The Use of Symbolism in Bruce Springsteen's Work

Bruce Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949 to working class parents in New Jersey where he was born and raised. His father, Doug Springsteen, had difficulty maintaining a steady job and his mother, Adele, worked as a secretary. Springsteen attended Catholic school and had a religious upbringing. Bruce and his father had a troublesome relationship that influenced his songwriting greatly. Bruce had stated that if his relationship with his father had been better, then “I would have written happy songs—and I tried it in the early 90’s and it didn’t work… Anyway, I put on his work clothes and went to work.”(Bruce Springsteen Biography 1) Bruce Springsteen’s songs are homage to the working class, are influenced by current events, and are full of symbolism.

“The Rising” is the story of a firefighter written in response to the September 11, 2001 attack and contains spiritual reference that show Springsteen’s religious upbringing. The album was released in 2002 and was clearly influenced by the nations mood after the terrorist attacks. “The Rising” tells the tale of a firefighter in one of the buildings trying to rescue people. “On my back’s a sixty pound stone on my shoulder a half mile line”(Springsteen) is a clear reference to a fireman’s equipment and hoses. A normal, everyday firefighter doing his job trying to save other normal everyday people that were at their place of work and were brutally attacked through no fault of their own. The song builds toward a crescendo as many voices join in, symbolic of the souls that are lost with the firefighters. Reference is made to seeing Mary in the garden, which is referring to Mary Magdalene when Jesus rose from the grave. The lyrics are haunting but the way the song is sung still leav...

... middle of paper ...

...orgettable. Research shows that “There’s this unifying force that comes from the music and we don’t get that from other things.”(Landau) Bruce Springsteen is a great storyteller and has captured some of the experiences of the American working class. Even when the lyrics are dark or the subject matter is depressing, he manages to provide hope, too. For as long as I can remember, my mother has been playing Springsteen’s music. When I hear a song of his now, it reminds me of driving down the road with the windows down belting out a song with my mom. As Dave Marsh from Creem Magazine prophetically wrote in 1975, “Springsteen’s music is often strange because is has an almost traditional sense of beauty, an inkling of the awe you can feel when, say, first falling in love or finally discovering that the magic in the music is also in you.” (Bruce Springsteen Biography 2)