The boss is in Madrid. Bruce Springsteen He is currently in the Spanish capital, where last night he gave the first of three concerts with which he returns to the European stage after a forced break due to aphonia. 57,000 people enjoyed their first meeting with the artist at the Cívitas Metropolitano. Fans from all over the world follow him on every tour, country after country, city after city, to enjoy his music. Without a doubt, the American singer is a mass idol, but why?
Each of his fans I could answer this question with a million different answers. But the truth is that few artists have such a devoted following around the world after a career spanning half a century. There is something about Bruce Springsteen’s songs that attracts people like a magnet to metals.
This is something that intrigues me psychologists for years. And also conduct all types of research and interviews. Finally, it was concluded that Bruce Springsteen attracts his fans because he is a real character. His lyrics are authentic and anyone can understand them or use them to improve their mood. This may seem like something simple, but it is clearly not. We may not have seen anything like it until Taylor Swift came onto the scene. It remains to be seen whether she will still attract the same people in 50 years, but the truth is that, in principle, she also knows how to catch emotions of those who listen to him.
The Authenticity of Bruce Springsteen’s Lyrics
Bruce Springsteen released his first album in 1973. Even then, he attracted attention by the fact that in his texts he told no more and no less than people’s lives. modest in a humble world like the one from which he came. Many artists have started this way, telling relatable stories that everyone can identify with. However, over time, the themes of their texts changed.
In 2021, two scientists from University of Pennsylvania They wanted to know if it was the same with the Boss. For this reason, they analyzed the lyrics of all songs released on the artist’s albums. In total, 18 albums with 208 songs have been released since 1973, when it was released. Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey.., until 2019 Western stars.
Using computer programs, they searched for all those words that could be related to authenticity. This included everything from first person pronouns to words that suggest cognitive activity, as “reason”, “know” or “should”.
Thus, it was seen that the authenticity of Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics increased until 1984, when Born in USA. After this, authenticity dropped a little, but it recovered and continued to climb until it found the peak of his career in the last album he published.
Another interesting fact from this study is that Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics follow his linguistic imprint. It is often said that all people have it. We speak in a certain way or repeat certain words often. The fact that you can see language imprint In his lyrics he shows that he is in them. There is honesty and reflection of one’s personality. That’s why, sometimes unconsciously, people are so drawn to them.
music therapy
Music in general is great therapy. Of course, listening to music will not relieve us of depression. But it is true that in certain contexts it can help reduce anxiety. Moreover, music directly affects our emotions. It can make us laugh, cry, or be distracted for a moment. a place away from problems.
Therefore, it is more than obvious that the music of any artist, not necessarily Bruce Springsteen, can be psychologically useful. However, a lot of research has been done on this particular singer as it has been observed that these devoted followers incorporate her into their daily lives to cope with the bad moments or enjoy the good ones even more.
In 2023, psychologists Lorraine Mangione and Donna Luff they published a book Mary Gets Inside: A Bruce Springsteen Groupie’s Journeyin which interviews were conducted with the group fans of the singer.
Many of them, when talking about how music makes them feel, describe it as “therapy”. Bruce Springsteen’s songs have followed them through the years, inspiring them and helping them when they needed it most. Again, this can happen to any singer, but the Springsteen fan phenomenon is quite special.
Bruce Springsteen’s International Family
In 2020, Finnish psychologist Helina Hakkanen-Nyholm conducted a study involving 600 Bruce Springsteen fans from USA, Canada, Europe, Nordic countries, South Africa and South America.. Everyone had to answer a survey, which was distributed through fan forums and included questions such as the number of an artist’s concerts they had seen or the number of years they had followed his music.
On average, they followed his music for 30 years and were in 27 concerts. More than half listened to his music daily, and on average, more than half of the music they consumed were Bruce Springsteen songs. As for the main reasons, the most common was self-knowledge. And this completes the circle. The research we mentioned at the beginning spoke about the authenticity of this singer’s lyrics. People who follow him identify with him. They know themselves and drink sweet and bitter drinks to their music.
This has been going on for 50 years and it looks like nothing will change in the future. Everything indicates that Glory days Springsteen will remain forever.
Source: Hiper Textual
