Favorite Song No. 357: Bruce Springsteen – Hungry Heart

Bruce Springsteen - Hungry Heart

Song: Hungry Heart
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Year: 1980
Album: The River
Genre: Rock
Style: Classic Rock
Pictured: 7″ Single
Click Here to Play the Song

I don’t care much for Bruce Springsteen’s music, which I suppose is an odd way to open an article explaining why a Bruce Springsteen track is among my favorite songs, but bear with me. I’ve got nothing against The Boss, and I don’t actively dislike his music, it just doesn’t do much for me. Maybe it’s because his Born in the U.S.A. album was released right around the time I was discovering pop music and I got tired of it due to its radio and jukebox omnipresence, or maybe it’s just his gravelly voice and blue collar, farm-centric themes. I couldn’t tell you why, all I know is that I listen to Nebraska and think “whatevs.” I will say that his song “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” is a decent dance track, and I’ll play that for the right crowd to inspire them to boogie, but me personally? I wouldn’t get crazy on the dance floor if I were out there getting down and the DJ slipped it into the mix.

The above was meant not only to explain my general dislike for Springsteen’s music, but also to help justify to his more rabid of fans how I could choose “Hungry Heart” as my favorite from his body of work. I can hear you already, shouting in rage about how much better his other songs are, how dare I include this pop one-off he churned out as filler, it doesn’t accurately represent his sound, and so on. I know, I know, I’m sure he has better songs, but I like this one for precisely that final reason— it doesn’t sound like a Bruce Springsteen song. To be honest, it sounds more like the Beach Boys, a band I like a lot. In fact, the first time I heard “Hungry Heart,” on the radio way back in my teens, I thought it was the Beach Boys. It’s not just me, right? It does kind of sound like them, doesn’t it? I think so, anyway, and as such, I like the song. And even if it doesn’t sound like a Beach Boys tune to you, it probably doesn’t sound much like a Bruce Springsteen tune to you, either. I hope it sounds like a good tune, maybe even the 357th best song ever??

The lyrics of the song aren’t all that nice. The guy left his wife one day, and it sounds like he didn’t even say goodbye. That sucks. I’ve been on the other end of that type of end to a relationship, and it’s the worst, but the way he sings it makes it sound okay.

Like a river that don’t know where it’s flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going

That’s not such a bad way to navigate one’s life; go with the flow. Just bring your wife and kids along with you, you animal.

2 thoughts on “Favorite Song No. 357: Bruce Springsteen – Hungry Heart”

  1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate these song countdown articles, and always wonder what song will be next.

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