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Blinded by the Light

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"Blinded by the Light"
Song
B-side"The Angel"
"Blinded by the Light"
Song
B-side"Starbird No. 2"

"Blinded by the Light" is a song written and originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen which first appeared on his 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park N.J.. A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in February 1977 and was also a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada.

History

The song came about when Columbia president Clive Davis, upon listening to an early version of Greetings from Asbury Park N.J., felt the album lacked a potential single. Springsteen wrote this and "Spirit in the Night" in response.

According to Springsteen, the song came about from going through a rhyming dictionary in search of appropriate words. The first line of the song, "Madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summers with a teenage diplomat" is autobiographical—"Madman drummers" is a reference to drummer Vini Lopez, known as "Mad Man" (later changed to "Mad Dog"); "Indians in the summer" refers to the name of Springsteen's old Little League team; "teenage diplomat" refers to himself. The remainder of the song tells of many unrelated events, with the refrain of "Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night".

"Blinded by the Light" was the first song on, and first single from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Springsteen's version was commercially unsuccessful and did not appear on the music charts.

Lyrics

Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of the song features several changed lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, where Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" is replaced with "revved up like a deuce."[1][2][3] This is commonly misheard as "wrapped up like a douche" (the V sound in "revved" is almost unpronounced, and the S sound in "deuce" comes across as "SH" due to a significant lisp).[4][5] Springsteen himself has joked about the controversy, claiming that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a feminine hygiene product that it became popular.[6]

Cover versions and reissues

For his 1974 solo album "Sideshow", Allan Clarke of The Hollies recorded a version of the song. At the same time he also recorded a number of other Springsteen songs with the Hollies, some of which became hits for the group.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of the song on their 1976 album The Roaring Silence. Their version includes the "Chopsticks" melody played on piano near the end of the bridge of the song. The track reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM charts. Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of "Blinded by the Light" is Springsteen's only Number 1 single as a songwriter on the Hot 100.

In 2002, Danish act Funkstar Deluxe released its disco version of this song. A "jazzified" version can be found on Springsteen's 2007 video and audio release Live in Dublin, recorded with The Sessions Band.

The song is featured in the films Blow and Running with Scissors.

Personnel

Original version

with

Manfred Mann's Earth Band cover

with

Chart performance

References

  1. ^ Buzzelli, Mike (April 26, 2010). "Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved August 8, 2010. Template:Wayback
  2. ^ "VH1 Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen". Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  3. ^ The word deuce, in both the Springsteen and Earth Band versions, refers to a 1932 model Ford.
  4. ^ "Manfred Mann's Earth Band : Blinded by the Light : Real Lyric: Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night : Misheard: Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a douche". Kissthisguy.com\accessdate=2016-05-08.
  5. ^ "Q: "Blinded By the Light, Revved Up Like a…" What?". Blogcritics.org. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  6. ^ "Bruce Springsteen". VH1 Storytellers. Episode 62. April 23, 2005. VH1.
  7. ^ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 346/6. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  10. ^ [1][dead link]
  11. ^ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  12. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  13. ^ [2][dead link]
  14. ^ [3][dead link]
Preceded by Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
February 19, 1977 (one week) 		Succeeded by
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