...Even Though We're Just Dancing In The Dark

I have been listening to a ton of Bruce Springsteen lately. I have always found his lyrics to be really good. Not just in a sense as, "Hey he writes well." Its a lot like country in the fact that the lyrics tell stories of running away, lost loves, having good times with friends, and the like. Only recently I have read his lyrics in depth and have noticed some parallels with my life/situation. Most notibley his song Dancing in the Dark. The lyrics read as follows:

I get up in the evening, and I aint got nothing to say
I come home in the morning, I go to bed feeling the same way
I aint nothing but tired, man Im just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help

You cant start a fire, you cant start a fire without a spark
This guns for hire even if were just dancing in the dark

Message keeps getting clearer, radios on and Im moving round the place
I check myself out in the mirror I wanna change my clothes my hair my face
Man I aint getting nowhere just livin in a dump like this
Theres something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is

You cant start a fire, you cant start a fire without a spark
This guns for hire even if were just dancing in the dark

You sit around getting older theres a joke here somewhere and its on me
Ill shake this world off my shoulders come baby this laugh's on me
Stay on the streets of this town and theyll be carving you up alright
They say you got to stay hungry hey baby Im just about starving tonight
Im dying for some action Im sick of sitting round here trying to write This book
I need a love reaction come on now baby give me just one look

You can't start a fire sitting 'round cryin' over a broken heart
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark
You can't start a fire worryin' about your little world fallin' apart
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark

The first three lines of the song hit home the most to me. I have reflected the exact same way he feels: I don't have anything to say to anyone, I'm tired and bored with myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not wallowing in my own sorrow (I'm off to write that hit song, Alone In My Principles), I'm just simply getting sick of the routine I have made for myself (and so is The Boss apparently). Other lines that jab right into the deepest pits of me are:

I check myself out in the mirror I wanna change my clothes my hair my face Man I aint getting nowhere just livin in a dump like this Theres something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is.

Maybe I'm not the only one unhappy about the situation I'm in. I can chant along to the line: I wanna change my clothes my hair my face as long as I have breath in my body. I get up every morning look at the mess of hair I have, put a hat over it, and go about my day. I am not happy with most of my wardrobe (on the sole fact that if someone else bought the same thing I did, they would probably look better in it. CURSE THESE WIDE BIRTH GIVING THIGHS!!!) The boss, judging by his lyrics and the time this was written, wasn't too happy with himself either. He knew there was something wrong with himself and he knew there had to be a way to change, but he didn't know how. He ran. Ran from himself, and his loved ones, trying to lose the person he was. But he realizes that you can't change like that. He sat around and waited, searching for something that would change his life. The title of the song is perfectly named, Dancing in the Dark.



In quick closing, if you're having a crummy, shit, down and out, slumdog of a day, listen to bruce springsteen. 8 times out of 10, you'll cheer up. Start your day out with this video and you'll feel like you can do anything:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rGFfO5fUvE