{"id":210539,"date":"2022-11-20T14:56:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T19:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/?p=210539"},"modified":"2022-11-29T14:59:41","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T19:59:41","slug":"the-boss-has-spoken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/chss\/2022\/11\/20\/the-boss-has-spoken\/","title":{"rendered":"The Boss Has Spoken"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boss has spoken and the argument over the lyrics of \u201cThunder Road\u201d has finally been put to rest \u2013 in an \u201cincredibly relatable\u201d way, says ÌÇÐÄvlog\u2019s Springsteen scholar, Classics and General Humanities Professor Prudence Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Appearing November 14 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon<\/em>, Bruce Springsteen clarified a longtime internet debate about the opening line in his classic 1975 song: \u201cThe screen door slams \/ Mary\u2019s dress sways\u201d versus \u201cThe screen door slams \/ Mary\u2019s dress waves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis record is almost 50 years old. Fifty years ago, I was a sociopath,\u201d Springsteen <\/a>joked to Fallon. \u201c I was insane about every single detail that had anything to do with music, my album, my album cover, my lyrics. I went over everything with a fine-tooth comb so everything would be perfect and completely accurate. The lyrics to \u2018Thunder Road\u2019 are in this album. The correct lyrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Springsteen says he\u2019s been \u201csinging \u2018sways\u2019 all these years. But reading from the album, he discovers the error: \u201cThe screen door slams \/ Mary\u2019s dress waves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is wrong,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cThis is wrong. I\u2019m telling you this is wrong. How did that happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Montclair\u2019s Springsteen scholar says she saw the clip \u2013 and totally understands the explanation.\u00a0 \u201cAs someone who has written books and articles, I found it incredibly relatable,\u201d Jones says. \u201cWho hasn\u2019t looked at the final published version of their work and seen an error or typo that got past all the editing and proofreading?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones specializes in Latin poetry and has also contributed to the scholarly research on the New Jersey rocker, interpreting American pop culture and how Bruce Springsteen\u2019s work reflects the American experience in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She teaches a summer course, Selected Topics: Bruce Springsteen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad to have an answer from the man himself to something that I\u2019ve wondered about \u2013 the handwritten lyrics in his notebooks have \u2018sways\u2019 and the lyric sounds to my ear like \u2018sways,\u2019 but \u2018waves\u2019 in the printed lyrics of the song\u2019s first official release made me doubt \u2018sways.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTurns out there was a simple explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>. Photo by University Photographer Mike Peters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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