margarita, Maria, Mary, Mary Beth, Mary Lou, Missy, Mona Lisa, Nancy Lee, Ricky, Rosalita, Rosie, Sally, Sandy, Shaniqua, Sheena, Sherry, Sue, Suzy, Terry, Theresa, Wanda, Wendy, Venus, Mrs. McGrath

  • Angel - "Don't Look Back" - Tracks - 1998
  • Angeline - "Prove It All Night" - Darkness on the Edge of Town - 1978
  • Annie - "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" - The River - 1980
  • Betty Lou - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Billie - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Bobbie - "Devils & Dust" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Bobby Jean - "Bobby Jean" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
  • "Candy's Room" - Darkness on the Edge of Town - 1978
  • Carol - "County Fair" - The Essential Bruce Springsteen - 2003
  • Cassiopeia - "Long Time Comin'" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Catherine - "Car Wash" - Tracks - 1998
  • Charlotte - "Working on the Highway" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
  • Cherry - "Meeting Across the River" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Caroline - "Cadillac Ranch" - The River - 1980
  • "Cynthia" - Tracks - 1998
  • Delilah - "Fire" - Live/1975–85 - 1986
  • Dinah - "Bishop Danced" - Tracks - 1998
  • Doreen - "With Every Wish" - Human Touch - 1992
  • Eve - "Pink Cadillac" - Tracks - 1998
  • Fiona - "Silver Palomino" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • "Frankie" - Tracks - 1998
  • Frankie -"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" - Magic - 2007
  • Frankie - "Independence Day" - The River - 1980
  • "Gloria's Eyes" - Human Touch - 1992
  • Isabella -"Stand on It" - Tracks - 1998
  • Jackie - "New York City Serenade" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Jane - "Gypsy Biker" - Magic - 2007
  • Jane - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart" - Tracks - 1998
  • Janey - "Spare Parts" - Tunnel of Love - 1988
  • Janey - "Spirit in the Night" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Jenny - "Youngstown" - The Ghost of Tom Joad - 1995
  • Joan - "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Juliet - "Fire" - Live/1975–85 - 1986
  • Juliet - "Point Blank" - The River - 1980
  • Kate - "My Hometown" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
  • "Kitty's Back" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "Leah" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Lena - "American Skin (41 Shots)" - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City - 2001
  • "Linda Let Me Be the One" - Tracks - 1998
  • Lorraine - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Louisa - "The Line" - The Ghost of Tom Joad - 1995
  • Lynette - "Black Cowboys" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Margarita - "Wild Billy's Circus Story" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "Maria's Bed" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Maria - "Highway Patrolman" - Nebraska - 1982
  • Maria - "Reno" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Marie - "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "Mary Don't You Weep" - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - 2006
  • "Mary Queen of Arkansas" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • "Mary's Place" - The Rising - 2002
  • Mary - "Bring on the Night" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary - "Car Wash" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary - "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Mary - "Gypsy Biker" - Magic - 2007
  • Mary - "Independence Day" - The River - 1980
  • Mary - "Jesus Was an Only Son" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Mary - "The Rising" - The Rising - 2002
  • Mary - "The River" - The River - 1980
  • Mary - "Rockaway the Days" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary - "Straight Time" - The Ghost of Tom Joad - 1995
  • Mary - "Terry's Song" - Magic - 2007
  • Mary - "Thunder Road" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Mary Beth - "Stand on It" - Tracks - 1998
  • "Mary Lou" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary Lou - "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Mary Lou - "Reason to Believe" - Nebraska - 1982
  • Missy - "So Young and in Love" - Tracks - 1998
  • Missy - "Wild Billy's Circus Story" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Mona Lisa - "Terry's Song" - Magic - 2007
  • Nancy Lee - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • "Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own" - Tracks - 1998
  • "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Rosie - "Long Time Comin'" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Rosie - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Sally - "Kitty's Back" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Sandy - "Santa Ana" - Tracks - 1998
  • Shaniqua - "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" - Magic - 2007
  • Sheena - "Crush on You" - The River - 1980
  • "Sherry Darling" - The River - 1980
  • Sue - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Sue - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Suzy - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Terry - "The Promise" - 18 Tracks - 1999
  • "Terry's Song" - Magic - 2007
  • "Zero and Blind Terry" - Tracks - 1998
  • Terry - "Backstreets" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Theresa - "I'll Work for Your Love" - Magic - 2007
  • Wanda - "Open All Night" - Nebraska - 1982
  • Wendy - "Born to Run" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Venus - "Crush on You" - The River - 1980
  • "Mrs. McGrath" - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - 2006

Bruce Springsteen's Songs: brucespringsteen.net External Link

 

  • Angel
  • Angeline
    • Angeline - "Prove It All Night" - Darkness on the Edge of Town - 1978
      • Strictly speaking this the name of a town not a girl
      • "Prove It All Night" was the ninth song on Bruce Springsteen's fourth studio album Darkness on the Edge of Town, and the first single released from it.
      • The song tells the story of a young couple who pledge their love to each other on a trip to various towns. The entire song contains a sense of optimism that the two individuals' quest for love will someday be realized but, at the same time, it seems that the world is closing in on them in that the characters' chances of falling in love are growing more limited as time passes. The single gained little traction with Top 40 radio stations, reaching only #33 on the Billboard Hot 100; however it gained considerable play on progressive rock and album-oriented rock radio formats.
      • "Prove It All Night" has been a semi-regular selection in Springsteen and E Street Band concerts since its release. To the Springsteen faithful, by far the most famous arrangement of it occurred during their fabled 1978 Tour, when it was reshaped into an eleven-minute epic with a long, howling guitar-over-piano introduction and a frenetic organ-and-guitar-over-drums outro. Excerpts of one such performance from a July 1, 1978 Berkeley Community Theatre show were heard during a syndicated radio interview with New York disc jockey Dave Herman on the King Biscuit Flower Hour, and this version would become a fan favorite still referred back to decades later; one of the criticisms of Springsteen's 1986 Live/1975-85 box set was that it omitted the 1978 "Prove It". A live version of the song did finally appear on Springsteen's 2001 release Live in New York City documenting the Reunion Tour, as did a Rising Tour performance on the 2003 Live in Barcelona DVD, but both were in a shorter, more conventional treatment.
      • Text Source: Prove It All Night - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "I've been working real hard, trying to get my hands clean,
        Tonight we'll drive that dusty road from Monroe to Angeline,
        To buy you a gold ring and pretty dress of blue,
        Baby just one kiss will get these things for you,
        A kiss to seal our fate tonight,
        A kiss to prove it all night."
      • Lyrics: Prove It All Night: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Darkness on the Edge of Town - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Annie
  • Betty Lou
  • Billie
  • Bobbie
    • Bobbie - "Devils & Dust" - Devils & Dust - 2005
      • "Devils & Dust" is the title track on Bruce Springsteen's thirteenth studio album Devils & Dust, and was released as a single in 2005. Concerning the Iraq War, the song gained critical praise, a Grammy Award for Song of the Year nomination.
      • The song tells the story of a troubled American soldier who is presumably serving in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The soldier questions his role and struggles to find guidance in his mission, all the while wary of the changes he is undergoing:
        • I got God on my side,
          I'm just trying to survive -
          What if, what you do to survive
          Kills the things you love.
          Fear's a powerful thing ...
      • Unsure of who to trust in a time of tremendous moral ambiguity, the narrator's reliance upon God is tested when he sees his comrade and fellow soldier, Bobbie, dying in "a field of blood and stone." As the song concludes, the soldier maintains that he "wants to take a righteous stand" and will continue to search for a morally correct solution. It is thus not an anti-war song in a conventional sense.
      • Springsteen originally wrote the song for the E Street Band[citation needed] and it was soundchecked during The Rising Tour on April 11, 2003 at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. The song was again rehearsed on September 27 and 28, 2004 before Vote For Change shows.
      • As recorded for the Devils & Dust album, the song has a dynamic arrangement, belying the common image of the album being "acoustic" or "folk". "Devils & Dust" starts off quietly with Springsteen on acoustic guitar. Beginning in the second verse, a muted, ominous synthesizer-and-horns sound begins to be heard, joined in halfway through the verse by a more pronounced, cyclical strings line courtesy of the Nashville String Machine. After the second chorus, Springsteen plays a substantial harmonica solo, high in the mix, as drums and bass from Steve Jordan and producer Brendan O'Brien kick in. The third verse goes quiet again, before drums and percussion return; a reprise of the harmonica line carries the outro.
      • The single was released ahead of the album, initially appearing on AOL First Listen on March 28, 2005, then as a digital single on iTunes on March 29, then on radio as of April 4 and finally from other digital music providers as of April 5.
      • "Devils & Dust" saw scant radio airplay and peaked at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100, but the song received much more positive critical acclaim. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance; Springsteen won only the last, losing both of the others to U2 songs.
      • Text Source: Devils & Dust (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "I got my finger on the trigger
        But I don't know who to trust
        When I look into your eyes
        There's just devils and dust
        We're a long, long way from home, Bobbie
        Home's a long, long way from us
        I feel a dirty wind blowing
        Devils and dust"
      • Lyrics: Devils & Dust: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Devils & Dust - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Bobby Jean
    • Bobby Jean - "Bobby Jean" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
      • "Bobby Jean" was one of the last songs from the album to be recorded, and was considered a musical breakthrough for Springsteen during the recording, with its more accented rhythm and near dance groove.
      • The title character's name is somewhat gender ambiguous, allowing for various interpretations. Nonetheless, "Bobby Jean" is often considered to have been written about his long-time friendship with Steve Van Zandt, who was leaving the E Street Band at the time: For example, Swedish journalist Richard Ohlsson made the interpretation in his book Bruce Springsteen: 16 Album that the title contained both a male and a female name because "the friendship with Bobby Jean is so strong that it's almost a kind of love." When this song is played live with the E Street Band, close ups of Van Zandt are often shown on the bigscreens.
        • Now you hung with me, when all the others turned away ... turned up their nose
          We liked the same music — we liked the same bands — we liked the same clothes
          We told each other, that we were the wildest, the wildest things we'd ever seen ...
      • The lyric turns to deeper emotions, which Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh characterized as "lines that mingle love, grief, and rancor", with the chorus summing:
        • Now I wished you would have told me —
          I wished I could have talked to you —
          Just to say goodbye, Bobby Jean ...
      • At the conclusion, Springsteen imagines the song's subject hearing the very song in a motel room, as Roy Bittan's piano riff that drives the song yields to a saxophone coda from Clarence Clemons and the recording fades out. Marsh suggests that Springsteen was not singing a farewell just to Van Zandt, but also to his own depressed Nebraska self. Nevertheless, use of minor to major altered chord in the last parts of the chorus lend the song establish a spirit of generosity.
      • Text Source: Bobby Jean - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Well I came by your house the other day, your mother said you went away
        She said there was nothing that I could have done
        There was nothing nobody could say
        Me and you we've known each other ever since we were sixteen
        I wished I would have known I wished I could have called you
        Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean"
      • Lyrics: Bobby Jean: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Born in the U.S.A. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Candy
  • Carol
  • Cassiopeia
  • Catherine
  • Charlotte
    • Charlotte - "Working on the Highway" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
      • CLEARLY NOT ABOUT A GIRL, I INCLUDED IT FOR NO GOOD REASON
      • "Working on the Highway" is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was released on the album Born in the U.S.A. and has remained a popular concert song for Springsteen and the E Street Band.
      • As with some of the other songs on the Born in the U.S.A. album, including "Downbound Train" and the title track, "Working on the Highway" was originally recorded in a solo acoustic version on the demo that eventually became the Nebraska album. The acoustic version of the song had a working title of "Child Bride" and did not include the rock melody or the catchy title refrain that is a memorable part of the ultimate effort. The version of the song that was released on the album was recorded in March and April of 1982 at the Power Station in one of the early Born in the U.S.A. recording sessions.
      • Although "Working on the Highway" was not one of the seven Born in the U.S.A. songs to be released as a single, it remained popular in concert, with 271 performances through 2008. A famous performance of the song occurred on July 26, 1992 when Bruce's mother came out and danced with her son towards the end of the song, prompting Bruce to say "A boy's best friend is his mother," referencing a line from the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.
      • Text Source: Working on the Highway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "We lit out down to Florida we got along all right
        One day her brothers came and got her and they took me in a black and white
        The prosecutor kept the promise that he made on that day
        And the judge got mad and he put me straight away
        I wake up every morning to the work bell clang
        Me and the warden go swinging on the Charlotte County road gang"
      • Lyrics: Working on the Highway: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Born in the U.S.A. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Cherry
    • Cherry - "Meeting Across the River" - Born to Run - 1975
      • "Meeting Across the River" was the seventh track on Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough 1975 album, Born to Run; it also appeared as the b-side of "Born to Run", the lead single from that album.
      • The song is a dark character sketch featuring a soft, haunting trumpet and piano backing and upright bass from jazz veteran Richard Davis. The lyrical, understated tune forms a bridge between the powerful "She's the One" and the album's epic finale "Jungleland".
      • The lyrics apparently describe a low-level criminal, down on his luck but with one last chance at success for him and his friend, Eddie, that involves meeting a man across the river. The narrator appears to be desperate; he needs to bum some money and a ride from Eddie, and his girlfriend is threatening to leave because he has pawned her radio. The details are vague, but the consequences if they fail at their task seem to be very serious, and the song's sombre tone does not imply that they will succeed. Lyrics also imply that the man has never really been qualified for crime; however, the promise of a big payoff, and the thought that this might make his girlfriend stay with him, has caused him to get in over his head. Original pressings of Born to Run billed the song as "The Heist", suggesting what the man across the river was employing the narrator and Eddie for.
      • The song is often paired with "Jungleland" in concert, though without the Randy Brecker trumpet part from the record and with regular bass guitarist Garry Tallent.
      • The song was covered by Syd Straw in 1997.
      • This song led to the creation in 2005 of a book titled Meeting Across the River: Stories Inspired by the Haunting Bruce Springsteen Song.
      • The book is a collection of 21 fictional short stories by various authors edited by Jessica Kaye and Richard Brewer. Each story expands on the spare 215 word sketch of a world created in the Springsteen song by detailing a unique and wide ranging collection of divergent and unexpected times, places and characters.
      • Text Source: Meeting Across the River - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Well Cherry says she's gonna walk
        'Cause she found out I took her radio and hocked it
        But Eddie, man, she don't understand
        That two grand's practically sitting here in my pocket"
      • Lyrics: Meeting Across the River: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Born to Run - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Caroline
  • Cynthia
  • Delilah
    • Delilah - "Fire" - Live/1975–85 - 1986
      • "Fire" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and originally intended for use by Elvis Presley. It was first recorded by Robert Gordon in 1978, who received some modest album-oriented rock radio airplay with it. It was then recorded and released by The Pointer Sisters later in 1978, who gained a major hit from it, reaching number two in early 1979 on the U.S. pop chart.
      • Although he performed the song live from his 1978 tour onwards, Springsteen himself did not release his own recording of the song until his 1986 Live/1975-85 album, which contains his (heavily edited, to eliminate on-stage hijinks) December 16, 1978 performance. This version was released as a single (which contained the only "official" live version of "Incident on 57th Street", until its appearance on Live in Barcelona, as B-side), but did not succeed, reaching only number 46 on the U.S. pop chart. A music video for the song was released at the time, but confusingly showed a completely unrelated 1986 acoustic performance at a Bridge School Benefit concert.
      • A cover version of "Fire" was recorded by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Des'ree for the soundtrack of the 1998 motion picture Hav Plenty.
      • Text Source: Fire (Bruce Springsteen song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah
        Baby you can bet their love they didn't deny
        Your words say split but your words they lie
        'Cause when we kiss, Fire"
      • Lyrics: Fire: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Fire (Bruce Springsteen song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Dinah
  • Doreen
  • Eve
    • Eve - "Pink Cadillac" - Tracks - 1998
      • "Pink Cadillac" is a 1984 humorous rockabilly song by Bruce Springsteen. It is most known as a Top 10 hit single in 1988, recorded in R&B fashion by Natalie Cole.
      • Springsteen was inspired as a seven-year-old by seeing Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show, so it was only fitting that Elvis's Pink Cadillac entered into Springsteen's music world. "Pink Cadillac" continued his well-known obsession with car imagery in songs. It was his second song about the brand, 1980's "Cadillac Ranch" being the first. "Pink Cadillac" was first recorded by Springsteen in a stark acoustic version in early January 1982, part of a session that later became the Nebraska album. He pulled it out again in May 1983, during the sessions for the Born in the U.S.A. album; putting together a quick demo after most of the crew had left a session. He started strumming the riff on an acoustic guitar, put down the basic track, and then recorded the rest of it with the band in the morning. It was on the short list for inclusion on the album, until it was bumped in favor of "I'm Going Down".
      • Instead, it was released as the B-side of the album's first and biggest hit single, "Dancing in the Dark".
      • It later appeared as one of two songs (along with "Cover Me") on a CD3 released in 1988. It did not appear on any Springsteen album until the late 1990s outtakes-and-B-sides collections Tracks and 18 Tracks.
      • Natalie Cole's rendition was a #5 Billboard Hot 100 pop hit in 1988. It was also a #5 UK Singles Chart pop hit across the Atlantic. It also was a #16 Adult Contemporary hit, and topped the Dance chart. In fact, the 1988 version that was a pop hit was a dance-oriented remix to begin with, compared to what was on her 1987 Everlasting album. However when Cole's 2001 Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 album was released, the original Everlasting version of "Pink Cadillac" was the one chosen, to the disappointment of many reviewers.
      • Rockabilly pioneer Carl Perkins recorded a version of "Pink Cadillac" on his album Friends, Family & Legends of 1992.
      • In 2001, AOL would not let users quote this in a Springsteen discussion group because they felt the lyrics were too suggestive. One of the offending lines was "My love is bigger than a Honda, yeah it's bigger than a Subaru."
      • In 2006, Bruce Springsteen was featured on a recording of "Pink Cadillac" by Jerry Lee Lewis on his album Last Man Standing.
      • Text Source: Pink Cadillac (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Well now way back in the Bible
        Temptations always come along
        There's always somebody tempting
        Somebody into doing something they know is wrong
        Well they tempt you, man, with silver
        And they tempt you, sir, with gold
        And they tempt you with the pleasures
        That the flesh does surely hold
        They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple
        But man I ain't going for that
        I know it was her pink Cadillac
        Crushed velvet seats
        Riding in the back
        Oozing down the street
        Waving to the girls
        Feeling out of sight
        Spending all my money
        On a Saturday night"
      • Lyrics: Pink Cadillac: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Tracks (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Fiona
    • Fiona - "Silver Palomino" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Frankie
    • "Frankie" - Tracks - 1998
    • Frankie - "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" - Magic - 2007
      • "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a 2007 song by Bruce Springsteen, from his album Magic.
      • Matched with a pop-oriented melody, Springsteen's full-throated singing, and a "pop-orchestral arrangement", the lyric portrays a series of warm small town vignettes:
        • Frankie's Diner, an old friend on the edge of town —
          The neon sign spinning round,
          Like a cross over the lost and found.
          The fluorescent lights flick over Pop's Grill,
          Shaniqua brings the coffee and asks "Fill?"
          and says, "Penny for your thoughts now my boy, Bill"
      • "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" has been cited as a singularly "breezy" song on the album, though A. O. Scott of The New York Times notes that not even this track is "untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title 'pass me by.'" Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger writes that the song "unfolds gradually and at its own eccentric pace, with the music, and Springsteen's vocals, getting progressively more intense."
      • It was released as a single-like "bundle", which consisted of two audio tracks and an accompanying video, for iTunes digital download on January 15, 2008. As such the "Winter Mix" of the song was presented, which featured a single not doubled Springsteen vocal track, some added or enhanced percussion parts, and similar small changes. The release achieved minor chartal success, reaching positions 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, 67 on the Pop 100, and 62 on Hot Digital Songs.
      • The music video for the song, similarly entitled the "Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix)", was directed by Mark Pellington. Filmed on the Jersey Shore on a cold winter day, it showed girls and women of various ages, interspersed with shots of Springsteen strumming an acoustic guitar. The backing E Street Band was not portrayed at all. Parts of the video mirrored the song's imagery, especially the diner scene.
      • "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was regularly featured on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour, often as the first encore song, although it suffered being dropped during a number of shows in early portions of 2008. One such first leg of tour performance was recorded an included in the January 2008 digitial download bundle.
      • In typically delayed fashion, the song garnered two nominations for the Grammy Awards of 2009, Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. It won the first, but lost the second to John Mayer's "Gravity". Springsteen subsequently confessed that he had not been tracking this closely: "I didn't even know I was up for a Grammy! I opened the newspaper on Monday and saw that I had won, and thought, 'Well, that's great!'"
      • Text Source: Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Frankie's diner, an old friend on the edge of town
        The neon sign spinning round
        Like a cross over the lost and found
        The fluorescent lights flick over Pop's Grill
        Shaniqua brings the coffee and asks "Fill?" and says "Penny for your thoughts now my boy, Bill""
      • Lyrics: Girls in Their Summer Clothes: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Magic (Bruce Springsteen album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • Multiple Names in Songs - "Girls in Their Summer Clothes"
    • Frankie - "Independence Day" - The River - 1980
      • "Independence Day" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River. It was recorded at The Power Station in New York February and May 1980.
      • "Independence Day", along with the title track, Wreck on the Highway and Point Blank, is one of the verse-chorus songs on The River that was essentially a short story or character sketch. It is one of the darker hued songs on The River. The lyrics are about a home that can no longer hold both father and son. The song is sung by the son to the father, opening with the line "Papa go to bed now, it's getting late", reversing the usual command of a father to a son. The son recognizes that despite their similarilties, the father and son would never agree but just continue to argue constantly, and so it was time for the son to leave home. "Independence Day" is an unusually sad, beautiful and private song, with a slow piano and a languid saxophone solo, as well as delicate organ and acoustic guitar work. The song has been described as Springsteen's best recorded vocal, with an unerring sincerity which fuels the song.
      • Although released on The River in 1980, "Independence Day" was written in 1977 and was originally played in the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour. "Independence Day" has been a reasonably popular concert song, with 190 performances through 2008. A concert version of "Independence Day" was released on the live album Live/1975–85.
      • "Independence Day" was released as the B-side on the single release of "The River" in several countries.
      • Text Source: Independence Day (Bruce Springsteen song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint
        And the highway she's deserted down to Breaker's Point
        There's a lot of people leaving town now
        Leaving their friends, their homes
        At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone"
      • Lyrics: Independence Day: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • The River (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Gloria
  • Isabella
  • Jackie
  • Jane
  • Janey
    • "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart" - Tracks - 1998
    • Janey - "Spare Parts" - Tunnel of Love - 1988
      • "Spare Parts" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 Tunnel of Love album. It was released as a single in some countries, following "Brilliant Disguise", the title track and "Tougher Than the Rest", but was not released as a single in the United States. Although it was not released as a single in the United States, it reached the Top 40 in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden, reaching #16 in Sweden.
      • Like much of the Tunnel of Love album, "Spare Parts" was recorded in Springsteen's home studio, called Thrill Hill East, between January and May of 1987 with several members of the E Street Band. The song has one of the largest backing bands on the album. On this song, Springsteen played several instruments and is backed by Danny Federici on organ, Max Weinberg on percussion, Garry Tallent on bass and James Wood (a non-E Street Band member) on harmonica.
      • "Spare Parts" is the most flat-out rock song on Tunnel of Love, but lacks the subtlety and understatement that highlights most of the album, although the theme of love as a lie sets up the middle section of the album. Musically, the song features an engaging, blistering guitar part and propulsive drum sound. The themes of the song include alienation and terror in love, the consequences of evading commitment, and the impossibility of living without commitment. Overall, the song is harrowing, bleak, abrasive and tough-minded.
      • The bitter, cold lyrics tell of an unwed mother who is abandonned by her boyfriend, who gives her nothing but empty promises. The opening lines are jarring, establishing the mood: "Bobby said he'd pull out/Bobby stayed in/Janey had a baby/It wasn't any sin/They were set to marry on a summer's day/Bobby got scared and ran away." She tries to support the child on her own, and hears of another young mother who committed infanticide. Although she considers doing the same by drowning her son, she ultimately accepts her responsibility and decides against, baptizing the boy instead.
      • Unlike the other videos of songs from Tunnel of Love, the video for "Spare Parts" was not directed by Meiert Avis. Rather, the video was directed by Carol Dodds.
      • Text Source: Spare Parts (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Bobby said he'd pull out Bobby stayed in
        Janey had a baby it wasn't any sin
        They were set to marry on a summer day
        Bobby got scared and he ran away
        Jane moved in with her ma out on Shawnee Lake
        She sighed Ma sometimes my whole life feels like one big mistake
        She settled in in a back room time passed on
        Later that winter a son came along"
      • Lyrics: Spare Parts: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Tunnel of Love (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
    • Janey - "Spirit in the Night" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Jenny
  • Joan
  • Juliet
    • Juliet - "Fire" - Live/1975–85 - 1986
      • "Fire" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen and originally intended for use by Elvis Presley. It was first recorded by Robert Gordon in 1978, who received some modest album-oriented rock radio airplay with it. It was then recorded and released by The Pointer Sisters later in 1978, who gained a major hit from it, reaching number two in early 1979 on the U.S. pop chart.
      • Although he performed the song live from his 1978 tour onwards, Springsteen himself did not release his own recording of the song until his 1986 Live/1975-85 album, which contains his (heavily edited, to eliminate on-stage hijinks) December 16, 1978 performance. This version was released as a single (which contained the only "official" live version of "Incident on 57th Street", until its appearance on Live in Barcelona, as B-side), but did not succeed, reaching only number 46 on the U.S. pop chart. A music video for the song was released at the time, but confusingly showed a completely unrelated 1986 acoustic performance at a Bridge School Benefit concert.
      • A cover version of "Fire" was recorded by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Des'ree for the soundtrack of the 1998 motion picture Hav Plenty.
      • Text Source: Fire (Bruce Springsteen song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah
        Baby you can bet their love they didn't deny
        Your words say split but your words they lie
        'Cause when we kiss, Fire"
      • Lyrics: Fire: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Fire (Bruce Springsteen song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
    • Juliet - "Point Blank" - The River - 1980
  • Kate
    • Kate - "My Hometown" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
      • "My Hometown" is a single by Bruce Springsteen off his Born in the U.S.A. album, that was the record-tying seventh and last top 10 single to come from it, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It also topped the U.S. adult contemporary chart, making the song Springsteen's only #1 song on this chart to date. The song is a synthesizer-based, low-tempo number that features Springsteen on vocals.
      • The song’s lyrics begin with the speaker’s memories of his father instilling pride in the family’s hometown. While it first appears that the song will be a nostalgic look at the speaker’s childhood, the song then goes on to describe the racial violence and economic depression that he witnessed as an adolescent and middle-aged man. The song concludes with the speaker’s proclamation that he hopes to move his family out of the town.
      • Some of the song's images derive directly from Springsteen's experiences growing up in Freehold Borough, New Jersey, in particular the racial strife in 1960s New Jersey and economic tensions from the same times (the "textile mill being closed" was the A & M Karagheusian Rug Mill at Center and Jackson Streets of Freehold).
      • Text Source: My Hometown - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Last night me and Kate we laid in bed
        talking about getting out
        Packing up our bags maybe heading south
        I'm thirty-five we got a boy of our own now
        Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around
        This is your hometown"
      • Lyrics: My Hometown: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Born in the U.S.A. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Kitty
  • Leah
  • Lena
  • Linda
  • Lorraine
  • Louisa
  • Lynette
    • Lynette - "Black Cowboys" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Margarita
  • Maria
    • "Maria's Bed" - Devils & Dust - 2005
    • Maria - "Highway Patrolman" - Nebraska - 1982
      • "Highway Patrolman" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, and was first released as the fifth track on his 1982 album Nebraska.
      • The song tells the story of Joe Roberts, the highway patrolman of the title - from whose viewpoint the song is written - and his brother, Frankie, and is set in Perrineville, Ohio in the 1960s. Frankie is portrayed as unruly and frequently causing and encountering trouble, while Joe is the more mature, sensible (and likely elder) brother who always comes to his aid.
      • In 1965, Frankie joins the United States Army (and presumably visits Vietnam, although this is not made explicit), while Joe takes a farm deferment and marries a girl called Maria (who, it is implied, had attracted the attentions of both brothers at different times). Within three years however, falling wheat prices cause Joe to leave the farm and take a job as a highway patrolman; meanwhile, Frankie leaves the army and returns home. One night, Joe receives a call and visits a bar where a boy has been attacked and possibly killed, with witnesses identifying his attacker as Frankie, who has fled. Joe chases Frankie through rural Michigan until they reach - and Frankie crosses - the Canadian border, the implication being that Joe has allowed him to escape; as the lyrics suggest, "when it's your brother, sometimes you look the other way" and "Man turns his back on his family, well he just ain't no good."
      • As with the whole of the album, the song was recorded on Springsteen's four-track cassette recorder with the intention of it being performed for the album with full band orchestration; however, it was felt the demo version of the song was superior to the eventual 'band cut', and consequently was released on the album in its original form. It features the same stark, bleak atmosphere as the remainder of its parent album, and in terms of instrumentation, contains simply vocals, (very quiet) harmonica and finger-picked acoustic guitar.
      • Springsteen featured the song only once on the "American Land" leg of his critically acclaimed tour with the Seeger Sessions band, and the version is featured on the 2007 release Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin. This version was praised by Rolling Stone critic Andy Greene as "fantastic, maybe definitive" in its incarnation as a country weeper4.
      • Sean Penn based the screenplay of his 1991 directorial debut The Indian Runner on the song's story. Penn also directed a music video of the song that appears on Video Anthology / 1978-88.
      • The song was covered by Johnny Cash and Dar Williams.
      • Text Source: Highway Patrolman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Me and Franky laughin' and drinkin' nothin' feels better than blood on blood
        Takin' turns dancin' with Maria as the band played "Night of the Johnstown Flood"
      • I catch him when he's strayin' like any brother would
        Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good
      • Well Franky went in the army back in 1965 I got a farm deferment, settled down, took Maria for my wife
        But them wheat prices kept on droppin' till it was like we were gettin' robbed
        Franky came home in '68, and me, I took this job"
      • Lyrics: Highway Patrolman: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Nebraska (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
    • Maria - "Reno" - Devils & Dust - 2005
      • I have read every lyric, to every song listed on Bruce's web site, this is by far the most overtly sexual song he recorded, maybe that I have ever heard. The lyrics while titillating in nature will just make you sad, really click the lyrics link and read through them.
      • "I felt my stomach tighten. The sun bloodied the sky
        And sliced through the hotel blinds. I closed my eyes.
        Sunlight on the Amatitlan, sunlight streaming thru your hair.
        In the Valle de dos Rios, smell of mock orange filled the air.
        We rode with the vaqueros, down into cool rivers of green.
        I was sure the work and that smile coming out 'neath your hat
        Was all I'd ever need.
        Somehow all you ever need's, never really quite enough you know.
        You and I, Maria, we learned it's so."
      • Lyrics: Reno: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Devils & Dust - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Marie
    • Marie - "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Mary
    • "Mary Don't You Weep" - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - 2006
      • "Mary Don't You Weep" (alternately titled "O Mary Don't You Weep", "Oh Mary, Don't You Weep, Don't You Mourn", or variations thereof) is a Negro spiritual that originates from before the American Civil War. It tells the Biblical story of Mary of Bethany and her distraught pleas to Jesus to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. Other narratives relate to The Exodus and the Passage of the Red Sea, with the chorus proclaiming Pharaoh's army got drown-ded!, and to God's rainbow covenant to Noah after the Great Flood. With liberation thus one of its themes, the song again become popular during the 1950s and 1960s American civil rights movement.
      • The first recording of the song was by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1915, while the most known recordings were made by The Caravans in 1958, and The Swan Silvertones in 1962. Many other recordings have been made, by artists ranging from The Soul Stirrers to Burl Ives. Pete Seeger gave it additional folk music visibility by performing it at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. An a cappella version by Take 6, simply called "Mary", received wide airplay after appearing on the group's eponymous debut album in 1988. The song is sung briefly at the beginning of the music video for Bone Thugs N Harmony's 1996 "Tha Crossroads". In a pounding big group folk arrangement, it was one of the highlights of the 2006 Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour. Perhaps the most widely known version, however, is sung by the vocal gospel group The Caravans, with Inez Andrews as the lead singer. A major highlight of the 7th Annual Americana Music Honors & Awards show on September 18th 2008, Mike Farris, winner of New Emerging Artist of the Year, performed a rousing rendition of the song backed by The McCrery Sisters. The song also appears on Mike Farris' album Salvation in Lights.
      • A song that chronicles the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, If you miss me from the back of the bus, written by Charles Neblett of the Freedom SIngers, was sung to this tune.
      • We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
    • "Mary Queen of Arkansas" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
    • "Mary's Place" - The Rising - 2002
    • Mary - "Bring on the Night" - Tracks - 1998
    • Mary - "Car Wash" - Tracks - 1998
    • Mary - "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
    • Mary - "Gypsy Biker" - Magic - 2007
    • Mary - "Independence Day" - The River - 1980
      • "Independence Day" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It was originally released on his fifth album, The River. It was recorded at The Power Station in New York February and May 1980.
      • "Independence Day", along with the title track, Wreck on the Highway and Point Blank, is one of the verse-chorus songs on The River that was essentially a short story or character sketch. It is one of the darker hued songs on The River. The lyrics are about a home that can no longer hold both father and son. The song is sung by the son to the father, opening with the line "Papa go to bed now, it's getting late", reversing the usual command of a father to a son. The son recognizes that despite their similarilties, the father and son would never agree but just continue to argue constantly, and so it was time for the son to leave home. "Independence Day" is an unusually sad, beautiful and private song, with a slow piano and a languid saxophone solo, as well as delicate organ and acoustic guitar work. The song has been described as Springsteen's best recorded vocal, with an unerring sincerity which fuels the song.
      • Although released on The River in 1980, "Independence Day" was written in 1977 and was originally played in the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour. "Independence Day" has been a reasonably popular concert song, with 190 performances through 2008. A concert version of "Independence Day" was released on the live album Live/1975–85.
      • "Independence Day" was released as the B-side on the single release of "The River" in several countries.
      • Text Source: Independence Day (Bruce Springsteen song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Well Papa go to bed now it's getting late
        Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
        I'll be leaving in the morning from St. Mary's Gate
        We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow
        Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
        There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
        But they can't touch me now
        And you can't touch me now
        They ain't gonna do to me
        What I watched them do to you"
      • Lyrics: Independence Day: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • The River (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
    • Mary - "Jesus Was an Only Son" - Devils & Dust - 2005
    • Mary - "The Rising" - The Rising - 2002
      • "The Rising" is the title track on Bruce Springsteen's twelfth studio album The Rising, and was released as a single in 2002. Concerning the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, the song gained critical praise, a Grammy Award for Song of the Year nomination, and the Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, and became Springsteen's best-known song of the 2000s, reaching #1 on the Triple-A Charts.
      • The song was written late in The Rising's development, and was meant as a bookend to the album's "Into the Fire". Springsteen couldn't let go of one of the central images of that day, those who were "ascending into ... what?" Thus, the song tells the story of a New York City Fire Department firefighter, climbing one of the World Trade Center towers after the hijacked planes had hit them. The lyric depicts the surreal, desperate environment in which he finds himself:
        • Can't see nothin' in front of me,
          Can't see nothin' coming up behind ...
          I make my way through this darkness,
          I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me.
          Lost track of how far I've gone
          How far I've gone, how high I've climbed ...
          On my back's a sixty-pound stone
          On my shoulder a half mile of line
      • The choruses are more upbeat, featuring a more pronounced drum part and "Li, li, li" vocal parts that suggest Hallelujahs, but as the song progresses the verses trace the ever more dire situation. Images of fire engines and the Cross of Saint Florian are introduced, and then, in the cemetary-like "garden of a thousand sighs" from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a series of final visions: his wife, his children, and all human experience:
        • Sky of blackness and sorrow ( dream of life)
          Sky of love, sky of tears ( dream of life)
          Sky of glory and sadness ( dream of life)
          Sky of mercy, sky of fear ( dream of life)
          Sky of memory and shadow ( dream of life)
      • The song's religious imagery also includes references to Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary Magdelen meeting the Risen Christ on Easter morning ("I see Mary in the garden") and the Blood of Christ, and writer Jeffrey Symynkywicz evaluates the song as a whole as "an Easterlike anthem arising out of the darkness and despair of September 11, a national Good Friday experience if ever there was one."
      • Text Source: The Rising (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • Lyrics: The Rising : brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • The Rising (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
    • Mary - "The River" - The River - 1980
      • "The River"'s writing occurred after an earlier, one-record version of the album, tentatively called The Ties That Bind, had already been completed; following this new song, Springsteen penned others with a darker feel, delayed the album's release, and retitled it. The song itself was recorded at The Power Station in New York in July or August 1979.
      • "The River" makes use of a haunting harmonica part, and in some ways is a precursor to the style of his next album, Nebraska. The imagery of the chorus and the end of the song were inspired by lines from Hank Williams' 1950 hit, "Long Gone Lonesome Blues". The song's depiction of how economic difficulties are interlaced with local culture also presaged the 1980s popularity of heartland rock:
        • I come from down in the valley,
          Where mister when you're young —
          They bring you up to do, like your daddy done
        • ...
        • I got a job working construction, for the Johnstown Company
          But lately there ain't been much work, on account of the economy
          Now all them things that seemed so important —
          Well mister, they vanished right into the air
      • Writer Robert Hilburn deemed the song "a classic outline of someone who has to re-adjust his dreams quickly [, facing] life as it is, not a world of his imagination."
      • Throughout the song the river is viewed as a symbol for the dreams of the future. The narrator keeps his hopes alive even as they realistically begin to fail.
        • That sends me down to the river,
          Though I know, the river is dry.
          It sends me down to the river, tonight
      • The song was debuted in public at the Musicians United for Safe Energy concerts at Madison Square Garden in September 1979, and was featured in the subsequent 1980 film No Nukes three months before The River's release.
      • "The River" was not released as a single in the U.S., but was released as a single in May 1981 in several countries in Western Europe. It placed to number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number 24 on the Irish Singles Chart, number 10 in Sweden's singles chart, and had its best showing with a number 5 placement on Norway's singles chart. In the U.S., it gained considerable album oriented rock airplay and became one of Springsteen's best-known songs to fans. It was included on both his 1995 Greatest Hits and 2003 The Essential Bruce Springsteen compilations.
      • "The River", and a few other songs on the album, such as "Wreck on the Highway" and "Stolen Car", mark a new direction in Bruce Springsteen's songwriting: these ballads imbued with a sense of hopelessness anticipate his next album, Nebraska. Bruce Springsteen himself has noted that "Wreck on the Highway" is one of the songs reflecting a shift in his songwriting style, linking The River to Nebraska.
      • "The River" became a centerpiece of shows on some Springsteen tours. On the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, it was often preceded by a long, intense story from Springsteen about his battles with his father growing up, that would sometimes conclude in a good ending and sometimes not; the silence after the story would then be interrupted by the start of the harmonica part. One such story and performance was included on the 1986 Live/1975–85 set. On later tours, especially in Europe, the song's outro was extended to great length, with audiences mass singing the wordless "oooh" parts at the end. On the 1999–2000 Reunion Tour, "The River" was cast in a different arrangement featured a Clarence Clemons saxophone part; one such rendition was included on the subsequent Live in New York City album and DVD. The song has been performed about 515 times through 2008.
      • Text Source: The River (Bruce Springsteen song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "I come from down in the valley
        where mister when you're young
        They bring you up to do like your daddy done
        Me and Mary we met in high school
        when she was just seventeen
        We'd ride out of that valley down to where the fields were green"
      • Lyrics: The River: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • The River (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
    • Mary - "Rockaway the Days" - Tracks - 1998
    • Mary - "Straight Time" - The Ghost of Tom Joad - 1995
    • Mary - "Terry's Song" - Magic - 2007
    • Mary - "Thunder Road" - Born to Run - 1975
      • The song underwent considerable evolution as it was written, with an early version titled "Wings For Wheels" first performed at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr on February 5th 1975. That phrase would eventually be used in the final version of the lyrics. The original version also mentions a girl named "Christine," "Christina," or "Angelina" (in various versions) rather than the studio homage to "Mary".
      • The lyrics to "Thunder Road" describe a young woman named Mary, her boyfriend, their hopeless lives and their "one last chance to make it real." Thematically, it reads as a nostalgic companion piece to "Born to Run".
      • Musically, the song opens with a quiet piano and harmonica introduction, meant, as Springsteen said years later in the Wings For Wheels documentary, as a welcoming to both the track and the album, a signifier that something was about to happen. Eschewing a traditional verse-and-chorus structure, the song's arrangement gradually ramps up in instrumentation, tempo and intensity. The title phrase is not used until the middle section of the song, and then is not used again. Finally, after the closing line there is a saxophone-and-piano duet in the instrumental coda.
      • In this song, Springsteen mentions Roy Orbison "singing for the lonely" on the radio. Orbison, one of whose best-known songs is "Only the Lonely," was a huge influence on Springsteen.
      • The song's title comes from the Robert Mitchum film Thunder Road. Springsteen declared that he was somehow inspired from the movie even if, as he says, "I never saw the movie, I only saw the poster in the lobby of the theater."
      • Text Source: Thunder Road (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "The screen door slams
        Mary's dress waves
        Like a vision she dances across the porch
        As the radio plays
        Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
        Hey that's me and I want you only
        Don't turn me home again
        I just can't face myself alone again
        Don't run back inside
        darling you know just what I'm here for
        So you're scared and you're thinking
        That maybe we ain't that young anymore
        Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
        You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
        Oh and that's alright with me"
      • Lyrics: Thunder Road: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Born to Run - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Mary Beth
  • Mary Lou
  • Missy
  • Mona Lisa
  • Nancy Lee
  • Ricky
  • Rosalita
  • Rosie
  • Sally
  • Sandy
  • Shaniqua
    • Shaniqua - "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" - Magic - 2007
      • "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a 2007 song by Bruce Springsteen, from his album Magic.
      • Matched with a pop-oriented melody, Springsteen's full-throated singing, and a "pop-orchestral arrangement", the lyric portrays a series of warm small town vignettes:
        • Frankie's Diner, an old friend on the edge of town —
          The neon sign spinning round,
          Like a cross over the lost and found.
          The fluorescent lights flick over Pop's Grill,
          Shaniqua brings the coffee and asks "Fill?"
          and says, "Penny for your thoughts now my boy, Bill"
      • "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" has been cited as a singularly "breezy" song on the album, though A. O. Scott of The New York Times notes that not even this track is "untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title 'pass me by.'" Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger writes that the song "unfolds gradually and at its own eccentric pace, with the music, and Springsteen's vocals, getting progressively more intense."
      • It was released as a single-like "bundle", which consisted of two audio tracks and an accompanying video, for iTunes digital download on January 15, 2008. As such the "Winter Mix" of the song was presented, which featured a single not doubled Springsteen vocal track, some added or enhanced percussion parts, and similar small changes. The release achieved minor chartal success, reaching positions 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, 67 on the Pop 100, and 62 on Hot Digital Songs.
      • The music video for the song, similarly entitled the "Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix)", was directed by Mark Pellington. Filmed on the Jersey Shore on a cold winter day, it showed girls and women of various ages, interspersed with shots of Springsteen strumming an acoustic guitar. The backing E Street Band was not portrayed at all. Parts of the video mirrored the song's imagery, especially the diner scene.
      • "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was regularly featured on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour, often as the first encore song, although it suffered being dropped during a number of shows in early portions of 2008. One such first leg of tour performance was recorded an included in the January 2008 digitial download bundle.
      • In typically delayed fashion, the song garnered two nominations for the Grammy Awards of 2009, Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. It won the first, but lost the second to John Mayer's "Gravity". Springsteen subsequently confessed that he had not been tracking this closely: "I didn't even know I was up for a Grammy! I opened the newspaper on Monday and saw that I had won, and thought, 'Well, that's great!'"
      • Text Source: Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Frankie's diner, an old friend on the edge of town
        The neon sign spinning round
        Like a cross over the lost and found
        The fluorescent lights flick over Pop's Grill
        Shaniqua brings the coffee and asks "Fill?" and says "Penny for your thoughts now my boy, Bill""
      • Lyrics: Girls in Their Summer Clothes: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Magic (Bruce Springsteen album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • Multiple Names in Songs - "Girls in Their Summer Clothes"
  • Sheena
  • Sherry
  • Sue
  • Suzy
  • Terry
  • Theresa
  • Wanda
    • Wanda - "Open All Night" - Nebraska - 1982
      • "Open All Night" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska.
      • Of the ten songs on Nebraska, "Open All Night" is the only one to feature an electric guitar. With a Chuck Berry-style guitar riff, the song tells the story of an unnamed narrator's all-night drive across industrial New Jersey to reach his girl, Wanda, a waitress at the Route 60 Bob's Big Boy.
      • "Open All Night" was released as a single in the UK, backed by "The Big Payback", but did not chart. It was also released as a single in The Netherlands and Spain. Though never released as a single in the U.S., it garnered enough album oriented rock airplay to reached #22 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
      • The song shares a common lyrical structure and themes with two other Springsteen songs. The first is "State Trooper," also found on the Nebraska album. The other was "Living on the Edge of the World," recorded in 1979 but released as part of the four-disk box set Tracks in 1998.
      • Springsteen performed this song extremely infrequently until the Sessions Band Tour of 2006, when it was transformed into a eight-minute honky-tonk number. This is the version that appears on the Live in Dublin CD and DVD.
      • Text Source: Open All Night (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "I met Wanda when she was employed behind the counter at route 60 Bob's Big Boy Fried Chicken on the front seat, she's sittin' in my lap
        We're wipin' our fingers on a Texaco roadmap
        I remember Wanda up on scrap metal hill with them big brown eyes that make your heart stand still"
      • Lyrics: Open All Night: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Nebraska (album) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
  • Wendy
    • Wendy - "Born to Run" - Born to Run - 1975
      • Written at 7½ West End Court in Long Branch, New Jersey in early 1974, the song was Bruce Springsteen's last-ditch effort to make it big. The prior year, Springsteen had released two albums to critical acclaim but with little commercial success. The lyrics to the song are appropriately epic for his last-ditch, all-or-nothing shot at the stars, yet they remain rooted in the universal desperation of adolescence: We gotta get out while we're young, 'cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run.
      • Written in the first person, the song is a love letter to a girl named Wendy (Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend I wanna guard your dreams and visions...; I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight/in an everlasting kiss!), for whom the hot-rod-riding protagonist certainly has enough passion to love, but perhaps not the patience. However, Springsteen has noted that it has a much simpler core: getting out of Asbury Park.
      • In his 1996 book Songs, Springsteen relates that while the beginning of the song was written on guitar around the opening riff, the song's writing was finished on piano, the instrument that most of the Born to Run album was composed on.
      • In the period prior to the release of Born to Run Springsteen was becoming well-known (especially in his native northeast) for his epic live shows. "Born to Run" joined his concert repertoire well before the release of the album, being performed in concert by May 1974 if not earlier.
      • The first recording of the song was made by Allan Clarke of the British group The Hollies, although its release was delayed, only appearing after Springsteen's own now-famous version.
      • In recording the song, Springsteen first earned his noted reputation for perfectionism, laying down as many as eleven guitar tracks to get the sound just right. The recording process and alternate ideas for the song's arrangement are described in the Wings For Wheels documentary DVD included in the 2005 reissue Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition package.
      • The track was recorded at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York amidst touring breaks during 1974, with final recording done on August 6, well in advance of the rest of the album, and featured Ernest "Boom" Carter on the drums and David Sancious on keyboards; they would be replaced by Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan for the rest of the album and in the ongoing E Street Band (which was still uncredited on Springsteen's records at the time). The song was also recorded with only Springsteen and Mike Appel as producers; it would be later in the following year, when work on the album bogged down, that Jon Landau was brought in as an additional producer.
      • A pre-release version of the song, with a slightly different mix, was given by Appel to disc jockey Ed Sciaky of WMMR in Philadelphia in early November 1974, and within a couple of weeks was given to other progressive rock radio outlets as well, including WNEW-FM in New York, WMMS in Cleveland, WBCN in Boston, and WVBR in Ithaca, New York. It immediately became quite popular on these stations, and led to cuts from Springsteen's first two albums being frequently played as well as building anticipation for the album release.
      • Upon release in August 1975, the song and the album became unparalleled successes for Springsteen, springing him into stardom, and resulting in simultaneous cover stories in Time and Newsweek magazines.
      • Text Source: Born to Run - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • "Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend
        I want to guard your dreams and visions
        Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
        and strap your hands across my engines
        Together we could break this trap
        We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
        Will you walk with me out on the wire
        'Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
        But I gotta find out how it feels
        I want to know if love is wild
        girl I want to know if love is real"
      • Lyrics: Born to Run: brucespringsteen.net: Bruce Springsteen External Link
      • Born to Run - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • Bruce Springsteen: Discography - Complete songs about Girls, Women and Ladies
  • Venus
  • Honorable Mention
    • "Mrs. McGrath" - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - 2006
      • "Mrs. McGrath" (also known as "Mrs. McGraw") is an Irish folk song. The song tells the story of a woman whose son enters the British Army, and returns seven years later having lost his legs to a cannonball fighting against Napoleon in the Peninsular War. The general theme of the song is one of opposition to war, the mother claiming that she would rather have her son as he was.
      • In 1958 the song was recorded by Burl Ives on Decca DL8444 and by The Belafonte Folk Singers on RCA LSP1760 under the name of "The Sergeant and Mrs. McGrath".
      • "Mrs. McGrath" is also a song by the The Dubliners based on the tune of the original folk song. This version of the song tells the story of a country boy who goes to Dublin to college but fails due to spending all his money and time on women and drink
      • Bruce Springsteen recorded a version of the song on his 2006 album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. Performed frequently on the subsequent Sessions Band Tour, this incarnation was included on the 2007 Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin audio and video release. In all this, Springsteen changed the traditional lyrics slightly. In the original song, Mrs. McGrath would rather have her "son as he used to be than the King of France and his whole navy." In Springsteen's version, this is changed to "King of America."
      • Text Source: Mrs. McGrath - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link
      • Lyrics: Cantaria: Traditional: Mrs. McGraw (McGrath): Chivalry.com External Link
      • We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipedia.com External Link

Angel, Angeline, Annie, Betty Lou, Billie, Bobbie, Bobby Jean, Candy, Carol, Cassiopeia, Catherine, Charlotte, Cherry, Caroline, Cynthia, Delilah, Dinah, Doreen, Eve, Fiona, Frankie, Gloria, Isabella, Jackie, Jane, Janey, Jenny, Joan, Juliet, Kate, Kitty, Leah, Lena, Linda, Lorraine, Louisa, Lynette, Margarita, Maria, Mary, Mary Beth, Mary Lou, Missy, Mona Lisa, Nancy Lee, Ricky, Rosalita, Rosie, Sally, Sandy, Shaniqua, Sheena, Sherry, Sue, Suzy, Terry, Theresa, Wanda, Wendy, Venus, Mrs. McGrath

  • Angel - "Don't Look Back" - Tracks - 1998
  • Angeline - "Prove It All Night" - Darkness on the Edge of Town - 1978
  • Annie - "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" - The River - 1980
  • Betty Lou - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Billie - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Bobbie - "Devils & Dust" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Bobby Jean - "Bobby Jean" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
  • "Candy's Room" - Darkness on the Edge of Town - 1978
  • Carol - "County Fair" - The Essential Bruce Springsteen - 2003
  • Cassiopeia - "Long Time Comin'" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Catherine - "Car Wash" - Tracks - 1998
  • Charlotte - "Working on the Highway" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
  • Cherry - "Meeting Across the River" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Caroline - "Cadillac Ranch" - The River - 1980
  • "Cynthia" - Tracks - 1998
  • Delilah - "Fire" - Live/1975–85 - 1986
  • Dinah - "Bishop Danced" - Tracks - 1998
  • Doreen - "With Every Wish" - Human Touch - 1992
  • Eve - "Pink Cadillac" - Tracks - 1998
  • Fiona - "Silver Palomino" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • "Frankie" - Tracks - 1998
  • Frankie -"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" - Magic - 2007
  • Frankie - "Independence Day" - The River - 1980
  • "Gloria's Eyes" - Human Touch - 1992
  • Isabella -"Stand on It" - Tracks - 1998
  • Jackie - "New York City Serenade" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Jane - "Gypsy Biker" - Magic - 2007
  • Jane - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart" - Tracks - 1998
  • Janey - "Spare Parts" - Tunnel of Love - 1988
  • Janey - "Spirit in the Night" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Jenny - "Youngstown" - The Ghost of Tom Joad - 1995
  • Joan - "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Juliet - "Fire" - Live/1975–85 - 1986
  • Juliet - "Point Blank" - The River - 1980
  • Kate - "My Hometown" - Born in the U.S.A. - 1984
  • "Kitty's Back" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "Leah" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Lena - "American Skin (41 Shots)" - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City - 2001
  • "Linda Let Me Be the One" - Tracks - 1998
  • Lorraine - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Louisa - "The Line" - The Ghost of Tom Joad - 1995
  • Lynette - "Black Cowboys" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Margarita - "Wild Billy's Circus Story" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "Maria's Bed" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Maria - "Highway Patrolman" - Nebraska - 1982
  • Maria - "Reno" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Marie - "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "Mary Don't You Weep" - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - 2006
  • "Mary Queen of Arkansas" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • "Mary's Place" - The Rising - 2002
  • Mary - "Bring on the Night" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary - "Car Wash" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary - "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Mary - "Gypsy Biker" - Magic - 2007
  • Mary - "Independence Day" - The River - 1980
  • Mary - "Jesus Was an Only Son" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Mary - "The Rising" - The Rising - 2002
  • Mary - "The River" - The River - 1980
  • Mary - "Rockaway the Days" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary - "Straight Time" - The Ghost of Tom Joad - 1995
  • Mary - "Terry's Song" - Magic - 2007
  • Mary - "Thunder Road" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Mary Beth - "Stand on It" - Tracks - 1998
  • "Mary Lou" - Tracks - 1998
  • Mary Lou - "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - 1973
  • Mary Lou - "Reason to Believe" - Nebraska - 1982
  • Missy - "So Young and in Love" - Tracks - 1998
  • Missy - "Wild Billy's Circus Story" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Mona Lisa - "Terry's Song" - Magic - 2007
  • Nancy Lee - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • "Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own" - Tracks - 1998
  • "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Rosie - "Long Time Comin'" - Devils & Dust - 2005
  • Rosie - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Sally - "Kitty's Back" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Sandy - "Santa Ana" - Tracks - 1998
  • Shaniqua - "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" - Magic - 2007
  • Sheena - "Crush on You" - The River - 1980
  • "Sherry Darling" - The River - 1980
  • Sue - "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle - 1973
  • Sue - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Suzy - "Seven Nights To Rock" by Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets - Single - 1956
  • Terry - "The Promise" - 18 Tracks - 1999
  • "Terry's Song" - Magic - 2007
  • "Zero and Blind Terry" - Tracks - 1998
  • Terry - "Backstreets" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Theresa - "I'll Work for Your Love" - Magic - 2007
  • Wanda - "Open All Night" - Nebraska - 1982
  • Wendy - "Born to Run" - Born to Run - 1975
  • Venus - "Crush on You" - The River - 1980
  • "Mrs. McGrath" - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - 2006

 

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Feel free to use anything found on this page as you see fit. Trivial knowledge should always be free and available to all. My only request is that you link to this site or cite the references listed. ~The Mayor of Kentonville