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Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen might be the quintessential American rock musician but his songs have resonated with fans from all walks of life and from all over the world. This unique collection features reflections from a diverse array of writers who explain what Springsteen means to them and describe how they have been moved, shaped, and challenged by his music.
Contributors to Long Walk Home include novelists like Richard Russo, rock critics like Greil Marcus and Gillian Gaar, and other noted Springsteen scholars and fans such as A. O. Scott, Peter Ames Carlin, and Paul Muldoon. They reveal how Springsteen’s albums served as the soundtrack to their lives while also exploring the meaning of his music and the lessons it offers its listeners. The stories in this collection range from the tale of how “Growin’ Up” helped a lonely Indian girl adjust to life in the American South to the saga of a group of young Australians who turned to Born to Run to cope with their country’s 1975 constitutional crisis. These essays examine the big questions at the heart of Springsteen’s music, demonstrating the ways his songs have resonated for millions of listeners for nearly five decades.
Commemorating the Boss’s seventieth birthday, Long Walk Home explores Springsteen’s legacy and provides a stirring set of testimonials that illustrate why his music matters.
Contributors to Long Walk Home include novelists like Richard Russo, rock critics like Greil Marcus and Gillian Gaar, and other noted Springsteen scholars and fans such as A. O. Scott, Peter Ames Carlin, and Paul Muldoon. They reveal how Springsteen’s albums served as the soundtrack to their lives while also exploring the meaning of his music and the lessons it offers its listeners. The stories in this collection range from the tale of how “Growin’ Up” helped a lonely Indian girl adjust to life in the American South to the saga of a group of young Australians who turned to Born to Run to cope with their country’s 1975 constitutional crisis. These essays examine the big questions at the heart of Springsteen’s music, demonstrating the ways his songs have resonated for millions of listeners for nearly five decades.
Commemorating the Boss’s seventieth birthday, Long Walk Home explores Springsteen’s legacy and provides a stirring set of testimonials that illustrate why his music matters.
270 pages, Hardcover
Published September 23, 2019
18 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan D. Cohen
14 books10 followersProfessor of Philosophy at University of California, San Diego
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 17, 2019
Assigned-
GULP- The Boss is almost seventy! Nice celebratory commemorative collection of essays.
GULP- The Boss is almost seventy! Nice celebratory commemorative collection of essays.
Read
December 23, 2019I found most of these essays to be more of that intricate “dancing about architecture”, showing and showing off more the command of adjectives held by the writer than any particular brilliance held by Springsteen. Every Springsteen fan has an intimate experience with him, or his music. Does Eric Alterman’s attendance at 250+ Springsteen show make him an astute judge of the musician’s work or a evangelist?
I would like to go through the book (but I won’t) and tally the number of times each song and album are mentioned. Roughly, the song, “The River” get mentioned most frequently to aver Springsteen’s literary chops. (I agree, by the way). The album, “Wrecking Ball” swings through several essays to highlight Springsteen as artist, Springsteen on Sex, Race, and Gender, and even as example of how his themes bridge cultural divides to resonate with other countries. I was disappointed that no one, looking at the artist’s career, bothered to note that while he began with metaphors of cars and open highways, he now prefers trains. The latter may be a little out of date, a little nostalgic. I would love it if trains were more routine in American life, but most of us still drive cars. We can still aspire to train travel.
That’s an aside. I had a lot of them reading this book, because I have my own personal experience with the music of Springsteen. He did save my life. In fact, I was tempted to write my own essay of my experience of the artistry of Bruce Springsteen and post it here as part of this review, but I realized my essay would only prove Springsteen was a great artist to me, not necessarily to world culture at large.
Despite all the hubris in much of the writing, there are several essays worth reading: “Our Butch Mother” by Natalie Adler about Bruce’s appeal to queer women, Deepa Iyer’s reflections on the music’s solace for a Indian-American, Lauren Onkey’s reflections on Springsteen’s place in modern popular music, Elijah Wald’s “American Skin: Springsteen and Blackness” and Wayne Swan’s reminiscences about the strength Springsteen’s music lent to his political aspirations in Australia. Irwin Streight’s essay about Bruce Springsteen and Flannery O’Connor is valuable to fans of either, or both.
There are many reminiscences in this volume. Again, nostalgia does not equal greatness. Though I will add one personal experience. As a youth, I loved The Kinks. Ray Davies had biting, satirical lyrics that helped me fathom and survive the hypocrisy I encountered in the routines of growing up. I stopped listening to the Kinks when they began rehashing memories like in “Come Dancing”. Suddenly they were old, and wistful. And morbidly nostalgic. Springsteen approaches that nostalgia in “My Hometown”, (also mentioned frequently in this book) and “Glory Days”, both from BITUSA, Bruce’s monster international breakthrough multi-platinum album, and, incidentally, the first of his albums I didn’t rush out to buy. When I heard the aforementioned songs, I feared nostalgia. Only listening again to them now, do I see that Springsteen spins the nostalgia with political commentary or humor that packs the song with a message or, at least, makes it less deadly.
I did seek out many songs I wasn’t familiar with—Springsteen’s, Patti Scialfa’s, and “Welsh Springsteen” Martyn Joseph’s—while reading Long Walk Home, but, now that I think of it, the song that this collection of essays is titled after is one I’ve never heard. Maybe I’ll look for Long Walk Home on youtube right now.
AND...I watched the Long Walk Home video: more trains. carnival rides. “Ah, life was good...then,” it seems to be saying. I find it boring, sentimental. My own community is dealing with the dying downtown disease. Downtowns in the past were commercial centers where locals and visitors shopped and gathered. Now, folks shop on-line. What do we create in our downtowns to build the 21st century community centers? Art galleries? Museums? Dance halls? Fitness centers? It’s clear social media platforms are too brute, too corruptible, a substitute. Society is constantly changing. The role of the artist is not to simply mourn what’s been lost, but to inspire us to maintain all that’s dear within the new paradigms we find ourselves in. I’m not saying Springsteen doesn’t do that. He, and his art, are evolving, like the rest of us.
I would like to go through the book (but I won’t) and tally the number of times each song and album are mentioned. Roughly, the song, “The River” get mentioned most frequently to aver Springsteen’s literary chops. (I agree, by the way). The album, “Wrecking Ball” swings through several essays to highlight Springsteen as artist, Springsteen on Sex, Race, and Gender, and even as example of how his themes bridge cultural divides to resonate with other countries. I was disappointed that no one, looking at the artist’s career, bothered to note that while he began with metaphors of cars and open highways, he now prefers trains. The latter may be a little out of date, a little nostalgic. I would love it if trains were more routine in American life, but most of us still drive cars. We can still aspire to train travel.
That’s an aside. I had a lot of them reading this book, because I have my own personal experience with the music of Springsteen. He did save my life. In fact, I was tempted to write my own essay of my experience of the artistry of Bruce Springsteen and post it here as part of this review, but I realized my essay would only prove Springsteen was a great artist to me, not necessarily to world culture at large.
Despite all the hubris in much of the writing, there are several essays worth reading: “Our Butch Mother” by Natalie Adler about Bruce’s appeal to queer women, Deepa Iyer’s reflections on the music’s solace for a Indian-American, Lauren Onkey’s reflections on Springsteen’s place in modern popular music, Elijah Wald’s “American Skin: Springsteen and Blackness” and Wayne Swan’s reminiscences about the strength Springsteen’s music lent to his political aspirations in Australia. Irwin Streight’s essay about Bruce Springsteen and Flannery O’Connor is valuable to fans of either, or both.
There are many reminiscences in this volume. Again, nostalgia does not equal greatness. Though I will add one personal experience. As a youth, I loved The Kinks. Ray Davies had biting, satirical lyrics that helped me fathom and survive the hypocrisy I encountered in the routines of growing up. I stopped listening to the Kinks when they began rehashing memories like in “Come Dancing”. Suddenly they were old, and wistful. And morbidly nostalgic. Springsteen approaches that nostalgia in “My Hometown”, (also mentioned frequently in this book) and “Glory Days”, both from BITUSA, Bruce’s monster international breakthrough multi-platinum album, and, incidentally, the first of his albums I didn’t rush out to buy. When I heard the aforementioned songs, I feared nostalgia. Only listening again to them now, do I see that Springsteen spins the nostalgia with political commentary or humor that packs the song with a message or, at least, makes it less deadly.
I did seek out many songs I wasn’t familiar with—Springsteen’s, Patti Scialfa’s, and “Welsh Springsteen” Martyn Joseph’s—while reading Long Walk Home, but, now that I think of it, the song that this collection of essays is titled after is one I’ve never heard. Maybe I’ll look for Long Walk Home on youtube right now.
AND...I watched the Long Walk Home video: more trains. carnival rides. “Ah, life was good...then,” it seems to be saying. I find it boring, sentimental. My own community is dealing with the dying downtown disease. Downtowns in the past were commercial centers where locals and visitors shopped and gathered. Now, folks shop on-line. What do we create in our downtowns to build the 21st century community centers? Art galleries? Museums? Dance halls? Fitness centers? It’s clear social media platforms are too brute, too corruptible, a substitute. Society is constantly changing. The role of the artist is not to simply mourn what’s been lost, but to inspire us to maintain all that’s dear within the new paradigms we find ourselves in. I’m not saying Springsteen doesn’t do that. He, and his art, are evolving, like the rest of us.
July 19, 2020
Full disclosure: I am a serious fan of Bruce Springsteen. For the most part, I found this to be an interesting collection of essays about Bruce’s work and its meaning to the contributors. I am not an especially critical observer of books, movies, or music. I just know what I like. So, I’m always fascinated by other people’s analyses of art that I enjoy.
The pieces I most enjoyed were “Our Butch Mother, Bruce Springsteen” (Adler), “Born to Write: Bruce Springsteen, Flannery O’Connor, and the Songstory” (Streight), and “Summer’s Fall: Springsteen in Senescence” (Cullen). These were particularly interesting and thought provoking.
Bonus Recommendation: Whether you like Springsteen or not, if you have access to SiriusXM radio, I strongly recommend, no I implore you, that you listen to his episodes of “From My Home to Yours.” These shows have helped heal my soul during these trying times and are yet another manifestation of his artistic genius.
The pieces I most enjoyed were “Our Butch Mother, Bruce Springsteen” (Adler), “Born to Write: Bruce Springsteen, Flannery O’Connor, and the Songstory” (Streight), and “Summer’s Fall: Springsteen in Senescence” (Cullen). These were particularly interesting and thought provoking.
Bonus Recommendation: Whether you like Springsteen or not, if you have access to SiriusXM radio, I strongly recommend, no I implore you, that you listen to his episodes of “From My Home to Yours.” These shows have helped heal my soul during these trying times and are yet another manifestation of his artistic genius.
February 13, 2023
A really beautiful collection of stories and tributes to someone who has touched so many through his music. I was initially worried this would be merely a surface-level read, but there was really some profound stuff in here covering not just the emotional depth and importance to Bruce’s music, but its social impact through the decades as well. I appreciated the diversity here too; there were plenty of different perspectives of his music and lyrics here from all around the world, both male and female. The ones that alluded to how Bruce masked and hid from his deep-seated depression for years through his music before finally confronting it only later in life were particularly moving, as it’s this raw emotional honesty that so many have found comfort with down the years. It was just full of heart, humanity, and humour - loved it!
December 15, 2019
Like any anthology, some pieces are better than others. I particularly liked the essay by A. O. Scott.
December 14, 2024
A great collection of essays on Bruce encompassing many different topics. I really enjoyed this! From a mix of writers I already know and adore to some I loved to learn about.
Favourites: “Brilliant Disguise: The Completely True Fictional Adventures of Bruce Springsteen”, “Born to Write: Bruce Springsteen, Flannery O’Connor, and the Songstory”, “Our Butch Mother, Bruce Springsteen” (my favourite), “Springsteen’s Women: Tougher Than the Rest”.
Favourites: “Brilliant Disguise: The Completely True Fictional Adventures of Bruce Springsteen”, “Born to Write: Bruce Springsteen, Flannery O’Connor, and the Songstory”, “Our Butch Mother, Bruce Springsteen” (my favourite), “Springsteen’s Women: Tougher Than the Rest”.
December 27, 2019
A collection of essays written by a wide range of authors explaining Springsteen’s influence on their lives. Some essays were less compelling to me (the common fanboi white dude perspective), but there are some really terrific ones as well.
I particularly enjoyed essays by Deepa Iyer (who grew up feeling an outsider in Louisville, KY); Colleen J Sheehy (Springsteen “builds a public that is compassionate and principled”); Natalie Adler (who recognizes Bruce as “the butch mother of my hungry heart”); Gina Barreca’s essay about Springsteen’s tough-as-nails, “undainty, undaunted, and maybe unquenchable” women in his songs; Lauren Onkey's great piece on Springsteen's legacy around race.
When I tell people how much I love Springsteen I often get a blank or "oh, okay" look which suggests to me they don't know the Bruce I know; the one whose lyrics I've pored over since childhood; the benevolent ever- but never-present "uncle" who soothed my mom into being less angry; who felt like he was a part of my family, but perhaps understood me better than any one of them did. Many folks associate him with the white dude fandom; I wish they could see past that. To me he is so much more, and I wish that people would stop and listen -- really listen -- to the messages in his songs. (I'm listening to Nebraska as I write this! 😂)
I particularly enjoyed essays by Deepa Iyer (who grew up feeling an outsider in Louisville, KY); Colleen J Sheehy (Springsteen “builds a public that is compassionate and principled”); Natalie Adler (who recognizes Bruce as “the butch mother of my hungry heart”); Gina Barreca’s essay about Springsteen’s tough-as-nails, “undainty, undaunted, and maybe unquenchable” women in his songs; Lauren Onkey's great piece on Springsteen's legacy around race.
When I tell people how much I love Springsteen I often get a blank or "oh, okay" look which suggests to me they don't know the Bruce I know; the one whose lyrics I've pored over since childhood; the benevolent ever- but never-present "uncle" who soothed my mom into being less angry; who felt like he was a part of my family, but perhaps understood me better than any one of them did. Many folks associate him with the white dude fandom; I wish they could see past that. To me he is so much more, and I wish that people would stop and listen -- really listen -- to the messages in his songs. (I'm listening to Nebraska as I write this! 😂)
October 25, 2020
Not a bad collection, but after a while it starts to feel like it's just a bunch of people saying the same basic things over and over again to varying degrees of effectiveness (this is in spite of it's well-constructed section breaks with themes and titles that I was excited about). Even as a huge Springsteen fan, there were points when it started to feel like a chore to get through it. I will say, I greatly appreciated how much emphasis is given to The Boss' post-Born in the USA output, which is usually overlooked, but I was inspired to revisit all of those albums while reading this and grew an even deeper appreciation for most of them.
If you love Bruce, this is definitely worth it for the bits of really interesting and original insight.
If you love Bruce, this is definitely worth it for the bits of really interesting and original insight.
October 19, 2019
Uneven anthology with more filler than high points. There are definitely high points: the delightful opening essay by Eric Alterman; A.O. Scott's reflections on the complex call and response between Bruce and fans who don't share his political beliefs; Natalie Adler's fun and sharp thoughts on Bruce as an inspiration for butch lesbians; Lauren Onkey's meditation on Springsteen's connection with girl groups and soul music. But I found myself doing a lot of skimming of passages that don't really add anything to the reams of commentary on one of my favorite musicians.
No particular reason to read it if you're not already a fan.
No particular reason to read it if you're not already a fan.
June 2, 2020
Als liefhebber van Bruce heb ik natuurlijk mijn eigen specifieke redenen om van de man en zijn muziek te houden. Ik durf zelfs te beweren dat ik me een leven zonder zijn muziek niet goed kan voorstellen. Dat zegt iets over de kracht die ik zijn liedjes haal. Ik heb zo mijn eigen persoonlijke favorieten. Liedjes, passages die me tot het bot toe raken en waar ik naar terugkeer in tijden van verdriet en eenzaamheid. Niet zelden helpt de muziek me weer overeind. Zo zal iedereen liefhebber zijn eigen persoonlijke, emotionele verhaal hebben.
Dit boek laat schrijvers, politici, critici en anderen aan het woord over het belang van zijn muziek. Het mooie aan deze bundeling van zesentwintig essays is dat ze veel meer laten zien dat de individuele betekenis van de muziek van Bruce Springsteen. Ze laten op overtuigende wijze zien hoe zijn muziek en gedachtegoed onderdeel is geworden van de Amerikaanse cultuur. Hoe het indirect invloed uitoefent op de politiek. Hoe hij een stem geeft aan de LGBT-beweging. De manier waarop een liedje als American Skin inspeelt op het nu weer actuele thema van politiegeweld en het onderliggende racisme debat. Een ander interessant gedeelte is de vergelijking met auteurs als John Steinbeck en vooral Flannery O’Connor. De korte verhalen die Springsteen in zijn minder bekende solo albums ten gehore brengt worden onder de loep genomen en vergeleken met het werk van de gevierde schrijfster.
Eén van de essays is geschreven in 1979 en zit vol euforie en superlatieven na het zien van een concert. In die periode was Bruce met zijn E Street Band misschien wel op zijn best. De schrijver vraagt zich af wat er nog allemaal in het verschiet ligt. Op dat moment zijn er nog maar vier platen verschenen.
Uit nagenoeg alle essays komt een absolute waarheid naar boven: Springsteen wordt bewonderd om zijn beschrijvingen van de werkelijkheid. Alles wat hij zingt is waar en bovendien legt hij hierin zijn ziel en zaligheid vol overgave bloot.
Als liefhebber is deze bundel een absolute must-read. Als buitenstaander een prachtig inkijkje in hoe een groot artiest van doorslaggevende betekenis kan zijn is de gemeenschap. Op individueel, lokaal, landelijk en wereldniveau.
Dit boek laat schrijvers, politici, critici en anderen aan het woord over het belang van zijn muziek. Het mooie aan deze bundeling van zesentwintig essays is dat ze veel meer laten zien dat de individuele betekenis van de muziek van Bruce Springsteen. Ze laten op overtuigende wijze zien hoe zijn muziek en gedachtegoed onderdeel is geworden van de Amerikaanse cultuur. Hoe het indirect invloed uitoefent op de politiek. Hoe hij een stem geeft aan de LGBT-beweging. De manier waarop een liedje als American Skin inspeelt op het nu weer actuele thema van politiegeweld en het onderliggende racisme debat. Een ander interessant gedeelte is de vergelijking met auteurs als John Steinbeck en vooral Flannery O’Connor. De korte verhalen die Springsteen in zijn minder bekende solo albums ten gehore brengt worden onder de loep genomen en vergeleken met het werk van de gevierde schrijfster.
Eén van de essays is geschreven in 1979 en zit vol euforie en superlatieven na het zien van een concert. In die periode was Bruce met zijn E Street Band misschien wel op zijn best. De schrijver vraagt zich af wat er nog allemaal in het verschiet ligt. Op dat moment zijn er nog maar vier platen verschenen.
Uit nagenoeg alle essays komt een absolute waarheid naar boven: Springsteen wordt bewonderd om zijn beschrijvingen van de werkelijkheid. Alles wat hij zingt is waar en bovendien legt hij hierin zijn ziel en zaligheid vol overgave bloot.
Als liefhebber is deze bundel een absolute must-read. Als buitenstaander een prachtig inkijkje in hoe een groot artiest van doorslaggevende betekenis kan zijn is de gemeenschap. Op individueel, lokaal, landelijk en wereldniveau.
January 9, 2020
Like most anthologies this one was a little uneven, and I enjoyed some essays a lot more than others. A particular favorite of mine was the one about the author going to a Springsteen show on the night Lennon was shot, combining as it does my two favorite music acts. But in the end it’s stories by people who love the Boss, and as someone who also loves the Boss I found something to enjoy in all of them.
January 22, 2024
Cohen has put together by a series essays telling of the experience of each authors on what Bruce Springsteen and his music has meant to them. It tells many different perspectives from the authors (all fans and some biographers of Bruce btw) have on Bruce music. It does mean that some resonated more with me than others. Certainly has some interesting nuggets about Bruce's writing, recording and performing.
April 24, 2020
The book is a collection of essays about Springsteen from a diverse range of contributors. The essays are presented under a series of themes which work well and help to allow the book to be read front to back rather than dipped into.
All in all, this effectively acts as a more scholarly companion to the film Springsteen & I.
All in all, this effectively acts as a more scholarly companion to the film Springsteen & I.
June 4, 2021
I figured this would be one of those books like “Tramps Like Us.” Or that movie “Springsteen and I.” A fan book about Springsteen and what he means. It’s not a bio and I can’t say I learned much, I did look up some videos later based on what I read. Because this is different authors talking about similar subjects, it can be repetitive.
Overall good read from fans to fans.
Overall good read from fans to fans.
September 14, 2025
This is a compendium of essays regarding “The Boss,” and his music through multiple themes such as gender, sexuality, community, politics and family, among others. All the essays are very well written and worth reading. Rack one gave me something to ponder. I will always say that even though sometimes Springsteen’s political views may be naive, his work is always hopeful and stirring.
July 8, 2020
Good, not great. Some nice pieces within. Overall, too many referenced the same few lines from the same handful of songs. Given that the audience is likely his most loyal fans, it’s disappointing that there was not more of a push for creativity across the essays.
August 12, 2019
This book is highly recommended to any fan of the Boss. Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
October 8, 2019
Favorites:
The Magic Circle - Wesley Stace
Born to Write - Irwin Streight
American Skin - Elijah Wald
Summer's Fall - Jim Cullen
Work and Play - Daniel Wolff
The Magic Circle - Wesley Stace
Born to Write - Irwin Streight
American Skin - Elijah Wald
Summer's Fall - Jim Cullen
Work and Play - Daniel Wolff
January 27, 2020
Presented individually, these are generally good essays, but too many repeated examples and references are stacked side by side when presented as a collection.
March 28, 2020
Bruce’s influence and connections run deep as expressed by the vignettes in this book.
August 3, 2020
Unknown
I am not a good reviewer just pick it up and read it. It's all essays that is all p
I am not a good reviewer just pick it up and read it. It's all essays that is all p
May 9, 2024
Collection of essays about Springsteen and how his music has moved, shaped and challenged the authors. A true mixed bag, some excellent essays and others not so much.
July 27, 2021
If you are Bruce Springsteen fan, this collection of essays by fans and music critics is for you. It was enjoyable for me because I am a decades-long fan who has been to many of his shows in the US and Europe. I am not sure that someone who is not a fan would have any interest in it though. Nice collection. I first read some of the essays last fall while I was distracted by the pandemic. I am glad I revisited it this summer.
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