Recently on the 5th anniversary of my ‘Music Library Project,’ I estimated my project would take 10 years to complete, assuming no new songs were added. I planned to include only song titles to the respective menu without writing full articles on them, to avoid turning the project into an eternal labour of love. However, after much thought, I decided to keep writing about both newly discovered songs and older ones that have since caught my attention. One such ‘new’ song, “A Love Like Springsteen” was released yesterday at 9 am by one of my favourite female contemporary music artists – fellow Australian Kasey Chambers. I felt an immediate urge to write about it here.
Many songs have been written by music artists as odes to other artists who have impacted them, including ‘Song to Woody‘ – Bob Dylan, ‘Song for Bob Dylan‘ – David Bowie, ‘Sir Duke” (Duke Ellington) – Stevie Wonder, ‘Alex Chilton‘ – The Replacements and ‘Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)‘ – Elton John. Now it’s Kasey Chamber’s turn. Check out the lyrics below and count all the references to Bruce Springsteen songs. I counted ten. I agree with AU Review’s opinion of the song:
“A Love Like Springsteen”, is the kind of song I should cynically despise—and yet, I find it utterly charming. The premise is simple: yearning for a love using Bruce Springsteen’s iconic song titles as touchstones. The chorus goes, “So give me a love like Springsteen, and we’ll / Live out our Glory Days,” a line that could easily veer into cliché, but instead feels heartfelt and sincere in Chambers’ hands.
– Track by Track – AU Review (Kasey Chambers Backbone)
I want a love like Springsteen
To fill up my heart’s desire
I wanna live out a daydream where I
Don’t mind if I’m on Fire
You’ve been dancing in darkness
I’ve been fading away
So give me a love like Springsteen and we’ll
Live out our Glory Days
It’s not enough, it’s not enough to slow down
Lost a love out in my hometown
But I am tough, more than most around
And I ride this train down bound
I want a love like Springsteen
To fill up my heart’s desire
I wanna live out a daydream where I
Don’t mind if I’m on Fire
You’ve been dancing in darkness
I’ve been fading away
So give me a love like Springsteen and wе’ll
Live out our Glory Days
It’s not enough, it’s not enough to compеte
Lining up for a race in the street
In the dust there’s a devil asleep
But this hungry heart needs to eat
I want a love like Springsteen
To fill up my heart’s desire
I wanna live out a daydream where I
Don’t mind if I’m on Fire
You’ve been dancing in darkness
I’ve been fading away
So give me a love like Springsteen and we’ll
Live out our Glory Days
I think ‘A Love Like Springsteen’ is a clever, yet charming ode to the legendary Bruce Springsteen. It’s cool how Kasey weaves iconic Springsteen song titles into the narrative creating a heartfelt and playful homage to The Boss. While this could easily lean into cliché territory, Chambers manages to keep it authentic, combining her reverence for Springsteen with her own style. I certainly hope that Springsteen, himself gets to hear it, if he hasn’t already, in the immediate future.
The other aspect to this song which impressed me so, was how smooth and natural her voice sounded. On her early albums, you could say that sometimes she tried to overdo the whole vulnerability and ache in her voice to move listeners, but not here. This is Kasey’s voice sounding as authentic yet gentle and seamless as I have heard.
Based on the two reviews of her latest album Backbone below, it seems to exemplify the evolution of her 25-year career, blending personal storytelling with a diverse range of musical styles. I can’t wait to listen to what the rest of the album showcases.
Good and bad, this album is who I am. I worked with my favourite musicians, and I sang about every beautiful, joyous, embarrassing and tough thing I’ve gone through. Everything that’s gone into making me this person.”
– Kasey Chambers in her announcement of the Backbone record
References:
1. Track by Track Review: Kasey Chambers – Backbone (2024 LP) – The AU Review
2. Kasey Chambers: Backbone – Album Review – Louder Than War
3. Backbone (Kasey Chambers album) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
As somebody who has listened to Springsteen since the mid-80s, I enjoyed listening to this song. Kasey’s vocals are pleasant, and her lyrical references to Springsteen songs is clever. Speaking of weaving in song titles in lyrics, have you ever heard Ringo Starr’s Postcards from Paradise?
I also commenced listening to Springsteen in the mid eighties and of course enjoyed this song, which is an understatement. My appreciation of Kasey’s voice is probably higher than yours given your description of ‘pleasant’, but it’s all good.
Re. the Ringo song, I read the staggering list of song references of the Beatles. Wow! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Matt. “Pleasant” actually was meant to be a compliment! 🙂
You have mentioned ‘pleasant’ a few times to describe a singer’s voice and it just seems underwhelming. ‘Pleasant’ might be something I’d expect to describe elevator music or if when I was kid and someone asked me how my Nan sounded and I responded ‘Pleasant’. Which of course isn’t disparaging in those contexts, but a singer? That’s my perception or connotative meaning of the word Haha. When it’s all said and done I’m just chuffed if someone responds which you do often, so I’m thankful man.
I think our misunderstanding might be cultural. While I’ve lived in the US for more than 25 years, I guess I still can’t entirely shed my German origins.
Realizing generalizations are just this, I think it’s fair to say Germans are pretty literal. For example, when we say “good”, we actually mean it – unlike in the US where the term is generally considered an underwhelming sentiment. Not sure how it is in Australia.
The same applies to pleasant, which doesn’t have a negative connotation.
I have known a lot of Germans and I can attest to their directness and reserved nature in the lexicon form.
So it makes sense we are in a linguistic quandary as it were over ‘pleasant’ lol Thanks for the clarification over the cultural distinctions. In Australia I believe the term is perceived (on the whole) how I described it as well
I love name checking songs Matt…and of course she is great in anything she does. A true Springsteen fan as it turns out.
One of the name checking songs I like is Kathleen Edwards – I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory… she mentions Elvis, John Fogerty and others.
I am hanging out to hear the rest of Kasey’s latest album. I received the title song in my feed yesterday. Yippy!
Re. the neat song by Kathleen Edwards, I was reading the lyrics as I heard it. Great references.
I thought you might like it.
Cool interview Max 6 days ago in case you are interested. Gotta love me some Kasey singing, talking..it doesn’t matter.
That is a cool interview…from there I went here…this is funny
Her crying talking about ‘Am I Not Pretty Enough’ made my eyes well up with tears in the former video.
Thanks for this video. I liked that photo of her as a youngen with Keith Urban.
You know what I like is how the Australian press have united to get her stuff out there, now that she’s been there and done that.
How much would that album sleeve and Springsteen record inside be worth? Haha If I was really rich I would pay top dollars for that.
I am glad they support her…she is rare to make it in country music.
LOL…yea while you were getting that I would be getting a drum set owned by Keith Moon
I had to look up Keith Moon. As you are probably aware my musical tastes have never fallen into ‘Who’ territory or Zep either which is no fault of me not trying. But such is music. It’s so individually based.
Zeppelin I don’t really care about…The Who….in my pointy little head lol…they are number 2 to the Beatles…hey…they wrote some great rock operas.
Man, you have them right up there. Cool
Check this one out Max:
That sounds really good…it has a good punch to it.
The cool thing in that interview is how she brought along her new album sleeve, but hadn’t included the record itself so she grabbed any record handy to slip in and she noticed after the event it was a ‘Springsteen’ record. Now if that isn’t the stuff of legends, I don’t know what is.
I love her book name lol.
It’s so Australian but dinky-di Australian lexicon