〈Backstreets〉是音樂創作人Bruce Springsteen的作品,出自於奠定其搖滾樂傳奇地位的開拓性專輯:《Born To Run》。整首歌在前奏、編曲、歌詞各方面都充份展現這張專輯特色。
很多搖滾巨星都是首張專輯便開始持續地發光發熱,他們的第三張專輯通常是一趟輕鬆之舉。可是對於BruceSpringsteen而言,第三張專輯卻是能不能再繼續走下去的十字路口。在小酒吧駐唱熬了八年,終於熬到了唱片公司發行兩張專輯,那兩張專輯成功展現BruceSpringsteen特有的搖滾功力,但既然商業化才是出口,必須有銷售成績,然而前兩張專輯卻遠遠沒有跨過唱片公司想要的門檻。
BruceSpringsteen是有自信的,他知道有一股力量深藏在自己的歌裡,在自己的E Street樂隊裡,如同他三十年後所回憶的,他不知道那是什麼,但他很清楚必須再走下去,只是偶爾走在夜深無人的小巷裡,難免悵然若失,恐懼自己會不會被丟回到那個小酒吧?
《Born to Run》這張專輯歷經14個月時間錄製完成,在唱片公司也許是最後的預算挹注下,BruceSpringsteen終於挖掘出屬於自己的搖滾力量,倏然間,他成為了毋庸置疑的搖滾巨星。
BruceSpringsteen希望在這張專輯呈現出「wall of sound」的效果,聽看看「Backstreets」這首歌的前一分鐘,應該很容易感受到那一股只屬於BruceSpringsteen的搖滾力量。
《Backstreets》這首歌全長6分32秒,而氣勢磅礴的鍵盤前奏長達一分鐘,它以最純粹的音樂旋律賦予整首歌一個遼闊的背景,這是對於搖滾樂形式的一次根本性破壞。BruceSpringsteen自述原意是想要打造一張吉他風格的專輯,結果整張專輯所有歌曲都是在鋼琴上寫成,即使他知道自己鋼琴底子遠不足吉他,但他仍然堅持在鋼琴上創作。
有些樂評家認為利用吉他和鋼琴創作是有本質上的區別,BruceSpringsteen似乎在《Born to Run》漫長的錄音過程領略到了那一種微妙難以言喻的感覺,唯有古典鋼琴能夠堅持住音樂的旋律性與架構性,形象具體地將他腦海中始終模糊的那一幅搖滾畫面勾勒出來。他希望每首歌前奏都是敍事史詩的開場白,會讓人期待接下來即將唱出來的歌曲,《Backstreets》毋庸置疑地展現出這種力量。
Bruce Springsteen – Backstreets Lyrics (Album: Born to Run)
One soft infested summer me and Terry became friends
Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in
Catching rides to the outskirts tying faith between our teeth
Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house getting wasted in the heat
And hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
With a love so hard and filled with defeat
Running for our lives at night on them backstreets
Slow dancing in the dark on the beach at Stockton’s Wing
Where desperate lovers park we sat with the last of the Duke Street Kings
Huddled in our cars waiting for the bells that ring
In the deep heart of the night to set us loose from everything
to go running on the backstreets, running on the backstreets
We swore we’d live forever on the backstreets we take it together
Endless juke joints and Valentino drag where dancers scraped the tears
Up off the street dressed down in rags running into the darkness
Some hurt bad some really dying at night sometimes it seemed
You could hear the whole damn city crying blame it on the lies that killed us
Blame it on the truth that ran us down you can blame it all on me Terry
It don’t matter to me now when the breakdown hit at midnight
There was nothing left to say but I hated him and I hated you when you went away
Laying here in the dark you’re like an angel on my chest
Just another tramp of hearts crying tears of faithlessness
Remember all the movies, Terry, we’d go see
Trying to learn how to walk like heroes we thought we had to be
And after all this time to find we’re just like all the rest
Stranded in the park and forced to confess
To hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
We swore forever friends on the backstreets until the end
Hiding on the backstreets, hiding on the backstreets
It’s all right. We’ll go hiding on the backstreets tonight