This song has to rate as one of the greatest ever in any genre. In it Bruce captures what it is to be young but on the cusp of growing up. The protagonist is looking back on his erstwhile playground. Clearly he knows it well but he is is leaving the next day, he has out grown this place. There are feelings of regret, and of grading admirations for those that remain; the switchblade lovers, the pinball wizards and the boys in the casino. He knows them well they have been part of his landscape.
He knows to that he is leaving behind the girls. The factory girls and the New York virgins who have come out to the bright lights and the vicarious danger of the Jersey Shore for the 4th of July holiday. Chances are he has had his romantic and sexual encounters with these girls. They were transient like the waitress who will no longer set herself on fire for him. Not only that but she has turned her attentions elsewhere to another 'lover boy'.
They are in the past.
As for Sandy there is no clear indication that he is offering to take her with him, just that if she loves him tonight he will love her for ever in return, though there is a wonderful tempting hint that he might take her along for the ride:
"for me this boardwalk life is through babe
You ought to quit this scene too"
Did she go with him?
Fast forward to Thunder Road.
A tour de force of a song. Brilliant imagery, cohesive narrative and more emotion than one man deserves to pack into a lifetime let alone one song. It stays young in my head the way I do.
This song has to rate as one of the greatest ever in any genre. In it Bruce captures what it is to be young but on the cusp of growing up. The protagonist is looking back on his erstwhile playground. Clearly he knows it well but he is is leaving the next day, he has out grown this place. There are feelings of regret, and of grading admirations for those that remain; the switchblade lovers, the pinball wizards and the boys in the casino. He knows them well they have been part of his landscape.
He knows to that he is leaving behind the girls. The factory girls and the New York virgins who have come out to the bright lights and the vicarious danger of the Jersey Shore for the 4th of July holiday. Chances are he has had his romantic and sexual encounters with these girls. They were transient like the waitress who will no longer set herself on fire for him. Not only that but she has turned her attentions elsewhere to another 'lover boy'.
They are in the past.
As for Sandy there is no clear indication that he is offering to take her with him, just that if she loves him tonight he will love her for ever in return, though there is a wonderful tempting hint that he might take her along for the ride:
"for me this boardwalk life is through babe You ought to quit this scene too"
Did she go with him?
Fast forward to Thunder Road.
A tour de force of a song. Brilliant imagery, cohesive narrative and more emotion than one man deserves to pack into a lifetime let alone one song. It stays young in my head the way I do.