Springsteen, My Hero?

This isn’t the first time I have written about Bruce Springsteen and there is a very strong possibility that it won’t be the last but I learned something about The Boss today and the words for this blog just flowed out of me.

I will set the scene for you. I was flying from Taiwan to Sri Lanka via Hong Kong with Lyn beside me and we were scrolling through the entertainment offerings when I received a nudge.

“There’s a Bruce Springsteen documentary on here!” Lyn tells me and I am immediately sold.

 That’s how much Lyn loves me. While searching for something to watch herself, she found this and told me. Although, that love isn’t strong enough to watch it along side me, nor is it strong enough to join me at Anfield later this year to see him live.

A few taps of my touch screen television later and Western Stars started to play.

I wasn’t thinking about writing a blog but my pad was out because I had made some notes about Cathey Pacific’s safety demonstration. Every airline seems to be trying to make their demos more entertaining, most fail, but there are exceptions but those can wait for another blog.  I DONT THINK YOU NEED THIS PARAGRAPH

Early in the documentary my attention was caught by a few words.

“For a long time if I loved you and if I felt a deep attachment to you I would hurt you if I could.”

I love things that make me think: a lyric, a line from a movie, people. People in general often have the ability to make me think. Now, and not for the first time, it was the turn of the Boss. It took 24 words. Words that had me reaching for the rewind button and then the pause button in order to write them down exactly. 

Those words hit me because they reminded me of me. Perhaps not now but historically I have done this. I have hurt the people I loved the most. I’d like to think I have grown as a man in recent years and 1) realised the mistakes I made but more importantly, 2) gone someway toward rectifying those issues. 

Have The Boss and I got something in common?  

The flight time was supposed to be 2 hours and 5 minutes but the captain had found a shortcut and now we would be in the air for a mere 1 hour and 28 minutes. Usually I’d be elated at the prospect of a shorter flight time especially when you consider the fact that we only an hour between flights! But Western Stars had a running time of 83 minutes and 9 seconds. There was a chance I’d not see the end. Yes, there were 4 minutes and 51 seconds to play with but don’t forget those oh so useful announcements from the cabin manager when you’re about to land. 

“What about the credits? They can go on a bit.” I hear you cry but I didn’t want to miss those. I had to know as much about the people involved in this production as possible.

Western Stars is a live performance of the 2019 studio album, filmed in a 100 year old barn on his property and there was an audience. I’d have loved to have been in that barn.

Like Springsteen, I have performed to a live audience in a Barn and way more than once. I was the host of the Thursford Christmas Spectacular for three seasons. I must have done that show more than 240 times in a barn just outside of Fakenham.

I felt closer to Bruce. Yep, so close I could now call him Bruce.

Aside from Of Mice And Men I have never read a book twice but in amongst the notes for this blog were the words.

‘Reread Born To Run!’ That’s Springsteen’s autobiography. I can’t promise you that I will read it from cover to cover but it is one I fully intend carry with me and dip in and out of. 

I reminded myself of a Bruce quote.

‘Shut up and play. My business is show business and that’s the business of showing, not telling.’

I couldn’t agree more. I have never posted anything positive about one of my shows on Facebook and I could count on one hand the amount of people I would trust with such opinions. Let me change ‘never’ for ‘rarely’. I have been on FB for a couple of decades. ‘Never’? I am not sure I can promise that. All I know is my feed will shout about a bad show from the rooftops. 

Years ago I heard Bruce utter these words.

“I am happy in the spotlight when I am working and decidedly unhappy in it when I am not.”

I am sorry but he may be describing himself but that is me. Watch me ‘work’, laugh, don’t laugh, I honestly don’t mind but please don’t bother yourself by coming up to me to tell me you enjoyed the show. You would get a facetious response not because I don’t care but because, through no fault of your own, you have just made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. Lyn tells me it’s because I am shy. Lyn is right. Lyn also told me to just say ‘thank you’. She’s right again.

Bruce was a big hero of mine. He was introduced to me by my biggest hero, Dad, back in 1984. Bruce would be one of those at my table of five were I ever lucky enough to get those five together. You want to know who thy are now, don’t you?

Bruce and my Dad, obviously. Joe Marler, look him up! Aaron Sorkin and Lyn. (Shut up, don’t forget she proof reads these blogs.)

You’d have noticed I said Bruce ‘was’ my hero. After watching Western Stars and thinking about him I have decided that ‘kindred spirit’ might be more apt.

kindred spirit

NOUN: a person whose interests or attitudes are similar to one’s own.

I think this is the end but after all that is happening in his beloved US of A Springsteen has talked about relocating to Canada. I did that too!