Listen to Growin' Up (Springsteen on Broadway) by Bruce Springsteen

Growin' Up (Springsteen on Broadway)

Bruce Springsteen

Rock

8,635

Apple Music Note

OVERVIEW

LYRICS

Music Video

Bruce Springsteen - Growin' Up (Springsteen on Broadway - Official Audio)

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Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Vocals

COMPOSITION & LYRICS

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Songwriter

PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Producer

Greg Allen

Recording Engineer

Sergio Ruelas Jr.

Sergio Ruelas Jr.

Editing Engineer

Brandon Duncan

Assistant Engineer

Bob Ludwig

Mastering Engineer

Brian Ronan

Additional Producer

Brett Dicus

Additional Producer

Bob Clearmountain

Bob Clearmountain

Mixing Engineer

John Cooper

Recording Engineer

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

I stood stone-like at midnight

Suspended in my masquerade

I combed my hair 'till it was just right

And commanded the night brigade

I was open to pain and crossed by the rain

And I walked on a crooked crutch

I strolled all alone through a fallout zone

And came out with my soul untouched

[Verse 2]

I hid in a clouded wrath of the crowd

When they said, "Sit down", I stood up

Ooh, growin' up

[Verse 3]

Well, the flag of piracy flew from my mast

And my sails were set wing to wing

I had a jukebox graduate for first mate

She couldn't sail, but she sure could sing

I pushed B-52 and bombed them with the blues

With my gear set stubborn on standing

I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school

Never once gave thought to landing

[Verse 4]

Hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd

When they said, "Come down", I threw up

Ooh, growin' up

[Verse 5]

I've never held an honest job in my entire life

I've never done any hard labour

I've never worked nine to five

I've never worked five days a week until right now

I don't like it

I've never seen the inside of a factory

And yet it's all I've ever written about

Standing before you is a man who has become

Wildly and absurdly successful

Writing about something of which has had

Absolutely no personal experience

I, I made it all up

That's how good I am

[Verse 6]

Now how, I'm sure you're wondering

How did this great miracle come to pass?

Well, in the beginning there was a great darkness upon the waters

As a child, it was Christmas, your birthday, summer vacation

But the rest of life was a lifeless sucking black hole

A lifeless sucking black hole

Of homework, church, school, homework

Church, school, homework, church

School, green beans, green beans, fucking green beans

But then, in a blinding flash of sanctified light

A human being and just a kid

Just a kid from the southern sticks

But, uh, new kinda man

And he split the world in two

And suddenly, a new world existed

The one below your belt

And above your heart

[Verse 7]

Sunday night, 1956, 39 1/2 Institute Street

Into a cold water flat and into the mind of a seven year old kid

The revolution had been televised

Right under the noses of the powers that be

Who, if they'd known what was actually happening

And the great changes

The changes that were about to come

They would have shut this shit down

Or, more likely, signed it up real quick

Because we, the unwashed, the invisible

The powerless, the kids, would want more

Now, more life

More love and more sex and more hope

And more truth and more power

And more soul

And most of all, more rock 'n' roll

[Verse 8]

So I sat with my mom, my little seven year old mind on fire

Starin' into a blue tube as fun happened

Fun, the real kind

The joyful, life-affirming, hip-shaking, earthquakin'

Guitar-playin', mind-and-heart-changing, race-challenging

Soul-lifting bliss of a freer existence

A freer existence exploded into unsuspecting homes

All across America

On a regular Sunday night

The world had fucking changed

In an instant

In a sweating, wet orgasm of fun

And all you needed to do

To get a taste of it

Wast to risk being your true self

Because the rock 'n' roll genie had been let out of the bottle

And he told us that if you were Born in the USA

My fellow citizens

These feelings, these freedoms, this fun was your birth right

[Verse 9]

I listened, I believed, and I heard a mighty call to action

So, I studied my new hero

I know that, hey, he's got the same two arms

Two legs, two eyes that I got

Yes, he is a human Adonis

And I'm, ooh, pathetically creepy

But I'll figure that part out, alright?

The one thing he had that I didn't have was

Strapped around his waist

It was the guitar

The guitar, or as my father had christened it,

"That fucking guitar"

But that fucking guitar was the key

It was the sword in the stone

It was the staff of righteousness

And they sell them at Western Auto downtown

25 dollars

[Verse 10]

So I begged and I pleaded with my mother

Just to rent me, 'cause we couldn't afford to buy, a guitar

From Mike Deal's Music School on South street

On a Saturday afternoon, I brought it home

And I sat on the living room couch

And I unlatched it's faux alligator case

And I slowly opened it up

And up from the green velvet lining

Came the sweet smell

Of a cherry wood cocktail of power, pleasure, salvation

Dreams, and dreams, and dreams

So I took lessons, dedicatedly

I took lessons for two solid weeks

[Verse 11]

And I quit

It was too fuckin' hard

Learning the guitar

Not only was it fuckin' hard but the lessons were boring

Just give me the three magic chords, please

And let me twist and shout

But I was a seven year old kid

And my hands barely fit around the neck

And I couldn't waste my other's hard earned cash

Week after week

So very shortly I knew

That back, it was gonna have to go

[Verse 12]

But the morning before I returned it

I strapped it on one more time

I took it out into the backyard where the neighborhood kids were

And I put on my first show

Woo! I slapped it, I shook it

I shouted, I sang voodoo nonsense

I burned a hole in the grass

I shook my little seven year old ass

Ooh, most importantly I posed with it

That's the shit

[Verse 13]

I danced with it, I did everything but play it

I couldn't do that

I sucked so bad and the kids laughed

And laughed and laughed at my silly ass

And we brought it back that afternoon

Ridin' back home with my mom in the car

Sat in the backseat and I was quiet

Was thinking, I was a little disappointed

In myself

But somewhere inside

Somewhere inside I knew that for a moment

Just a moment

In front of those kids in that backyard

Ooh, I smelt blood

[Verse 14]

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere

You know, it's really hard to hold your breath

Swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared

I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress

My feet, they finally took root in the earth

But I got me a nice little place in the stars

I swear, I found the key to the universe

And the engine of an old park car

[Verse 15]

I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd

When they said, "Sit down", I stood up

Ooh, growin' up

Ooh, growin' up

[Verse 16]

And it was bye-bye New Jersey

I'm gonna be airborne

Written by: Bruce Springsteen

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