Listening to Bruce Springsteen on Radio Paradise

Bruce Springsteen — Badlands

Album: Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Avg rating:

7.3

Your rating:

Total ratings: 595

Released: 1978
Length: 3:59
Plays (last 30 days): 0

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Lights out tonight
Trouble in the heartland
Got a head-on collision
Smashin' in my guts, man
I'm caught in a crossfire
That I don't understand
But there's one thing I know for sure girl

I don't give a damn
For the same old played out scenes
I don't give a damn
For just the in-betweens
Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul
I want control right now
You better listen to me, baby

Talk about a dream
Try to make it real
You wake up in the night
With a fear so real
You spend your life waiting
For a moment that just don't come
Well, don't waste your time waiting

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good

Workin' in the fields
'Til you get your back burned
Workin' 'neath the wheels
'Til you get your facts learned
Baby, I got my facts
Learned real good right now
You better get it straight, darling

Poor man wanna be rich
Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
'Til he rules everything
I wanna go out tonight
I wanna find out what I got

Well, I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the faith that could save me
I believe in the hope
And I pray that some day
It may raise me above these

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
Whoa whoa whoa whoa

For the ones who had a notion
A notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin
To be glad you're alive
I wanna find one face
That ain't looking through me
I wanna find one place
I wanna spit in the face of these

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa
Badlands
Whoa whoa whoa whoa

Comments (37)add comment

A lot of people rated this a 1
I’m glad there are more lovers than haters

Posted 3 weeks ago by admascott [ Reply ]

Jelani wrote:

"I want control right now
You better listen to me, baby"
Spoken like a true wealthy leftist.

That's very odd. I've heard the right wing nuts indulge the very same rhetoric. As recently as, about, five minutes ago. They want control, right now, of the uterus, voting, social security, just us, and so on. Badlands, indeed.

Posted 2 years ago by kingart [ Reply ]

Whenever I hear the guitar solo, I always think of Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage guitar part and wonder if it was a dig at Bruce...

Posted 3 years ago by amcostigan88 [ Reply ]

Bruce is one of those musicians who has lots of dedicated fans, but he also just sounds like clang, clang, clang... blah, blah, blah, to many others.

Sacrilege, I'm sure. I'm guessing readers can identify my inclinations.

Posted 3 years ago by MinMan [ Reply ]

Springsteen's first two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey and The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, are my two all-time favourite albums. IMHO he started to go downhill with Born to Run (although I love many of its songs) and became too focused on commercial success in all following albums. Darkness on the Edge of Town is ho hum compared with those first two brilliant albums.

Posted 3 years ago by wendyleefrancis1 [ Reply ]

FotoBruce wrote:

Darkness on The Edge of Town.
Many fans consider this to be Springsteen's best, his coming of age album.
If you agree or are moved by one of the songs on the album, we invite you

to contribute a few words or paragraphs to a limited edition commemorative
volume on the 1978 Darkness on The Edge of Town album and tour.

Look for it late summer 2009. Folio99@yahoo.com

Best Springsteen is restrained Springsteen. This album is an ordinary example .

Posted 3 years ago by Pjesnik [ Reply ]

The guy has little talent and his music is geared towards young teens

Posted 3 years ago by bullshipped [ Reply ]

"I want control right now
You better listen to me, baby"
Spoken like a true wealthy leftist.

Posted 3 years ago by Jelani [ Reply ]

MARCH ON BOSS! ease up on the Patron when on the bike

Posted 3 years ago by ray_killeen [ Reply ]

this was my favorite Bruce album for the time, the energy and - Go Clarence!!!

Posted 3 years ago by xcranky_yankee [ Reply ]

vote trump you dumbass Yanks

you ignorant bunch of fuckwits

Posted 4 years ago by Stetsonman [ Reply ]

unclehud wrote:

... the past 30 years of American history?

Hmm...how about all of the years of human history?

Posted 4 years ago by Jelani [ Reply ]

joebecker wrote:

We've got a President like that now, turning the whole country into a Badland

You're four years too late with this comment.

Posted 4 years ago by Jelani [ Reply ]

Always The Boss.

Posted 4 years ago by jrosecreative [ Reply ]

TerryS wrote:

Poor man wanna be rich
Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
'Til he rules everything

woe, woe, woe.

We've got a President like that now, turning the whole country into a Badland

Posted 4 years ago by joebecker [ Reply ]

My favorite aspect of this song is Steven Van Zandt just CRUSHING the high part.

Posted 4 years ago by Tippster [ Reply ]

TerryS wrote:

Poor man wanna be rich
Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
'Til he rules everything

... the past 30 years of American history?

Posted 4 years ago by unclehud [ Reply ]

Poor man wanna be rich
Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
'Til he rules everything

woe, woe, woe.

Posted 4 years ago by TerryS [ Reply ]

I heard this song for the time when i was 15's, an incrédible sound came in my rooom, a faboulous strenght, a life appeal, a reason to play music and a reason to dream. Nothing is better than tihis song, except maybe "Born to run".

Posted 5 years ago by Ptijoc [ Reply ]

A great song for these dark times in the good 'ol USA:

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
Keep pushin' 'til it's understood
And these badlands start treating us good.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. Takes work to get there.

Posted 5 years ago by shockwavewriter [ Reply ]

Boss=10

Posted 5 years ago by tanyhon [ Reply ]

The Boss hits the nail on it's head

(I'm the nail, and the head is my heart)

Posted 5 years ago by ExploitingChaos [ Reply ]

the_prof wrote:

With the rare song exception, overrated. A great lyricist but overrated musician.

If you say so...
He's the whole package, a five tool player, IMO

Posted 5 years ago by JckTorance [ Reply ]

Hey Jude, take a sad song and make it better...

Posted 5 years ago by taklalaratar [ Reply ]

With the rare song exception, overrated. A great lyricist but overrated musician.

Posted 5 years ago by the_prof [ Reply ]

Best part of this song is Little Steven wailing the high parts.

Posted 5 years ago by Tippster [ Reply ]

${#Devil_pimp}$ zesty !

Posted 5 years ago by primm [ Reply ]

I sang this as one of my theme songs when hiking at Appalachian Trail across Maine in July of 1985 with my pal Dave. I don't know why this tune as much more more than any other stuck in my head, but it seemed appropriate. Uphill, downhill, hungry, tired, having fun. 280 miles in 27 days. Powered by the Boss.

Posted 5 years ago by kingart [ Reply ]

On_The_Beach wrote:

Last Play: Never (?)
Guess I was lucky to get here via PSD.
Bruuuuuuuuuce!

Yeah-it seems like this thing only picks up comments from people who hear it via PSD.

he opened with this when I saw his show on 11/29/78 in St. Paul, setting the tone for another awesome show:

Badlands

Streets of Fire

Spirit in the Night

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Fire

Candy's Room

Because the Night

(Patti Smith Group cover)

Point Blank

Not Fade Away

(The Crickets cover)

Mona / She's the One / I Get Mad

Backstreets

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

Encore:

Born to Run

Detroit Medley

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Quarter to Three

(Gary “U.S.” Bonds cover)

Posted 8 years ago by treatment_bound [ Reply ]

Last Play: Never (?)
Guess I was lucky to get here via PSD.
Bruuuuuuuuuce!

Posted 8 years ago by On_The_Beach [ Reply ]

Very hard to do a better song. One my Boss favs. I hiked across Maine on the A.T. with a pal 31 years ago, and this, for some reason was one of my ear worms. So, in that sense, I've heard this track about 3,000 times.

Posted 8 years ago by kingart [ Reply ]

Probably my least favorite Bruce album. Not helped by a shrill mix, but the recent remastering helped. My fave from the album is Candy's Room. Always like to segue it with McMurtry's Candyland, Morphine's Candy, and occasionally Car's Candy O.

Posted 12 years ago by cyesp [ Reply ]

Has this really only been played three times in the last decade?

Posted 12 years ago by laramieu [ Reply ]

One of my all time favorite songs. As with many as Bruce's songs of this era, it just really hits on the angst, hopes and dreams of a kid trying to make something better of his life. Candy's Room on this album is also a sleeper favorite of mine - guilty pleasure?

Posted 12 years ago by Imkirok [ Reply ]

Darkness & Asbury Park my favs

Posted 12 years ago by stsman [ Reply ]

Darkness on The Edge of Town.
Many fans consider this to be Springsteen's best, his coming of age album.
If you agree or are moved by one of the songs on the album, we invite you

to contribute a few words or paragraphs to a limited edition commemorative
volume on the 1978 Darkness on The Edge of Town album and tour.

Look for it late summer 2009. Folio99@yahoo.com

Posted 15 years ago by FotoBruce [ Reply ]

On my top 5 list. Of all songs.

Posted 21 years ago by nielsen [ Reply ]