'you know why that record was such a hit, don't you? A cover by british rock band manfred mann's earth band reached number one on the billboard hot 100 in the united states in february 1977 and was also a top ten hit in the united kingdom, new zealand, and canada. Blinded by the light by manfred mann's earth band song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position Rather it doesn't have a comprehensive one. But more broadly it's a metaphor getting on with your life and getting out your hometown." in addition to everything else, you'd believe me because that is what most people think the meaning of. The song was a big hit for the streets and is from the album 'A Grand Don't Come for Free', and was produced by the label 'Vice Records'. It was released in 2004 and hit the high end of the British charts.
I have chosen to analyse this music video as i think it links well with the narrative and genre of the song that we will be using to create our music video. The Wild Eyes – Breakdown clearly has many meanings behind the lyrics, the main one clearly being drugs and addiction. The Streets – Blinded by the lights clearly has drug usage in the video and the lyrics back this up. The lead singer Mike Skinner is on a night out at what is shown to be a wedding reception, and is clearly under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
In the lyrics, the audience hears him say that he is going to the toilets to do drugs, and that he can taste hairspray. Later on, he states his need for water and his feeling of paranoia, which reminds the audience of his drug usage. Camera work also plays a big part in showing and reminding the audience of Skinners intoxication as it is very disorientated and point-of-view like at times.
Blinded by the light is a song written and recorded by bruce springsteen, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album greetings from asbury park, n.j. Blinded by the light lyrics was written by bruce springsteen and the song had its official release on august 27, 1976. Springsteen was clearly highly influenced by bob dylan in this earliest period of his career.
I have been in the radio business for 38 years and had dinner with Manfred Mann about a year after he released Blinded by The Light. He wasn't talking about feminine products and was embarrassed that people interpreted it that way. When the controversy over his lyrics got back to him he became curious and the best explanation he heard was that Bruce's lyric referred to a card game. He still wasn't sure but he didn't care because the song was a huge hit for him. I don't know if he was pulling my leg or just giving a standard answer to a question he must have gotten a lot, but he seemed sincere. The Streets songs usually fit best into the 'grime' genre, and Blinded by the Lights is no exception.
However, this song is slightly different to what the streets had previously done, as it is more upbeat and could almost fit into a dance music genre as well. The fact that the dance theme is in this song as well, means that it has being incorporated in the music video so that the audience adapt to it well and understand the narrative of the video and the message that that song is telling a lot easier. This is portrayed in the video with a close up the protagonist on a dance floor. Not only is he in this setting, but depth of field is used, meaning that the background is out of focus. This suggests that what the character is seeing is also disorientated and out of focus, this along with the fact that the characters face is shown clearly in a close up allows the audience to make connotations that he is intoxicated. There is low lighting in the room, but flashing lights are being used, showing that he is at a party but also suggesting his state of mind.
Most videos of the grime genre have drug and alcohol usage, and young stereotypical teen features, personalities and lifestyles. This is sometimes on the streets or in a party, club bar etc. Grime music can be shown in many different ways, whether it is almost intimidating with low lighting and an eerie feeling, or whether it is with hyperactive party atmosphere.
Misé en scene plays a huge part in this, and editing camera work and lighting all back this up. Also fitting into this genre is the slightly violent closing the video, as grime is stereotypically linked to juvenile 'thuggish' people, with a lot of reference to drug usage, violence and strong language in the songs. Most videos of the dance music genre have the party element in them. This is sometimes in a night club, or at a house party or living a glamorous lifestyle in limousines and on stage.
Dance music is usually shown in a hyperactive way, but can sometimes go other ways when it corresponds with lyrics or characters state of mind instead. Again, misé en scene plays a huge part in this and editing, lighting and camera work increase the effectiveness of the visuals. Springsteen's version of Blinded by the Light was never a hit, but he still plays it in concerts to this day. He's changed the orchestration, end even done it as a Latin number. The obscure lyrics have long caused much discussion as to their meaning.
Springsteen wrote this song when he was in his early 20s, and before he had any success as a recording artist. He has stated that it was based on his experiences as a young musician and was based on people he met. Many people have tried to show that this was a song about drugs, or about sex. Springsteen has often written about love and sex.
He's alluded to drugs, but never sold himself as primarily a druggie. I suspect that, while both sex and drugs are reflected in the song, the song is not primarily about either, but is instead a description of the adolescent life of a musician. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 8 times during The Seeger Sessions Tour , all in November 2006 in Europe. The song was played in a radically revamped full-band arrangement. The live 11 Nov 2006 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Wembley Arena, November 11, 2006 official live download in 2020.
The live 19 Nov 2006 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Live In Dublin album and home video in 2007. To start off the video there is only dialogue, with no backing music. It is the protagonist who is speaking and he appears to be on the phone to his girlfriend, this conversation is a very strong opening to the song and music video as it sets the narrative. In the conversation he mentions that he is supposed to be meeting her, this is significant as the audience is shown throughout that he never actually meets her. Throughout the video the character and the song makes reference to what is being shown in the video.
The lyrics and the visuals are linked well, as he states he 'there's no reception on the phone' which the audience would have guessed or known to be true as when he is trying to contact his girlfriend he is cut off. Later on, he says 'people keep pushing me' the camera movement and editing back this up, as it is a point of view shot of the protagonist being pushed. He is holding a tablet/pill as he describes what the drug looks like, 'these look well speckled, a bit green and blue' without the visuals from the music video you wouldn't understand what the artist is talking about and the lyrics wouldn't make as much sense to you. When he talks about the taste of the drugs a close up shot of him taking the pill is shown, and as before, without the visuals the audience would not necessarily know what he is talking about. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 6 times during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour .
The live 25 Jun 2005 version of BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was released on the Stockholm 2005 official live download in 2020. I have also read the liner notes from Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "The Roaring Silence" lp and it was sung by then lead singer, Chris Thompson as "Revved up like a deuce" (and not "wrapped"), which makes more sense. I really wish this would be corrected on this website already. What this site is doing is perpetuating the misheard lyrics and that's just plain stupid as a reference source to do that. But yes, it's still kind of fun to sing the lyrics as "wrapped up", "douche", "another rumor" and so on, but that's not what they are, and don't tell Thompson about this because I've read he gets mad when people sing the song that way to him. 'Everything in the room is spinning' this is in relation with the visuals of the protagonist being tracked in a circle, meaning the audience and the protagonist are experiencing the same disorientation.
Flashing lights are in the background, as their has just been a cross cut from the toilet he was in, to the dance floor he is now on. His face is sweaty, and he is very pale and looks washed and spaced out, showing his mental and physical state. In April 2005, during the taping of his episode of VH1's Storytellers television series, Springsteen revealed that he wrote the words before arranging the music for BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. This is one of the few songs for which Springsteen used this method. He also mentioned that he used a rhyming dictionary to write the song after Clive Davis didn't hear any "hits" for his debut album. See the live 04 Apr 2005 version for more details.
Between Bruce Springsteen's version and Manfred Mann's cover, is there a definitive "Blinded By The Light"? Springsteen's opening salvo into the world of rock n' roll, is everything that people love about the Boss' early work. The first track from his 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Is exploding with teenage lust, a need to escape, and the thrum of glistening cars speeding away from a small town. All of the Manfred Mann comments should be moved to the appropriate Manfred Mann lyrics section.
Springsteen definitely says "cut loose like a deuce" which definitely refers to a 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe which is a hot rod. Blinded by the light He got down but she never got tight but hes gonna make it tonight Some silicone sister with her managers mister told me i got what it takes She said ill turn you on sonny to something strong if you play that song with the funky break. There are 60 lyrics related to Blinded By The Light Misheard Lyric By.
The Weeknds Blinding Lights which appears on his massively successful Billboard 200 No. I find it such a shame that Bruce "The Boss" wrote this song and sang but it didn't go high up the charts. Then Manfred Mann earth band cut out some of the words and made it a no. 1 song. Well I still love the day Bruce did this song much better than they did it.
Is it revved up like a deuce or ripped off like a douche or some other phrase. Again the song is about riding around town in your car and the line is revved up like a deuce Deuce means Deuce coupe which refers to a 1932 Ford Coupe the hot-rod of its day. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed on 04 Apr 2005 at Rechnitz Theater in Red Bank, NJ, during the taping of Bruce Springsteen's episode of VH1's Storytellers television series. An edited version of the concert was released on the VH1 Storytellers home video in 2005.
He saw the light when a cop car pulled up , tripped over the merry-go-round as he was making a break for it, (that's where the running like an Indian comes into play) cuz he was wearing his native suit. Him getting the sneezing and wheezing was cuz he caught the gonna-a-syphilis from the hooker he was getting freaky with. The silicone sister and her manager mister were now also looking for him, so he's running again. The curly wurly is his mustache as he got a jolt from the early perly and with that he was ready to ride the lightning. The following stanza is where he's in the doctors room getting his check up, blinded by the doctors light, hit in the funny bone, his escapades have landed him here, where the fun's at.
And him catching an STD, is made apparent when he sees the girls dancing on the corner he gets a quick reminder of the cold moonstone which, if you were in the military you got in boot camp, or in his case from the gonna-a-syphilis, it definitely feels like a cold stone on your moon. With the help of his trusty rhyming dictionary Springsteen penned a track full of teenage heartbreak and the need to escape and not being as grown up as he thinks he is. His line about a "silicone sister with a manager mister" who makes a pass at him isn't just one of the first references to breast implants in rock music , but it turns the song into a fish out of water story.
Springsteen doesn't just need to escape his home life in this song, he's striving to recognize the place he calls home. Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of the song changes the 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." The lyric is a reference to the 1932 V8-powered Ford automobile, which enthusiasts dubbed the "deuce coupe".
Springsteen was fond of classic hot rods in his youth, hence the line "cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night". As the line is frequently misheard as "wrapped up like a douche", Springsteen has joked about confusion over the lyrics, claiming that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a feminine hygiene product that it became popular. But lyrics remain fundamentally the same, with some sections even being omitted from the original. The biggest difference in wording between the two is rather the arrangement.
In retrospect, the song "blinded by the light" showed the world that an extremely talented and smart/witty young man was about to enter the music arena. Some who understand that the word is 'deuce' instead of 'douche' still mishear the lyrics as 'wrapped up like a deuce' which still makes no sense. Again, the song is about riding around town in your car, and the line is "revved up like a deuce." Deuce means "Deuce coupe" which refers to a 1932 Ford Coupe, the hot-rod of its day. This song was written by the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, being originally featured on his debut breakthrough album, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." .
He wrote it, under the commands of Clive Davis, to be a single from the aforementioned project. And Columbia Records did in fact release his version as the lead single fromGreetings from Asbury Park, but it failed to chart. Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of the song on their 1976 album The Roaring Silence. Their version includes the "Chopsticks" melody played on piano near the end of the bridge of the song. The track reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM charts. I said ooh Im blinded by the lights No I cant sleep until I feel your touch I said ooh Im drowning in the night Oh when Im like this youre the one I trust.
In this particular video, alcohol, cigarettes and drugs are almost used to tell the story, and are major props. This is similar to a lot or grime and dance music videos, and are linked with not only these types of music but the people lifestyles that come with them. In this video, these elements are not only shown through images and shots of the substances themselves, but through the use of camera work and editing also. Things like slow motion, speeding up, jump cuts, disorientation and depth of field help in the video, as it shows what the character is seeing, his state of mind, and the effects that the substances have taken on him. In this video it is shown to a huge extent as the particularly intoxicated character is the protagonist and is known to be the main man from the band The Streets. I heard this song was written because the record company complained they didnt think the album had a potential hit.
Blinded by the light revved up like a deuce another runner in the night 2. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed off-tour on 20 Feb 2003 at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA, during the DoubleTake Magazine benefit shows. See the live 20 Feb 2003 version for more details. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed once during the High Hopes Tour . On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement. Audio recordings for most High Hopes Tour shows are officially available for purchase.
See the live 15 Apr 2014 version for more details. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was performed 4 times during the Wrecking Ball Tour . On this tour, the song was played twice times in a solo acoustic guitar arrangement (on of which during the solo acoustic pre-show) and twice in a full-band arrangement.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 15 times during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour . Some of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. On this tour, the song was played in a full-band arrangement, much like the versions from the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour, but with a somewhat more experimental, "Dylanesque" vocal.
In the 1974 part of the tour, the song also featured a three-to-four minute extended jazzy instrumental opening, perhaps the closest the E Street Band ever came to progressive rock. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT was usually played at or near the end of the shows. BLINDED BY THE LIGHT is known to have been performed at least 8 times during what is considered the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour . Many of that period's setlists are incomplete or unknown, and therefore, the song must have been played on some more dates during the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Tour.
