Few singer-songwriters have been so good for so long as Bruce Springsteen. Indeed, it’s a sad, if understandable fact that many, while continuing to play, must rely on their previous glory days as new music diminishes – at least in terms of quality. Not so the Boss, whose output beyond the ‘70s and ‘80s has been every bit as engaging.
Since the millennium turned, Springsteen’s style has changed: less rock-y and perhaps radio-oriented, a little more inclined towards folk and fiddles; but then, how many “Born to Run”s can one write?
Here’s an example, “Long Time Comin’” (not to be confused with the ancient Crosby, Stills and Nash song of the same name) from the 2008 album “Devils and Dust,” Springsteen’s third so-called “acoustic” album.
Springsteen will be performing in Toronto in November, and will have turned 74 by then – still just a spring chicken.
Lyrics
Out where the creek turns shallow and sandy
And the moon comes skimming away the stars
Wind in the mesquite comes rushing over the hilltops
Straight into my arms, straight into my arms
I’m riding hard carrying a catch of roses
A fresh map that I made
Now I’m going to get birth naked and bury my old soul
And dance on its grave and dance on its grave
It’s been a long time coming, my dear
It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s here
Yea, now it’s here
Well my daddy, he was just a stranger
Lived in a hotel downtown
When I was a kid, he was just somebody
Somebody I’d see around, somebody I’d see around
Well now down below and pulling on my shirt
Yeah I got some kids of my own
If I had one wish for you in this god forsaken world, kid
It’d be that your mistakes will be your own
That your sins will be your own
It’s been a long time coming, my dear
It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s here
And now it’s here
Out ‘neath the arms of Cassiopeia
Where the sword of Orion sweeps
It’s me and you, Rosie, crackling like crossed wires
And you breathing in your sleep
And you breathing you in your sleep
Well there’s just a spark of a campfire left burning
Two kids in a sleeping bag beside
Reach ‘neath your shirt, put my hands across your belly and feel
Another one kicking inside
And I ain’t gonna fuck it up this time
It’s been a long time coming, my dear
It’s been a long time coming, but now it’s here
And now it’s here