Rick Springfield's album version
Doctor, doctor, you gotta help me yeah
You gotta make it right for me
It seems this other man's name's been following me around
Andd it just won't let me be
You see, I got this name and he's got this name too and though
Well they're kinda close only a blind crazy fool would think I was him
It's like saying green is blue
But let me tell you brother it started being a bother
When he made the cover of Time magazine
Aw!
I was at this party in the well-heeled hills
Just the other night
Her name was Shelly, I introduced myself
She just smiled and said "all right"
Well we got talkin' and drinkin' wine
And she said she liked my music, thought it was fine
She said, "Let's make love, your place or mine"
And in the middle of the passion I was on the borderline
When she called out a name but it wasn't mine
She called me Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce)
I can hear her calling Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce)
I can hear her calling Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce)
I can hear her
My name is Rick, I'm gonna stick it to you babe
There's this kid walking carrying a guitar
You know I told him that I played
He asked me my name, you know I told him
I said it, wooo, as clear as day
Well he seemed really, clearly, sincerely impressed
And as he pulled a piece of paper for me to sign from his vest
He said, "I thought Born To Run was one of your best"
Awww, wait a minute man, who do you think I am?
He answered, "Mr. Springsteen, you're a famous man"
He called me Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce)
I can hear him calling Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce), wooo
He called me Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce)
I can hear him
My name is Richard, gonna hit it to you babe
Wooo
You know my mama called me long distance yesterday
And as she got off the phone I swear I heard her say
Bye bye Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce)
I can hear her calling Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce), wooo
Se called me Bruce (Bruce), Bruce (Bruce)
I can hear her
My name is Ricky, gonna stick it to you babe, oh
She called me Bruce (Bruce), hmmm what!
She called me Bruce (Bruce), aw!
She called me Bruce (Bruce)
???
BRUCE is a song written by Rick Springfield and originally released as a bonus track on the Australian edition of his 1981 album Working Class Dog. The above lyrics are for Rick Springfield's album version of BRUCE as released in 1981.
The comedic song is about Springfield's experience with people mistaking his identity with Bruce Springsteen.
Australian songwriter, musician, and actor Rick Springfield moved to the United States in 1972. He was making a go in America in the early seventies and he had a Top 20 hit in 1972 with SPEAK TO THE SKY, but he started having a hard time when in the mid-seventies people started mistaking him for Bruce Springsteen. "It started being a bother when he made the cover of Time magazine," he sings, referring to when Springsteen appeared on the covers of both Time and Newsweek magazines in the same week, on 27 Oct 1975.
Springfield recalls, "Twice in one week I went out for interviews for an acting part. There was some girl looking at me, and as I was walking out the door, she called me Bruce. And then right after that, after another acting interview, I was sitting on a curb and waiting for a cab and some kid came up and started talking to me about some record he liked — Born To Run. I was having a tough time."
The common mistake was depicted in Gary Winick's 2004 movie 13 Going On 30 when the character Jenna (played by Jennifer Garner) corrects a taxi driver who hears Springfield's JESSIE'S GIRL and says, "that's Bruce Springsteen!"
Acting as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital finally gave Rick Springfield the profile he needed to have achievements in his music career. JESSIE'S GIRL from his 1981 album Working Class Dog became a hit and, ironically, beat out Springsteen's THE RIVER for a Grammy award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
Springfield originally recorded BRUCE in 1978 solely as a joke and never intended for it to be released on an album, but as Springfield's star was rising higher than ever, a former manager of his released in 1984 an unauthorized Rick Springfield compilation album titled Beautiful Things. The album was published without Springfield's consent and consisted of songs he originally recorded in 1978, including BRUCE, with new completed instrumentation laid over the original vocals. The album reached No. 78 on the Billboard 200 chart. BRUCE was the only single released off the album and it hit No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Springfield commented, "It was funny back then when I wrote it, but by 1984, it was a little embarrassing."
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List of available versions of BRUCE on this website:
BRUCE [Rick Springfield's album version]
