As I mentioned in my recent post about the release of Bruce Springsteen’s first album (Greetings From Asbury Park), “Blinded by the Light” was the first song on the album. It was also Bruce’s very first single but it failed to have any impact on the charts. Let’s listen….
Fortunately for Bruce, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band chose to include Blinded By The Light on their 1976 album, The Roaring Silence. Their version was much more rock oriented than Bruce’s and ended up scoring them a #1 hit on the US charts in early 1977. You may find this hard to believe Manfred Mann’s recording of Blinding By The Light is the only Bruce Springsteen song to ever reach #1 on the singles chart. Let’s listen….
As noted in the extract from Wikipedia provided below, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band chose to change a few of the lyrics to the song when they recorded. Bruce has jokingly referred to these often misheard revised lyrics as the source of their success.
The 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.”
This is commonly misheard as “wrapped up like a douche (the V sound in “revved” is almost unpronounced and the S sound in “deuce” is easy to mistake as an “SH” sound).” 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.
If you read Saturday’s post about Greetings From Asbury Park you might recall that I referred to Blinded By The Light as wordy. Just to prove my point, the original lyrics to the song are provided below:
Madman drummers bummers and indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin for the hot spot snappin his fingers clappin his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lovers knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-menot whispers daddys within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band
And she was blinded by the light. cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but shell make it alright
Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says: dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in it’s funny bone, that’s where they expect it least
And some new-mown chaperone was standin in the corner all alone watchin the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance
Yeah he was blinded by the light. cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he’s gonna make it tonight
Some silicone sister with her managers mister told me I got what it takes
She said I’ll turn you on sonny to something strong if you play that song with the funky break
And go-cart mozart was checkin out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little early-pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Oh, some hazard from harvard was skunked on beer playin backyard bombardier
Yes and scotland yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
He said, do what you like, but don’t do it here
Well I jumped up, spit in the air, fell on the ground, asked wich was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep going straight until right, and then boy you’re on your own
And now in zanzibar a shootin star was ridin in a side car hummin a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar, were gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon
And some kidnapped handicap was complaining that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but he’d figured he’d be all right
He was just blinded by the light. cut loose like a deuce
Another runner in the night. blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that’s where the fun is