Further Ruminations of Jersey Lore.

I've been brushing up on my Springsteen for the concert coming up in November. While it's safe to say my favorite material of his would be his early stuff, I was playing the "Born In The USA" album yesterday and remembered how great the song "Bobby Jean" was. This song was written as kind of a send off to Steven Van Zandt who was leaving the E Street Band at the time to go solo (even if he never played Sun City). Bruce changed the subject into a girl, but the heartfelt lyrics remain poingant especially knowing what the song was about (and don't we all have friends like this?)

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

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
Now I wished you would have told me I wished I could have talked to you
Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean

Now we went walking in the rain talking about the pain from the world we hid
Now there ain't nobody nowhere nohow gonna ever understand me the way you did
Maybe you'll be out there on that road somewhere
In some bus or train traveling along
In some motel room there'll be a radio playing
And you'll hear me sing this song

Well if you do you'll know I'm thinking of you and all the miles in between
And I'm just calling one last time not to change your mind
But just to say I miss you baby, good luck goodbye, Bobby Jean

Perhaps the greatest thing about the song is that the music is really upbeat, but there's a sad minor chord in there that makes the tune really kind of into a melancholy song of loss.

Springsteen's done the tune on a number of occasions recently, including a radically reworked version with the Sessions Band that comes off pretty cool. He's yet to break it out yet on this tour, but maybe he'll have added it to the set by the time I get to see him.

Anyway, the whole rediscovery thing reminded me how powerful a force music is in my life. There's got to be hundreds more of forgotten songs in my music library that will one day jump out at me. It's one of the best thrills in life as far as I'm concerned.

Here's a live version of Bobby Jean from 1985 if you've never heard it...