Plenty of things, actually--hamburgers, hot dogs, fireworks, parades, American flags, watermelon, picnics, apple pie...
Anyhoo, Friday Night Jukebox in keeping with this weekend's American theme is featuring All-American artist Bruce Springsteen for the second time in the last month or so and his song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" from his second album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. As we are wont to do sometimes here on Jukebox, we'll dispense with the Springsteen bio--if you don't know plenty about the man already, chances are you're not bothering to read this post anyway. And since it's a holiday weekend (for everyone but those of us who regally fucked up and chose retail as a career), no one wants to read a long ass piece, either.
While not as memorable as the album's other fan favorite, "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" "Sandy" does have its charms, mostly because, as Springsteen himself has said, the song is very autobiographical, and very much a paean to his home state. Our hero is basically a teenage loser trying to convince the boss' daughter that he's ready to move on from all the disappointments he's had in love and get the hell out of that place--and he wants her to come along. Sadly--and this is just my interpretation--the odds of that happening are about as good as my chances of waking up next to Salma Hayek tomorrow morning. Which is to say: none. Springsteen performs the song in an almost whisper from beginning to end, which can be interpreted as either weariness or fear. It features some nice accordion work from Danny Federici and the instrumentation captures well the spirit of the boardwalk. All in all, unless you're from New Jersey it's probably not in your Springsteen top ten, but's it's definitely in the top five of songs containing the words "4th of July." And if nothing else, it's a reminder that the sorrows of youth do not wound us forever.
Fun fact: The song mentions a fortuneteller named Madame Marie--turns out there really was such a woman on the boardwalk of Springsteen's youth. Oh the places you'll go with Friday Night Jukebox!
Punch line: "...she was always the girl you saw boppin' down the beach with the radio..."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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