10 Underrated Bruce Springsteen Songs You Should Listen To

This song was written in 1972, back when Clive Davis of Columbia Records told Bruce that if he wasn't careful, he was going to use up the entire English language, and Bob Dylan was already doing that. (Looks like there were already "too many bad boys trying to work the same line")

On this song, Dylan's influence is indeed transparent, as is Bruce's thirst for imagery and metaphors. It's a song where we meet hermits, Bowery Boys and other "aimless questless renegade brats", who travel "celestial alleyways" and have "weekends out in space". A song that tells us that "the night is long and lanky and (...) speaks in a mother tongue" to "lullaby the refugees". Yet, Bruce was already showing signs that, like the best lyricists out there, he could be poignant while keeping it simple:

"Well sons they search for fathers, but the fathers are all gone

The lost souls search for saviors, but saviors don't last long"

"Song for Orphans" is the perfect blend between lyrics from Bruce's old poetry sketchbooks and the current E Street Band orchestral pop sound. On an album that sounds a lot like a swan song, it is a touching salute to the dreams and aspirations of a Jersey-born cygnet who fancied himself a rockstar.