The River (1979) – Bruce Springsteen

The River is certainly one of Bruce Springsteen’s best known and most impactful songs, and one that many fans still hold especially dear among his vast catalogue. It is a haunting American coming-of-age tale that follows a young couple struggling to find their footing as the weight of adulthood bears down. Faced with an unplanned pregnancy and economic hardship, their youthful dreams begin to fade beneath the grind of blue-collar life. The river itself is a place of romance, and escape but becomes just memory, where the present feels hollow.

The song is so relatable. Its story and characters reflect experiences that many listeners have lived through themselves – or have witnessed in the lives of people close to them. In his 2016 autobiography Springsteen confirmed that he wrote the song as a tribute to his sister and his brother-in-law. More about that below:

The following was condensed from the Wikipedia reference below:
The River is the title track of Springsteen’s 5th studio album. The single wasn’t released in the US, but it did see release in several Western European countries. The single’s B side was either Independence Day or Ramrod, depending on the country of release. The song itself was recorded at The Power Station in New York City.

In the first live performance of the song in 1979, Springsteen cited the inspiration as “my brother-in-law and my sister“. The 2012 biography Bruce by Peter Ames Carlin includes an interview with Springsteen’s sister Ginny, in which she plainly states that the song is a precise description of her early life with her husband Mickey, to whom she is still married.

The River makes use of a haunting harmonica part, and in some ways is a foreshadowing of 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. In the U.S., it gained considerable airplay and became one of Springsteen’s best-known songs. It became a centrepiece of shows on some Springsteen tours, including the 1984–85 Born in the U.S.A. Tour, where it was often preceded by a long, intense story from Springsteen about his battles with his father growing up.
The song has been performed almost 700 times as of 2023.

In 2018, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 5 on their list of the 100 greatest Bruce Springsteen songs.

[Verse 1]
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 drive out of this valley
Down to where the fields were green

[Chorus]
We’d go down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh, down to the river we’d ride

[Verse 2]
Then I got Mary pregnant
And, man, that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday
I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
And the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle
No flowers, no wedding dress

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
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
Now I just act like I don’t remember
And Mary acts like she don’t care

[Verse 4]
But I remember us riding in my brother’s car
Her body tanned and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks, I’d lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true?
Or is it something worse?

[Chorus]

References:
1. The River (Bruce Springsteen song) – Wikipedia

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