There Was Nothing You Could Do Quotes

“Bruce once asked in one of his greatest and most heartbreaking songs, “Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true? Or is it something worse?” Now I could see that “something worse” was not having a dream at all, no matter whether it was true or not. Outside the arena, the dream disappeared. All you had were the broken pieces of America.”
― Steven Hyden, There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland

“Spend any time on Facebook or Twitter (now renamed X), and the idea of “one America” seems not only like fantasy but also like an unpopular fantasy. We want to be alienated from one another. This mutual animus is the one thing we all agree on.”
― Steven Hyden, There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland

“The part of “Bobby Jean” that always gets me—the part that always gets everybody—is the last verse, in which Bruce imagines Bobby Jean hearing this exact song in some motel room. It’s the most meta moment in Bruce Springsteen history, and”
― Steven Hyden, There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland

“For generations of Springsteen fans who have at best problematic relationships with their fathers—I am one of those people—the “And He Said, ‘That’s Good’” speech represents both a fantasy and a surrogate pep talk. Bruce knows what bothers you about the things your real dad won’t say, so here’s a story about his emotionally constipated dad saying the right thing for once.”
― Steven Hyden, There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland

“If Elvis: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden is Presley’s Born in the U.S.A., then Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite is his Tunnel of Love.”
― Steven Hyden, There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland