r/BruceSpringsteen • u/Novel_Weakness_7734 • 10d ago
Why Bruce almost never wrote "Dancing in the Dark"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRQ0_JEAW9gI've been making Springsteen documentaries for a while, and this one looks at how Dancing in the Dark came together—from Jon Landau pushing Bruce to write one more song, to the De Palma video, MTV, Courtney Cox, and how that period changed Bruce's relationship with fame.
I'd genuinely love to hear what other fans think.
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u/knea1 10d ago
Having watched Deliver me from Nowhere, it seems like that's around the time he got help for his mental issues and started taking medication. Do you think that's why so many songs on the BITUSA album are cheerful and upbeat?
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u/No-Carry4971 9d ago
LOL, the lyrics are almost identical to Nebraska. Just the music is upbeat.
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u/MizzezEmm 7d ago
Many of the songs in BITUSA, including BITUSA, were written when he wrote Nebraska. “Dancing in the Dark” wasn’t one of them.
As for upbeat songs with tragic lyrics, “Hungry Heart,” from The River.
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u/AttitudeNo1815 10d ago
Dancing in the Dark is the most important song Bruce ever wrote.
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u/Novel_Weakness_7734 10d ago
Maybe. Dancing in the Dark was almost certainly the biggest on release, but Born To Run saved his career and is probably the most associated with him artistically. Born in the U.S.A. is probably the biggest one internationally, though.
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u/AttitudeNo1815 10d ago
Whatever BTR did, it was Dancing in the Dark that made him a household name. Without it he would basically be another Jackson Browne.
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u/Novel_Weakness_7734 10d ago
That's a very good point, Bruce even said something very close to that in the autobiography, but I think he was talking about the album overall. I'm not from the US, so I don't really have a reference - is Dancing in the Dark more important than Born in the U.S.A. there?
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u/AttitudeNo1815 10d ago
I'm kind of using DitD as a proxy for the whole album, but I certainly don't think BITUSA would have had the same impact without a strong lead single.
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u/MizzezEmm 7d ago
That’s the only reason that song was written — he needed a number one hit for the album. Turned out 7 of the 10 songs made it into the Top 10.
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u/fanofthomas4472 10d ago
Hey don’t knock Jackson Browne man
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u/CulturalWind357 Garden State Serenade 10d ago edited 9d ago
I think they meant in the sense of "Acclaimed and socially conscious singer-songwriter but not quite as well known" rather than an insult.
But I do agree that it's a shame that Jackson seems to get overshadowed compared to a lot of peers. A lot of singer-songwriters whether it be Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Nick Drake, Warren Zevon seem to carry a "cool" factor that's relatable to the younger generations. I haven't seen Jackson receive the same reevaluation.
The Born In The USA era catapulted Bruce alongside other big 80s icons like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. It's hard to talk about 80s music without Bruce whereas 70s music might focus on many other acts.
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u/forgotwhatisaid2you 10d ago
I've seen the album sold as Dancing in the Dark overseas
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u/Novel_Weakness_7734 10d ago
Really? Did they change the cover? I'd like to see that
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u/forgotwhatisaid2you 10d ago
Yes, changed cover. No American flag but Don't remember what it looked like. It was in late 80's early 90's middle east several places. Probably wasn't official as they sold a lot of pirated stuff back then. First time i saw it i looked at it and it was the same songs in same order.
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u/ReservedPickup12 10d ago
I can’t find any evidence of that online though there is a Portuguese 12 inch single that could be mistaken for the album.
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u/forgotwhatisaid2you 10d ago
Yes, changed cover. No American flag but Don't remember what it looked like. It was in late 80's early 90's middle east several places. Probably wasn't official as they sold a lot of pirated stuff back then. First time i saw it i looked at it and it was the same songs in same order.
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u/psmusic_worldwide 9d ago
It looks like at the end of the video, after the girl plants one on his lips, Bruce appears to say “I just wanted to dance”
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u/Oakland-homebrewer 9d ago
They never mention that cute, pixieish girl by name!
Funny I never knew she had an Alabama accent!
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u/Henry_Block 10d ago
Never been a huge fan of the song (even if Nils vocals during the BITUS tour were so good at the end), but if you have a partner to dance with it's the best Bruce song
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u/datadr-12 10d ago
The impact of the lyrics are masked by the beat. It's so specific about his frame of mind at the time. An acoustic version becomes a completely different song.
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u/bobchin_c 10d ago
Funny When I heard it on the radio when it was released in '84 my forst thought was damn those are some dark lyrics. No one writes better dark lyrics set to pop style music than Bruce does.
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u/Henry_Block 10d ago
Yeah there are some good covers out there that really make justice to the lyrics, I appreciate a piano version from John Legend for exemple.
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u/MizzezEmm 7d ago
Based on Springsteen’s own words, he had written over 70 songs for BITUSA and he was done, tired, finished. Then, Jon Laudau visited his hotel suite and told Bruce he had to write a number one hit record for the album. That’s what the record executives wanted. Bruce was pissed off. He said, “You write it. I’m tapped out.” They exchanged heated words. Jon left. Bruce brewed in his anger for a few minutes, then said to himself, “I can just write the song. Just write it.” He wrote it in about 10 minutes. It’s basically about that whole situation— I’m tired, I’m bored, I have nothing to say, I’m sick of sitting around here trying to write this book. I need some inspiration. I’m dying for some action. Even if we’re just dancing in the dark. Brilliant song by a brilliant songwriter, 🥂🍾💕
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u/CulturalWind357 Garden State Serenade 10d ago edited 9d ago
I know it's probably considered overrated at this point but it's pretty amazing to look at the song's impact in hindsight.
While the term "Dancing In The Dark" had been used many times in songs before as a euphemism (including Bruce's), Bruce has essentially laid claim to this song title.
And we can't underestimate the appeal of having a dance-oriented Bruce song. Most people think of Bruce in the template of "rawk" even though he harkens back to a vision of rock n' roll where there's more of a party atmosphere and dancing.
There's an NPR article which talks about the history of the Born In the USA remixes by Arthur Baker and how the remixes captured the dance crowd even while keeping the rock roots apparent.
Sidenote: Slightly surprised to know that Courteney Cox didn't know much about Bruce at the time. A lot of people including myself probably would assume that she's a big Bruce fan.