Bobby Jean (3:42)

“Bobby Jean” is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, from his 1984 album Born in the U.S.A…

“Bobby Jean” was one of the last songs from the album to be recorded, and was considered a musical breakthrough for Springsteen during the recording, with its more accented rhythm and near dance groove.

The title character’s name is somewhat gender ambiguous, allowing for various interpretations. Nonetheless, “Bobby Jean” is often considered to have been written about his long-time friendship with Steve Van Zandt, who was leaving the E Street Band at the time: For example, Swedish journalist Richard Ohlsson made the interpretation in his book Bruce Springsteen: 16 Album that the title contained both a male and a female name because “the friendship with Bobby Jean is so strong that it’s almost a kind of love.” When this song is played live with the E Street Band, close ups of Van Zandt are often shown on the bigscreens.

Now you hung with me, when all the others turned away … turned up their nose
We liked the same music — we liked the same bands — we liked the same clothes
We told each other, that we were the wildest, the wildest things we’d ever seen …

The lyric turns to deeper emotions, which Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh characterized as “lines that mingle love, grief, and rancor”, with the chorus summing:

Now I wished you would have told me —
I wished I could have talked to you —