Springsteen Lyrics Of The Week: "I Wanna Be With You"

"I don't understand it,
you're not pretty at all.
But I'll come when you whisper,
I'll run when you call. " - "I Wanna Be With You", Tracks

Bruce has never been the shallow type.  He rarely mentions a girl's physical appearance and instead relies on describing the beauty of her soul and the connection he has with her.  You can tell by the way Bruce sings about her, that in his eyes it's the most beautiful girl in the world, it'd almost be insulting to talk about her physical attributes in such a way.  Occasionally he does, but it's not often.  But in this song, one that sings of devotion (bordering on obsession), he makes a specific point of saying that she isn't a good looking girl.  Ouch.  I mean even in "Thunder Road" she wasn't a beauty, but hey she's alright.

What's great about these lyrics is it's not if the singer was saying "hey ugly, you're not gonna do any better than me, so you might as well take it."  The singer is perplexed by this undying love too, but doesn't question it.  I've always loved this song, and can't believe it didn't get released until Tracks, and even since then is rarely played live.  It's a shame, but despite the catchy chorus and infectious guitar riff lies some great lyrics.  If Bruce stripped this down, and played it at just a piano at a slower tempo it'd be a beautiful ballad.

Springsteen Lyrics of the Week - I Wanna Be With You

Well I lost my job at the Texaco station
Instead of pumpin' gas I dreamed of you
I got thrown out of my house
I got such a bad reputation
'cause all I wanna do is be seen with you
- Tracks (Disc 2)

A leftover from The River, “I Wanna Be with you is one of Bruce's more aggressive love songs. On the surface, his love is passionate, driven home by the repeated proclamations of “I Wanna Be With You” in the chorus. But closer inspection reveals lyrics that indicate obsession rather than ardor. While this single-minded devotion to another person is romantic, Bruce uses lyrics like the ones above to suggest there can also be something unhealthy and self-destructive about loving someone too much.