Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen

Published by Rutgers University Press 2019

Long Walk Home

Reflections on Bruce Springsteen

Edited by: Jonathan D. Cohen and June Skinner Sawyers
With contributions by: Natalie Adler , Eric Alterman , Regina Barreca , Nancy Bishop , Dermot Bolger , Peter Ames Carlin , Jefferson Cowie , Jim Cullen , Joel Dinerstein , Gillian G. Gaar , Martyn Joseph , Deepa Iyer , Greil Marcus , Louis Masur , Paul Muldoon , Lauren Onkey , Richard Russo , A. O. Scott , Colleen Sheehy , Wesley Stace , Frank Stefanko , Irwin Streight , Wayne Swan , David L. Ulin , Elijah Wald , Daniel Wolff and Kenneth Womack

https://doi.org/10.36019/9781978805309

Overview
Contents

About this book

Bruce Springsteen might be the quintessential American rock musician but his songs have resonated with fans from all walks of life and from all over the world. This unique collection features reflections from a diverse array of writers who explain what Springsteen means to them and describe how they have been moved, shaped, and challenged by his music.

Contributors to Long Walk Home include novelists like Richard Russo, rock critics like Greil Marcus and Gillian Gaar, and other noted Springsteen scholars and fans such as A. O. Scott, Peter Ames Carlin, and Paul Muldoon. They reveal how Springsteen’s albums served as the soundtrack to their lives while also exploring the meaning of his music and the lessons it offers its listeners. The stories in this collection range from the tale of how “Growin’ Up” helped a lonely Indian girl adjust to life in the American South to the saga of a group of young Australians who turned to Born to Run to cope with their country’s 1975 constitutional crisis. These essays examine the big questions at the heart of Springsteen’s music, demonstrating the ways his songs have resonated for millions of listeners for nearly five decades.

Commemorating the Boss’s seventieth birthday, Long Walk Home explores Springsteen’s legacy and provides a stirring set of testimonials that illustrate why his music matters.

Author / Editor information

JONATHAN D. COHEN received his PhD in history from the University of Virginia. He is the managing editor of BOSS: The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies and the coeditor of All In: The Spread of Gambling in Twentieth-Century United States (2018).

JUNE SKINNER SAWYERS has published extensively on Bruce Springsteen, including Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader (2004) and Workingman: The Faith-Based Politics ofBruce Springsteen (2014). Born in Glasgow, she currently teaches humanities courses at the Newberry Library in Chicago.

Reviews

"Growing Up With Bruce Springsteen: I wouldn’t be the man I am without him," by Eric Alterman
http://www.publicseminar.org/essays/growing-up-with-bruce-springsteen/

— Public Seminar

"Bruce Springsteen Is Jew-ish: He may be Catholic, but to many fans—including this one—his lyrics speak to a different creed," by Eric Alterman
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/bruce-springsteen-almost-jewish/599146/

— The Atlantic

"That’s the greatest joy of Long Walk Home—the little details from fan’s lives, intersecting with moments of historical and artistic significance."

— Third Coast Review

"Rutgers Professor Reflects on Springsteen's Legacy ahead of ''The Boss's'' 70th Birthday," by Cynthia Medina
https://news.rutgers.edu/qa/rutgers-professor-reflects-springsteens-legacy-ahead-bosss-70th-birthday/20190730#.XVavqehKiUm

— Rutgers Today

"Taken together, the 26 essays in Long Walk Home give readers a rich understanding of why the Boss matters so profoundly to his audience; how each of us has been moved, challenged, and shaped by Springsteen's music."

— Roxanne Harde, co-editor of Walking the Line: Country Music Lyricists and American Culture

"The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen And The Wide Divide," excerpted from A.O. Scott's piece in Long Walk Home
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/762803629/the-ties-that-bind-bruce-springsteen-and-the-wide-divide

— NPR Books

"Rutgers Professor Reflects on Springsteen's Legacy for ''The Boss's' 70th Birthday," by Cynthia Medina
https://news.rutgers.edu/qa/rutgers-professor-reflects-springsteens-legacy-ahead-bosss-70th-birthday/20190730?utm_source=newsletterutm_medium=emailutm_campaign=rutgerstoday#.XYmJOOdKjq0

— Rutgers Today

"Springsteen at Seventy," by Wesley Stace
https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/09/21/springsteen-at-seventy/

— New York Review of Books

"Local Leaders Never Stop Reading" by Amanda Capps
http://www.greenvillebusinessmag.com/2020/03/05/299879/local-leaders-never-stop-reading

— Greenville Business Magazine

"The book nods to Springsteen’s international, intercultural popularity and success....The most thought-provoking essays in Long Walk Home are by writers who are not from the stereotypical Springsteen fan base."

— Times Literary Supplement

"Rutgers Univ. Press to celebrate Springsteen’s birthday with ‘Long Walk Home’ book," by Jay Lustig

— NJ Arts

"Long Walk Home endeavors to examine the impact the art and the artist have had on individual people around the world. The book fulfills this mission admirably. Individual contributions are of uniformly high quality. The collection as a whole is an engaging read that will interest scholars and fans alike."

— Prudence Jones, BOSS: The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies

"The expanding field of Springsteen Studies is fascinating, and includes stellar volumes written by many of the contributors to this collection. Kudos to co-editors Jonathan D. Cohen (managing editor of “'BOSS: The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies') and June Skinner Sawyers (editor of “Racing in the Streets: The Bruce Springsteen Reader”) for giving Springsteen fans an extraordinary new addition to that canon. Long Walk Home is worthy of its subject and a timely reminder of Springsteen’s promise in the 1999 anthem 'Land of Hope and Dreams' that 'dreams will not be thwarted/ faith will be rewarded.'”

— Charleston Post & Courier

"Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen did something I wouldn’t have thought possible: it deepened my appreciation for the artist by broadening my understanding of his relevance and influence. I’d long known that Bruce had wide, diverse, international appeal. Now I have a better understanding of why. Highly recommended."

— E Street Shuffle

"E Street Radio" SiriusXM interview with contributors Daniel Wolff Lauren Onkey

— E Street Radio - SiriusXM

“Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen at 70 offers a comprehensive, timely overview of Springsteen’s life and work. The eminently qualified essayists in Sawyers and Cohen’s anthology astutely address Springsteen’s achievement in terms of the artist’s evolving legacy, with a valuable accent upon exploring his lasting contributions to twentieth- and twenty-first- century popular music and culture.”

— Kenneth Womack, author of Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles

"Celebrating Bruce at 70," by Tammy La Gorce

— New Jersey Monthly

"A killer collection of Boss studies and stories, as varied as Springsteen's own body of work and a fitting tribute to the man — at 70, both an American legend and an artist as vital as ever."

— Christopher Phillips, Editor of Backstreets.com

Contributor Lou Maser interview on "One-on-One with Steve Adubato"
http://steveadubato.org/bruce-springsteen-s-impact-on-music-history.html

— One-on-One with Steve Adubato

"In a collection as carefully compiled as a Springsteen album, Cohen and Booklist contributor Sawyers celebrate the Boss at 70....For more than four decades, Springsteen’s music has been part of our popular music and culture and will continue to be, long after his final album is released. As this compilation illustrates, his 'Glory Days' are far from over."

— Booklist

"Dermot Bolger: 'As Bruce turns 70, I thank him for giving voice to my world,'" excerpt from Long Walk Home
https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/dermot-bolger-as-bruce-turns-70-i-thank-him-for-giving-voice-to-my-world-38496573.html

— Irish Independent

"Why Bruce Springsteen is the soundtrack of the 2020 primary," by Jonathan D. Cohen
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/09/23/why-bruce-springsteen-is-soundtrack-primary/

— Washington Post

"Relatable passages and...excellent writing."

— Newark Star-Ledger

"Springsteen at 70: Remembering When The Boss Rocked New Brunswick" by TAP into New Brunswick
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/east-brunswick/articles/springsteen-at-70-remembering-when-the-boss-rocked-new-brunswick-8

— TAP into New Brunswick

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Why Springsteen? Jonathan D. Cohen and June Skinner Sawyers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Springsteen Stories
1. Growing Up with Bruce Springsteen A Fan’s Notes Eric Alterman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
2. How Bruce Springsteen Made a Middle-Aged Woman Believe in the Magic of Rock and Roll Nancy S. Bishop Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	30
3. From the Backstreets to the Badlands My Springsteen Journey Deepa Iyer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
4. The Ripple Effect Frank Stefanko Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
Part II. Springsteen, Politics, and American Society
5. The Role of the Popular Artist in a Democratic Society Jefferson Cowie and Joel Dinerstein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
6. Starting a Fire Bruce Springsteen’s Political Journey from “Born in the U.S.A.” to “American Skin (41 Shots)” Gillian G. Gaar Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
7. Springsteen’s American Dream Louis P. Masur Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
8. At the River Paul Muldoon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
9. The Ties That Bind A. O. Scott Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	74
Part III. Springsteen Live
10. Live at the Roxy Greil Marcus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
11. The Magic Circle Wesley Stace Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
12. Twist and Shout David L. Ulin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
Part IV. Springsteen the Artist
13. Brilliant Disguise The Completely True Fictional Adventures of Bruce Springsteen Peter Ames Carlin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	105
14. “The Welsh Springsteen” An Interview with Martyn Joseph Irwin H. Streight Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
15. This Train Bruce Springsteen as Public Artist Colleen J. Sheehy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
16. Born to Write Bruce Springsteen, Flannery O’Connor, and the Songstory Irwin H. Streight Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
17. Ten Great Springsteen Moments (and Five Iconic Concerts) Kenneth Womack Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
Part V. Springsteen, Sex, Race, and Gender
18. Our Butch Mother, Bruce Springsteen Natalie Adler Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
19. Springsteen’s Women Tougher Than the Rest Gina Barreca Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
20. Shackled and Drawn Lauren Onkey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	170
21. American Skin Springsteen and Blackness Elijah Wald Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	176
22. Summer’s Fall Springsteen in Senescence Jim Cullen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
23. Work and Play Midlife Music Daniel Wolff Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
Part VII. Springsteen beyond Borders
24. Bruce Springsteen’s River in Dublin Dermot Bolger Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
25. The Boss in Bulgaria Richard Russo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
26. We Take Care of Our Own Wayne Swan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
ABOUT THE EDITORS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249