Thunder Road (song)

"Thunder Road" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and the opening track on his 1975 breakthrough album "Born to Run". It is consistently ranked as one of Springsteen's greatest songs, and one of the top rock songs of all time.

History

The song underwent considerable evolution as it was written, with an early version titled "Wings For Wheels" first performed at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr on February 5th 1975. That phrase would eventually be used in the final version of the lyrics. The original version also mentions a girl named "Christine," "Christina," or "Angelina" (in various versions) rather than the studio homage to "Mary".

Lyrics and music

The lyrics to "Thunder Road" describe a young woman named Mary, her boyfriend, their hopeless lives and their "one last chance to make it real." Thematically, it reads as a nostalgic companion piece to "Born to Run".

Musically, the song opens with a quiet piano and harmonica introduction, meant, as Springsteen said years later in the "Wings For Wheels" documentary, as a welcoming to both the track and the album, a signifier that something was about to happen. Eschewing a traditional verse-and-chorus structure, the song's arrangement gradually ramps up in instrumentation, tempo and intensity. The title phrase is not used until the middle section of the song, and then is not used again. Finally, after the closing line there is a saxophone-and-piano duet in the instrumental coda.

In this song, Springsteen mentions Roy Orbison "singing for the lonely" on the radio. Orbison, one of whose best-known songs is "Only the Lonely," was a huge influence on Springsteen.

The song's title comes from the Robert Mitchum film "Thunder Road". Springsteen declared that he was somehow inspired from the movie even if, as he says, "I never saw the movie, I only saw the poster in the lobby of the theater." [Springsteen, Bruce. Concert. Passaic, NJ. 19 Sept. 1978. [http://frankenschulz.de/bruce/songs/thunder-road.html Source] ]

Acclaim

In 2004, it was ranked #1 on the list of the "885 All-Time Greatest Songs" compiled by WXPN (the University of Pennsylvania's public radio station). [cite web |url=http://www.xpn.org/885ATGS.php |title=885 All Time Greatest Songs |accessdate=2006-11-12] "Rolling Stone" magazine placed it as #86 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." [cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |accessdate=2006-11-12 |format= | publisher = Rolling Stone] The song came in at #226 in "Q" magazine's list of the "1001 Greatest Songs Ever" in 2003, in which they described the song as "best for pleading on the porch." Julia Roberts, when asked which song lyric described her most accurately, chose "Thunder Road"'s "You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright." The song is featured in the book "31 Songs" by British author Nick Hornby.

The song remains a fan favorite and live staple to this day. In 1970s concerts, Springsteen sometimes played the song in solo piano versions or as a segue out of some other more dirge-like song such as "Racing in the Street". In concert in the 1980s, the song was often played to close out the first set; the coda was stretched out to showcase E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, then Clemons and Springsteen would charge at each other from opposite ends of the stage, with Springsteen sliding into Clemons in an embrace. By the late 1990s Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour, "Thunder Road" was played as celebratory from start to finish, with Springsteen pointing to people he knew or to attractive females in the front rows during the extended outro.

In Music and Pop Culture

"Thunder Road" is a classic rock staple, and has been covered by artists such as Melissa Etheridge, Cowboy Junkies, Badly Drawn Boy, Mary Lou Lord [cite web| url = http://www.google.com/musics?lid=BnhTvRMYnvE&aid=X3EtM7LPyo&sid=MjQ2o4wpwdF| title = Google Music: Mary Lou Lord
accessdate = 2007-01-01| publisher = Google Inc.] and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy with Tortoise [cite web| url = http://www.google.com/musics?lid=2CdP9QcBv8K&aid=MvW5JBgUxrN&sid=DGxEneCTMwJ| title = Google Music: Tortoise & Bonnie "Prince" Billy| accessdate = 2007-01-01| publisher = Google Inc.] . Adam Duritz of Counting Crows often sings large portions of the lyrics to "Thunder Road" in the middle of their song "Rain King."

Badly Drawn Boy also ends his album Born in the UK with the line"if we still don't have a plan, we'll listen to Thunder Road".

In the movie Explorers starring River Phoenix and Ethan Hawke, the name of the space vessel they create out of a Tilt-A-Whirl is "Thunder Road".

In an episode of King of Queens, Doug is seen playing a harmonica and then asking Spence if it "sounded anything like Thunder Road".

In the video game Rock Band 2, a clothing item from the Rock Shop that you can purchase is called Thunder Road. In reference to the song's lyrics, the item description reads, "You got a guitar. You learned to make it talk. Slip on this jacket if you're ready for the long walk."

equel

Sometime after the release of "Born to Run", Springsteen wrote a follow-up to "Thunder Road" called "The Promise", which explicitly mentions the first song by name but reveals a far more pessimistic outlook on the narrator's life and future. Although early studio recordings were never released, "The Promise" gained considerable legend for its 1978 Tour performances; it finally materialized in a re-recorded version on 1999's "18 Tracks".

Live performance history

"Thunder Road" is one of Springsteen's most performed songs. During the 1974 to 1977 Born to Run tours, "Thunder Road" was always played by Springsteen with nothing but a piano accompaniment, an example of which is found on Hammersmith Odeon '75. Not until later in the tour did "Thunder Road" make full-band appearances. Later in the 1978 tour "Thunder Road" made more appearances and usually opened with Springsteen telling a story as to why he wrote the song, the song continued to be performed with the full-band until 1992 to 1993's "Other Band" Tour where it appeared on acoustic guitar and a haunting organ in the background; another example is found on the 1993 concert video and album.

The song then disappeared from Springsteen concerts until emerging again in 1999 in the Reunion Tour, this time warmly greeted by fans as it always had been in concerts. An example of such a performance can be found in the 2001 release "Live in New York City". Although played regularly on the The Rising Tour as on Live in Barcelona, the song then rarely appeared on the Devils & Dust Tour, however still greeted warmly by fans, this time on piano. The song was not performed during the Sessions Band Tour, it reappeared on 2007-2008 Magic Tour and made many appearances warmly greeted by fans.

On June 14, 2008, on stage at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Springsteen dedicated a performance of the song to Tim Russert, a longtime Springsteen fan who had suddenly passed away the previous day. On June 18, 2008, Springsteen performed the song, with acoustic guitar, for the Russert memorial event in Washington via satellite/tape.

References

External links

* [http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics/t/thunderroad.php THUNDER ROAD] Lyrics to numerous versions plus very detailed info on SpringsteenLyrics.com
* [http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/ThunderRoad.html Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net]