Springsteen Lyrics of the week- "Bishop Danced"

“Bishop danced with a thumbscrew woman
Did a double-quick back flip and slid across the floor
The Catholic traffic flowed freely 'cross the river
And fiddlestick fiddled quick out the front door
Oh baby dumpling, mama's in the back tree
If the bow breaks mama might fall
Little sad and only, baby don't be lonely
Mama knows 'rithmatic, knows how to take a fall”
- “Bishop Danced“, Tracks

As I once told Steve, my fellow blogger on here, “This song has the most nonsensical lyrics. Even by Bruce Standards!” Yes, while it’s true that Bruce is an incredible songwriter, whose lyrics have endeared to him to millions, they aren’t always the most coherent. I mean really, does anyone know what a “10th Avenue Freeze Out” is?

Don’t get me wrong, at times Bruce might be the best songwriter in the game. I am writing this entry after having just seen Bruce play a stellar concert at the Izod Center in my home state of New Jersey. In particular, an incredible version of “American Skin (41 Shots)” showed off his amazing song writing skills. But “Bishop Danced” is at the other end of the songwriting spectrum. The lyrics are almost so bad they’re good. It’s not just that verse, it’s the whole bloody song! I’ve read them a dozen times and looked for some sort of symbolism or deeper meaning, like Bob Dylan has done so well in his song writing, and Bruce has done in other songs. But I got nothing, this song is pure gibberish. But hey, it’s kinda catchy so kudos to Bruce for that one.