tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post6738531379179195784..comments2024-03-27T09:53:13.770-05:00Comments on Mark My Words: Bruce Springsteen, "Hungry Heart"Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04638783212215818291noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-43623696632488086112022-04-07T03:10:44.127-05:002022-04-07T03:10:44.127-05:00I rather see it as a lament for a terrible mistake...I rather see it as a lament for a terrible mistake he made, leaving his family & in order to remember the earlier , happy times, he revisits the place they met. He realises what he's done & wants to go back. <br />There's also the "By the time I get to Phoenix" type of vibe going on!captain sparklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06191109225086663952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-79378382368739342882020-09-16T04:31:45.342-05:002020-09-16T04:31:45.342-05:00Also, there are several other parallels between th...Also, there are several other parallels between the song lyrics and the poem. So, who knows? This could even be a modern take of sorts on the classic poem but with Springsteen's own twist.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06677855198159506484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-75903740685071265342020-09-16T04:06:55.886-05:002020-09-16T04:06:55.886-05:00I'm surprised this isn't mentioned more of...I'm surprised this isn't mentioned more often. I assumed that this song was, at the very least, inspired by Tennyson's Ulysses. Imo, the phrase "Hungry Heart" isn't common enough that I'm willing to chalk it up as a mere coincidence.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06677855198159506484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-90901392065509423112020-04-18T09:16:24.103-05:002020-04-18T09:16:24.103-05:00It’s a lament
It’s about a guy called Jack
Who liv...It’s a lament<br />It’s about a guy called Jack<br />Who lived in Baltimore<br />He met a girl in a bar in Kingston<br />They fell in love and he married her<br /><br />However his heart was never fulfilled. <br />Although he felt at the time that’s what he needed to do<br />So he played the part<br />But still no matter what, he felt he needed more<br />He actually didn’t realise at the time that he did have it all<br />But this feeling inside of restlessness made him decide he needed to look for more<br />So off he went and didnt look back in search of what he felt his heart told him<br />He didn’t have a clue what this was that he needed to look for, just that he felt he had to<br />So he wandered with no actual idea or plan aimlessly looking for the answer to fill his heart <br />But he never found it<br />So now years later with the marriage in bits he finds himself back where he started at the same bar all those years ago<br />He sits there in the bar and mulls over his life and that he was driven by this desire to seek out more<br />But now in this bar again he realises actually I had it all<br />He laments what’s happened that all along his heart like everyone on the planet just wants some to love and be loved<br />And that they just want a home<br />That’s that’s all you need in life, in fact that’s what the your heart is telling you all along<br />However it’s taken all these years of searching to realise it<br />Everyone on the planet has that same desire to find love, family and a place to call home.<br />Everyone has an inbuilt desire to seek that out, but when you have it realise you have unlike him<br /><br /><br />Twigthewonderkidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09104919688998230562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-23751164526501561412016-11-17T19:58:38.611-06:002016-11-17T19:58:38.611-06:00Amazing how people come up with different interpre...Amazing how people come up with different interpretations. Most lyricists draw from their personal experiences and then go back to cross out certain details deliberately so each person who hears it can put themselves into the story in their own personal way. What grabs the listener is the most powerful connection: "Everybody wants a place to rest. Everbody wants to have a home. Don't make no difference what nobody says (Ain't nobody like to be alone.)"<br />Let's suppose you had a dream you didn't attain and the nagging emptiness you feel breaks you away. That emptiness would only hurt those you built a family around. Trying to find himself, not knowing how to fit that dream into the family picture, he realizes his basic need of rest and home. <br />It's the paradox of the dreamer.<br />The price you pay for that dream or the price you pay of either part you play -the dreamer or the family man. <br />*John Bogiovi is a prime example of timing the elements of both his dreams. Finding the love of his life who stood by him and helped him attain success with his career. Dorothea believed in him. It takes a powerful mutual love and understanding for that kind of victory. <br />Bruce leaves his writting open in this song. That river is like a mistress that could be anybody's dream, be it music, acting, travel, even a person, or anything that demands a feeling of longing. Nomatter what that is for you, nobody likes to be alone<br />...Everybody Needs L O V E...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-64943516340873703562016-07-08T10:08:21.975-05:002016-07-08T10:08:21.975-05:00I'm a Japanese and a big fan of Bruce Springst...I'm a Japanese and a big fan of Bruce Springsteen.<br />Your detailed explanation helped me with understanding the lyrics.<br />Thank you!<br />I like your blog. I'll sometimes visit.masahirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14829761480584015202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-67438336631437433862011-03-07T00:15:38.768-06:002011-03-07T00:15:38.768-06:00Ulysses up and left his family in search for new p...Ulysses up and left his family in search for new places, ideas and experiences. Not relationships per se. Hungry heart in the poem is meaning to find one's self through new experiences. Just another thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-27547370102383747272011-03-07T00:13:13.569-06:002011-03-07T00:13:13.569-06:00I came across this doing some research for an essa...I came across this doing some research for an essay. I think "Hungry heart" may be from Ulysses by Tennyson. Tennyson being another person who up and left his family. Bruce was also a poet and has some poems published. (That's pretty neat) <br /><br />I took "lay down your money" as maybe "placing your bets".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-17411490692345436552010-11-24T05:32:49.674-06:002010-11-24T05:32:49.674-06:00I interpret the second verse as him describing how...I interpret the second verse as him describing how he met his wife... and now here is is down in Kingstown again.<br /><br />I agree about the close parallel with Rabbit Run and Updike. I find a similar link between My Hometown and Philip Roth's American Pastoral.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-15604516495212012972010-09-15T06:37:41.947-05:002010-09-15T06:37:41.947-05:00Well what you are saying without saying it is Bruc...Well what you are saying without saying it is Bruce and Patty are in an arranged marriage. Where Patty provides Children and Bruce Provides the promise that no matter what goes down and how many times I prowl We have this understanding that we stay together..I can say Next Bruce but it will cost you a high Price....Money.....this time......:---))Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-45861648592968842012010-06-17T07:55:06.727-05:002010-06-17T07:55:06.727-05:00I thought the fact that you thought prostitution w...I thought the fact that you thought prostitution was involved in the chorus hungry heart verse was funny. But the rest of your post helped me understand what he was really saying. He's saying EVERYBODY has a hungry heart, men and women. You're right, deep down we are all greedy and want more of things, mostly money. And then he says, lay down your money and play your part. "Your part" means that everyone is being greedy, so you might as well tag along and start being greedy like everyone else is, because you're going to do it anyways. I agree with what you said, this song is about people doing what people do, because they can't really control their desires, their desire for more is just there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-90315650824743024842010-03-30T23:25:26.353-05:002010-03-30T23:25:26.353-05:00Hi Stu,
Thanks for the comment, that definitely m...Hi Stu,<br /><br />Thanks for the comment, that definitely makes sense to me. I hadn't thought to read it as though "Jack" is another person, but I like that, it works. I like your interpretation of "Lay down your money and you play your part" better than mine, it makes more sense.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638783212215818291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-29142528901093474822010-03-25T19:18:19.903-05:002010-03-25T19:18:19.903-05:00To understand Bruce’s “Hungry Heart” read the enti...To understand Bruce’s “Hungry Heart” read the entire lyric and set the scene in your mind: Two strangers sitting at a bar<br /><br />“Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack” Who is Jack? The last line tells you: “Now here I am down in Kingstown again.” Jack is the guy he is telling his story to, presumably his new bar buddy in Kingstown. He says he has got a wife and kids meaning he stills sees them as his. He tried to escape that domestic obligation but still feels it. The “wrong turn” he refers to is leaving his family. <br /><br />He meets the girl in a Kingstown falls in love but knows it has to end. Why? Because he’d be right back where he started, confined by another relationship again and he still has a wife and kids Baltimore! Maybe he went back home for a little while or perhaps someplace else, but now he has returned to “Kingstown” a metaphor for I’m still trying to find myself.<br /><br />The whole point of the song is a lament of his actions and a realization that everybody has a hungry heart he is not special in that regard. “Lay down your money and play the part,” is his advice to Jack, saying, stick to your responsibilities or, like him, you’ll be forever searching for something that may not exist (be it true love, a better life, whatever.)<br /><br />And it is joyful in tune because the truth shall set you free – or Bruce just thought is was catchyPop Daddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17492047151639428907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-9052886631565327362009-03-04T23:43:00.000-06:002009-03-04T23:43:00.000-06:00Hi Betty, thanks for the commment! I read your 15 ...Hi Betty, thanks for the commment! I read your 15 albums list, I found your blog through Holly's too. It's a great idea, and I'm always happy to see another Kinks fan! I'll have to ponder my list while I'm on vacation next week.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638783212215818291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-4284944146135684552009-03-02T23:45:00.000-06:002009-03-02T23:45:00.000-06:00I meant I love reading this list, not lost! Bloggi...I meant I love reading this list, not lost! Blogging before 7am without enough coffee in my does play tricks...Betty Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17155852272383173880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-44381978691626524402009-03-02T23:44:00.000-06:002009-03-02T23:44:00.000-06:00I just drifted over here from Holly's blog, and I ...I just drifted over here from Holly's blog, and I see she has already commented. <BR/><BR/>I don't really care for this song but have just been relistening to "The River" and I can't get past the first three songs, which I keep playing over and over. There's some great cuts on it, although had he just taken my favorites and made a single album, I'm sure it would have been his best ever!<BR/><BR/>If you want to play the 15 most significant albums game, send me a note over here:<BR/><BR/>http://and-so-forth.blogspot.com/2009/02/15-most-significant-albums-in-my-life.html<BR/><BR/>I lost reading this list. I think it is the "significant" that makes it so interesting.Betty Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17155852272383173880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-8487428543308680662009-02-28T01:16:00.000-06:002009-02-28T01:16:00.000-06:00I agree, there's definitely a disconnect between t...I agree, there's definitely a disconnect between the music and the lyrics. Kind of like how Ronald Reagan loved "Born the the USA," because he only heard the hooky, anthemic chorus, but wasn't listening to the bitter verses.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638783212215818291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-752666223633131197.post-2106138454346156772009-02-21T20:00:00.000-06:002009-02-21T20:00:00.000-06:00You've put your finger on what I don't like about ...You've put your finger on what I don't like about Springsteen -- the hooky, upbeat pop song pumped up with anthemic grandeur, yet a strange disconnect between the music and the lyrics. That Kerouacian ideal of the restless free spirit just doesn't ring true for me. But whatever. I agree that once this song has gotten stuck in your brain it's very hard to get rid of it. And now I've got it, d*mn it!!Holly A Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17828633442418722187noreply@blogger.com