Working On A Dream: The Progressive Political Vision Of Bruce Springsteen
by David Masciotra

Diatribe dressed up as biography

Ronald Reagan’s plan to use Born In The USA in his re-election campaign of 1984 is perhaps the best-known example of Springsteen’s lyrics being misinterpreted by listeners, but it’s a supposedly all too common state of affairs that seems to really annoy author Masciotra. In the introduction to this well-researched but overly wordy book he claims that for every fan who “gets” the message, there are three or four who at least partly miss it.

It’s a questionable ratio at best, and a somewhat surly and meaningless point to make in what is being marketed as a lengthy study of an artist’s socially- and politically-minded development. Springsteen’s politics, in terms of his music, have always been of a humanitarian rather than party-led bent, largely free of cryptic codes or metaphors. While there are undoubtedly dim people in the world, it seems like a waste of ink to sneer at them.

The author has written, to all intents and purposes, a dissertation on America’s economic and social woes, liberally peppered with Boss lyrics to drive home his conclusions. Hence, Jungleland is dissected in a chapter on urban decay, while Atlantic City features in a section cumbersomely subtitled Educational Inequality, Joblessness & Criminal Solutions. Mascriotra makes many persuasive arguments, but surely any Bruce fan unafraid of big words and willing to shell out for a book already “gets” them.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

ISBN 9780826425058, 288 pages

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
<< Back to Issue 377

Login Here

Free Newsletter


Subscribe to
our email newsletter by emailing:

anna.bowen@
metropolis.co.uk