Existential Authenticity in Bruce Springsteen's Growin' Up

You probably don’t believe it. Bruce Springsteen and Existentialism? You’re probably furling your brow and looking askance.

To which I plead “hear me out.”

Let us understand a coupluh existential concepts right here at the ole get-go:

Authenticity - You, yes you, are more than an inescapable accident, a person born at this time in this place of these parents...oh no, much more. But how you ask? By being a being such that you, yes you, are capable of questioning what you are. You, yes you, are a being such that your being is in question. And when you, uh-huh you, question your being, you transcend, your mere facticity. Ah, the power of questioning and especially questioning the ole self. Now when you recognize your facticity and your degrees of freedom to choose your life beyond your facticity, you are being...ta-da...authentic. And this my friend is no easy task. There are pulls and tugs and roads more travelled and the avoidance of heavy lifting via Bad Faith.

Bad Faith - is denying your own freedom...to choose...and by doing so failing to take responsibility...

 for. your. life.

As the saying goes, denial isn’t just a river in Africa. Think of the denials and forfeitures over the course of your life, the cowardice, the oh so blemished humanity pepering all those years and acts. Speaking of humanity, one way we, the royal we, subtly act in bad faith is succumbing to the man. We all know the man, or in German Das Man. What you don’t know the man? C’mon, everybody who is anybody knows who the man is. Oh, you mean specifically, can I name the man? We can’t name the man because we like it that way, need it that way. The man is no one and everyone. A blend of individual and mass/mob to which we place blame for our bad faith and inauthenticity.

Das Man - the ‘they’ that serves as the amorphous part of social reality that functions to effectively displace freedom and responsibility through intangibility. Everyone is doing it...but they said it was ok...they had it out for me.

Geworfenheit - the state of being thrown, of being born in the world with no choice...at this time in this place to these parents; the specific facticity you find yourself with and from which you must, MUST!, define yourself and separate yourself with an authentic existence.

Whew!

Now the fun stuff. Neither Tony Danza nor Judith Light wrote the song Growin’ Up that appeared on the album Greeting From Asbury Park, N.J. in 1973. No, the song was penned by Bruce Springsteen.

I stood stone-like at midnight, suspended in my masquerade

I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade

I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch

I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and come out with my soul untouched

Right off the bat The Boss hits us over the head and lets us know that he’s hip to the influence of Das Man - combed just right according to whom? The powerful they who determines cool hairdos. But we also know he’s open to the pain that comes with authenticity and that he faced his fears and came out untouched. Oh but then...

I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd,

 Das Man...safety in numbers...bad faith rears its ugly head...until...

but when they said, "Sit down, " I stood up

 You go Bruce. Fuck em’. Authenticity or death!

Ooh...growin' up

The flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing

I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she couldn't sail but she sure could sing

I pushed b-52 and bombed them with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing

I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, never once gave thought to landing

They want you to fall in line, oh yes they do, be a good little boy and do as you’re told but  no, Bruce isn’t down with bad faith (oh and nice shout out to aesthetically authentic music, i.e. the blues - as George Carlin said “all music is blues music.”)

I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd, but when they said, "Come down, " I threw up

Again, ‘they’ invite you in for some nice warm safe anonymity but what does Bruce do? Vomits on them. Niiiiice.

Ooh...growin' up

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere

They want you to clock in and clock out but Bruce, nah, months with his head in authenticity and true living

and you know it's really hard to hold your breath

I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared

 Authenticity has its price; Bruce is willing to pay it. Are you?

I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress

Well, my feet they finally took root in the earth, but I got me a nice little place in the stars

This is so beautiful, he has transcended his facticity here and in so doing has achieved the heaven on earth status of fully authentic

And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car

 Unlock it for us Bruce, show us how, unlock the universe...

I hid in the mother breast of the crowd, but when they said, "Pull down, "

A last ditch effort of das man urging Bruce to come down, land back here where it’s safe and anonymous but...

I pulled up

 Nope, heading back up to the heaven of authenticity. Who’s with me?

Ooh...growin' up

Ooh...growin' up