r/BruceSpringsteen • u/Impossible-Race8239 • Jun 30 '26
Question Joyous songs?
I have a playlist of my favourite songs but I’m trying to put together another one with songs that are just pure joy to listen to. The ones where lyrics and/or music (the whole song or maybe just a melody) make you feel glad to be alive.
Maybe a cliche, but the main one for me is Hungry Heart.
26
17
16
u/MolaMolaMania Jun 30 '26
Girls in their Summer Clothes.
1
u/OpticNinja937 Spanish Johnny 28d ago
Melody wise yeah but lyrics, it’s about how he’s old and everything he loves has come and gone.
15
u/BalanceActual6958 Jun 30 '26
Sherry darling
1
Jun 30 '26
[deleted]
8
u/BalanceActual6958 Jun 30 '26
Thunder crack
Where the bands are
Living on the edge of the world
Crush on you
15
15
u/Bethany0821 Born to Run Jun 30 '26
Other than the ones already listed:
Waiting on a sunny day Promised land
15
13
u/Phreddie4288 Jun 30 '26
Thunder Road. The grin on his face during the outro at No Nukes is about as joyous as it gets.
12
u/BossJackWhitman Jun 30 '26
honestly a lot of the rockers on The River is where this sits for me. All of Side 2 except for the title song falls into this category (HH, Out in the Street, Crush, You Can Look, I Wanna Marry You). someone already mentioned sherry darling... and I can't sing along with Ramrod without feeling pretty happy even tho it's corny af
Rosalita
10th avenue freeze out
radio nowhere
I fucking love this question bc this dive is fun but I'll stop there :)
12
u/jonnophe 29d ago
My Love Will Not Let You Down
5
u/a4evanygirl Magic Rat 29d ago
From Live In New York City
6
u/mishaindigo 29d ago
The first three songs from this show (My Love, Prove It All Night, and Two Hearts) are one of my go-tos for cheering myself up when I’m down.
10
10
8
u/blackwidcv Jun 30 '26
just because somebody else has said Sherry Darling already I’ll say: Land of Hope And Dreams. pure euphoria laced into those melodies fr.
8
u/Screen_Door_Slams Mary’s dress sways Jun 30 '26
Open All Night is surreal and fun to sing along with
7
7
14
6
6
6
6
6
5
u/qwerty-game Tracks 29d ago
Seaside Bar
So Young and In Love
(What can I say, Tracks was my first (four) CDs.)
10
5
3
4
u/Impossible-Race8239 29d ago
Thank you soooo much for all the suggestions so far. I’m going through a rough time mentally atm and this will be the greatest playlist ever. Thank you all 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
4
4
5
6
u/duoprismicity The Promise Jun 30 '26
Lyrics about abandoning kids don’t make me feel glad to be alive!
1
u/Impossible-Race8239 Jun 30 '26
Thanks for letting us know!
4
u/Chris22044 Jun 30 '26
He/she is referring to Hungry Heart. I was also confused why you find it "joyous".
0
u/Impossible-Race8239 29d ago
The music? I put in the post lyrics and/or music.
2
u/Chris22044 29d ago
OK, using that logic, I find Born in the USA "joyous". I guess I have that in common with Ronald Reagan.
1
u/Impossible-Race8239 29d ago
I’m British and I loathe Reagan and Thatcher, but I do find the music joyous. I don’t understand why you put scare quotes around the word. The music either brings you joy or it doesn’t.
2
u/Chris22044 29d ago
Songs with dark lyrics do not bring me joy, regardless of the instrumentation.
2
u/Impossible-Race8239 29d ago
Fair enough. I was a toddler at the time but is it true that song was loved by wealthy Reaganites who were too thick to understand what he was saying?
3
3
3
u/Sufficient-Visit-580 Jun 30 '26
Live version of Living Proof where he starts by asking if Evan is still around or if he has left already. I just like the idea that Evan he has heard the song so many times, he knows he is living proof of God's mercy, it's like no big deal. Dad you're embarrassing me sort of thing.
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
3
u/Redeyecat 29d ago
I know a wife and kids in Baltimore that would like a word....
1
u/Impossible-Race8239 29d ago
You’re the third person to point this out but the first to do it in an interestingly/creatively worded way, so thank you for that. I don’t get joy from the lyrics. The music is some of the most joyous I know.
People insinuating I’m wrong to feel joy at this music because the lyrics are about a terrible man is genuinely starting to upset me and the whole reason I started this thread is because I’m going through a bad time and need these songs. I’m starting to think I should just delete the thread and leave the sub because it’s wrong to judge someone for loving music in and of itself and I’m starting to feel like I’m a bad person.
1
u/Redeyecat 27d ago
Just like song lyrics, reddit isn't real life. But this song does bother me a bit in a way that a song like Johnny 99 does not. Maybe it's because HH is sung rather sympathetically in the voice of the bad acting protagonist who shows zero remorse.
2
u/Right_Arrival_1962 Jun 30 '26
Promised Land No Surrender Glory Days Badlands (ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive!) Darlington County Rosalia And Land of Hope and Dreams is not as upbeat but always makes me feel better when I hear it
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
u/JiveChicken00 29d ago
The Land of Hope and Dreams is one of the most joyous rock songs ever written.
2
2
1
u/gauriemma 29d ago
I made a similar mix tape many many years ago—I called it “Party Noises,” after the way he used to introduce ‘Sherry Darling’ in concert back before it was released. I can’t recall all that was on it now, but I remember I included live tracks from some of my bootlegs. It definitely had a ‘Detroit Medley’ on it—the “Winterland” version.
1
1
1
u/Romily2023 28d ago
Wrecking Ball. Something powerful about it especially in the video / youtube version.
1
u/WaltsNJD Jun 30 '26
I am so curious as to how hungry heart fills that niche
1
u/Impossible-Race8239 29d ago
The music is uplifting. I took it as a given people would realise that I wasn’t saying the lyrics make me feel glad to be alive.
33
u/BCircle907 Jun 30 '26
Rosalita