Episode 9 | Downbound Train

Today on Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet: the one that almost went to Nebraska and didn’t.

He had a job, he had a girl. Then it all went to hell. You know, the rain and the car wash of it all. Downbound Train is a short song about a guy who isn’t in the driver’s seat, and it’s certainly an album favorite for the fellas (or the weakest thing Bruce released since the second album, if you ask Dave Marsh). We also have thoughts about Dave Marsh.

We talk about the three versions of this song that exist and why Rob hates one of them, how Roy Bittan carted a 200-pound synthesizer into the studio, and why Max’s snare drum is the piece of tape holding this whole record together.

How many whining whistles do you give Downbound Train? Tell us in the comments below.

We’ve also dropped our first bonus episode of the new run, the 2023 All Media Underload. We hit the high points of our 2023 lists since we never dropped an episode that year. It’s a subscriber only episode, but everyone gets a free preview episode (I think?).

https://alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/p/bonus-ep-all-media-underload

Chapters

04:04 Basic Facts!

10:00 The music

19:27 The lyrics

26:14 Ratings

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit alphabeticalspringsteen.substack.com/subscribe