Pop Song 163 'The River' Bruce Springsteen 1979 Blue collar working man vs 'Elite'

Pop Song 163 'The River' Bruce Springsteen 1979 Blue collar working man vs 'Elite'

For the blue collar man.

It's so sad that the Boss doesn't remember his roots and support the truckers.

The song's depiction of how economic difficulties are interlaced with local culture also presaged the 1980s popularity of heartland rock:

I come from down in the valley,
Where mister when you're young –
They bring you up to do, like your daddy done

I got a job working construction, for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work, on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important –
Well mister, they vanished right into the air

Writer Robert Hilburn described the song as "a classic outline of someone who has to re-adjust his dreams quickly [, facing] life as it is, not a world of his imagination."[13]

Throughout the song the river is viewed as a symbol for the dreams of the future. The narrator keeps his hopes alive even as they realistically begin to fail.

That sends me down to the river,
Though I know, the river is dry.
It sends me down to the river, tonight