Hungry Heart (1980) – Bruce Springsteen

Hungry Heart makes an appearance at the beginning of Springsteen’s recent biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere, where it marks his first real brush with chart success, peaking at No. 5. It remains one of his ten most popular songs in terms of streaming. Yet, paradoxically, just as he achieved this level of public recognition, Springsteen was far from satisfied. He was still grappling with dark demons rooted in his upbringing, and at the very moment he might have wanted to lean into a bit of fame and fanfare, his attention was already turning toward his next record – Nebraska. You can read more about the lows and testing times Bruce faced during this difficult period in my review of the film here.

Hungry Heart was originally written for The Ramones, but Bruce kept it for himself. During the sessions for the Darkness on the Record album in 1977 he’d also written Because the Night for Patti Smith who landed a big hit with it. Previously, Bruce had composed Fire, originally intended to be performed by Elvis Presley but which ended up being a hit for The Pointer Sisters in 1978.

Joey Ramone and the Boss met in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Joey asked Springsteen to write a song for the Ramones, and on that same night, Bruce wrote Hungry Heart. He told Dave Marsh he wrote it in “a half hour, or ten minutes, real fast.”

In Clarence Clemons’s memoir Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales (2010) he describes Hungry Heart as arriving in a sudden burst at the end of a stalled studio day, with Springsteen going for a bathroom break, then coming back, and writing the song almost in one uninterrupted rush.
Jon Landau, Springsteen’s manager, warned that it could happen as had happened with Because the Night and Fire and convinced the Boss to keep the song Hungry Heart and include it on the album The River.

Hungry Heart has several interesting aspects. The verse and chorus have the same rhythm and the same melody and, in addition, Springsteen accelerates the lyrics slightly above the tempo. Moreover, it sounded brighter and poppier than anything Springsteen had recorded to date. Also Bruce’s tone sounds different than at any other time I can remember – Springsteen often sings against the song for phrasing and effect – but here he has a super smooth and softened, deepened nasally tone – shaped for radio – pop restraint, if you like.

The lyrics, as you will see below, contrast with the tone of the song. I wonder how many of those who attended the concerts in large stadiums during the eighties, chanting the song out so heartily knew it is about a man who abandons his wife and children. For a one-stop guide to everything you might want to know about Hungry Heart, including a deeper look at its narrative, I refer readers to the second reference, E Street Shuffle, listed at the end of this post.

[Intro]
Yeah!
Come on, go!

[Verse 1]
Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack
I went out for a ride, and I never went back
Like a river that don’t know where it’s flowing
I took a wrong turn, and I just kept going

[Chorus]
Everybody’s got a hungry heart
Everybody’s got a hungry heart
Lay down your money, and you play your part
Everybody’s got a hungry heart
Uh-uh-uh

[Verse 2]
I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love, I knew it had to end
We took what we had, and we ripped it apart
Now, here I am down in Kingstown again

[Verse 3]
Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don’t make no difference what nobody says
Ain’t nobody like to be alone, well

References:
1. Hungry Heart de Bruce Springsteen – Wikipedia
2. Roll of the Dice: Hungry Heart – E Street Shuffle

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand