Day 8 – A song that you know all the words to

(Here's a link, because YouTube is failing me)

Song: "State Trooper" - Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska (1982)

Ok, this is a stupid prompt. There are a million songs I know all the words to, mostly because I've learned to play them live. C'mon now, meme. You've got to try harder than that. Anyway...

I'm sticking with "State Trooper" mostly because it's one of my favorite songs to perform. For people expecting Springsteen covers to be full of patriotism and power and energy, "State Trooper" is quite the curveball. When performed in the style of the original studio recording, it's a spectral, atmospheric song, filled with disturbing imagery and more than a little paranoia. That insistent guitar rhythm is mesmerizing, but the words carry so much weight. The Boss is really at his best when he sets aside "born...in the U.S.A.!" for barbs like "the radio's jammed up with talk show stations, just talk, talk, talk, talk 'till you lose your patience." Not bad for a song that only takes eight seconds before name-checking the New Jersey turnpike.

(30 Days List)