Blinded by the Light#Lyrics

The song came about when Columbia Records president Clive Davis, upon listening to an early version of Greetings from Asbury Park N.J., felt the album lacked a potential single. Springsteen wrote this and "Spirit in the Night" in response.

According to Springsteen, he wrote the song by going through a rhyming dictionary in search of appropriate words. The first line of the song, "Madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summers with a teenage diplomat" is autobiographical. "Madman drummers" is a reference to drummer Vini Lopez, known as "Mad Man" (later changed to "Mad Dog"), "Indians in the summer" refers to the name of Springsteen's old Little League team, "teenage diplomat" refers to himself. "As the adolescent pumps his way into his hat" recalls his aunt Dora Kirby claiming " Bruce never took his baseball hat off." A "merry-go-round" is baseball slang for when a pitcher keeps walking batters.{{Cite web |title=Slanguage {{!}} Routine|url=https://www.routine.com/media/slanguage/ |access-date=August 7, 2021 |website= beapro.com |language=en}} The remainder of the song tells of many unrelated events, with the refrain of "Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night".

"Blinded by the Light" was the first single from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

Cash Box said that it was much like early Dylan, but especially like "My Back Pages", and that Springsteen lets loose with a lyrical barrage of images and pictures.{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=March 17, 1973|page=20|accessdate=December 11, 2021|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1973/Cash-Box-1973-03-17.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}} Record World said that the song has some of the cleverest lyrics of all [Springsteen's] material" and that the tune should start Springsteen off towards a bright future.{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=March 10, 1973|accessdate=March 23, 2023|title=Single Picks|page=12|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/73/RW-1973-03-10.pdf}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blinded by the Light

| image = Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band UK vinyl.png

| alt =

| caption = Side A of the 1976 UK single

| type = single

| artist = Manfred Mann's Earth Band

| album = The Roaring Silence

| B-side = Starbird No. 2

| released = August 6, 1976

| recorded = 1976, Workhouse Studios, London

| studio =

| venue =

| genre =

• Progressive rock
• hard rock

| length = 7:08 (album version)
3:48 (single version)

| label = Bronze (UK)
Warner Bros. (USA)

| writer = Bruce Springsteen

| producer = Manfred Mann and Earth Band

| prev_title = Spirits in the Night

| prev_year = 1975

| next_title = Questions

| next_year = 1976

| misc =

}}

Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of the song on their 1976 album The Roaring Silence. Their version includes the "Chopsticks" melody played on piano near the end of the bridge of the song. The track reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM charts. Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of "Blinded by the Light" is Springsteen's only No. 1 single as a songwriter on the Hot 100.

Record World said, "After a synthesized intro reminiscent of 'Won't Get Fooled Again', the group is in full throttle."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=September 4, 1976|page=14|accessdate=March 4, 2023|title=Single Picks|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/76/RW-1976-09-04.pdf}} In 2024, Mann admitted that he was inspired by Supertramp, particularly "Dreamer", when it came to the synth hook.{{cite magazine|magazine=PopMatters|access-date=October 22, 2024|title=Manfred Mann, the Synthesiser Man, Hates AI in Music|url=https://www.popmatters.com/manfred-mann-interview-july-2024 }}

{{Listen

| type = music

| filename = Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.ogg

| title = "Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann

| description = Chorus whose word "deuce" was mistaken as "douche"

}}

Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of the song changes the lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, where Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" is replaced with either "revved up like a deuce"{{cite web |title=CRR Interview - Chris Thompson - A Human Jukebox |url=https://www.classicrockrevisited.com/show_interview.php?id=1131 |website=Classic Rock Revisited |access-date=August 4, 2021 |language=en}} or "wrapped up like a deuce".Original printed lyrics on "The Roaring Silence" album cover{{Cite web |title=Interview Chris Thompson |url=http://www.keysandchords.com/interview-chris-thompson.html |access-date=March 20, 2023 |website=KEYS AND CHORDS |language=nl}} The lyric is a reference to the 1932 V8-powered Ford automobile, which enthusiasts dubbed the "deuce coupe" (the "deuce" coming from the 2 in 1932, the first year the V8 was available). Springsteen was fond of classic hot rods in his youth, hence the line "revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night". As the line is frequently misheard as "wrapped up like a douche", Springsteen has joked about confusion over the lyrics, claiming that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a feminine hygiene product that it became popular.{{cite episode |title=Bruce Springsteen |series=VH1 Storytellers |network=VH1 |airdate=April 23, 2005 |number=62}}

According to Manfred Mann, it was the idea of drummer Chris Slade to use the chords of "Chopsticks" (the tune had at that point already been integrated into the arrangement) as a transition between song parts. The "deuce"/"douche" confusion stems from technical problems{{cite web |first=Hugh |last=Fielder |title=Story Behind Song: Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/story-behind-song-blinded-by-the-light-by-manfred-mann-s-earth-band |website=Classic Rock |date=February 12, 2018 |access-date=May 17, 2021 |language=en }} (which can be confirmed by comparing to live recordings).

{{Blockquote|text=I don't think Springsteen liked our Blinded by the Light, 'cos we sang 'wrapped up like a douche', and it wasn't written like that and I screwed it up completely. It sounded like 'douche' instead of 'deuce', 'cos of the technical process – a faulty azimuth due to tape-head angles, and it meant we couldn't remix it.

Warners in America said, 'You've got to change 'douche', 'cos the Southern Bible belt radio stations think it's about a vaginal douche, and they have problems with body parts down there.' We tried to change it to 'deuce' but then the rest of the track sounded horrible, so we had to leave it. We just said, 'If it's not a hit, it's not.'

But in the end, it was No.1 in America, and so many people came up to us after and said, 'You know why it made No. 1?... Everyone was talking about whether it was deuce or douche.' Apparently Springsteen thought we'd done it deliberately, which we hadn't, so if I ever saw him I'd avoid him and cringe away like a frightened little boy.|author=Manfred Mann|title=Record Collector interview (August 2006)|source={{Cite web|title=MANN OVERBOARD - Record Collector Magazine|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/mann-overboard|access-date=2021-06-16|language=en}}}}

{{Blockquote|text=Manfred was given the album by a deejay in Philadelphia called Ed Sciaky [...] [H]e knew Manfred and loved Manfred’s Earth Band and he just brought the record and gave it to him and said listen to this, I think you could do something with a couple of these tracks. When I joined the band, Manfred was fiddling around with “Blinded by the Light” and I never had heard Springsteen’s version until I went and saw him live in 1977 in Montreal. So Manfred just sang me the song and said this is how it goes. I didn’t want to listen to the original and be swayed by it in any way. So I never heard it at all, we just sat around a piano and Manfred said this is the way it goes. Then we worked it out with the band and the rest is history.|author=Ray Shasho|title=Interview Chris Thompson - KEYS AND CHORDS|source=}}

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{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|title=Blinded By The Light|artist=Manfred Mann's Earth Band|award=Silver|relyear=2005|certyear=2024|accessdate=October 5, 2024|id=20392-6928-1}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United States|title=Blinded by the Light|award=Gold|relyear=1976|certyear=1977|accessdate=June 20, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:{{cite book |last1=Margotin |first1=Philippe |last2=Guesdon |first2=Jean-Michel |title=Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nrlRzQEACAAJ |date=2020 |publisher=Cassell Illustrated |location=London |isbn=978-1-78472-649-2 |page=26}}

Original version

• Bruce Springsteen – vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, bass
• Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez – drums
• Clarence Clemons – saxophone, backing vocals
• Harold Wheeler – piano
• Unknown musicians – organ, tambourine

Manfred Mann's Earth Band cover{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

• Manfred Mann – organ, piano, Minimoog, backing vocals, lead vocals
• Chris Hamlet Thompson – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Dave Flett – lead guitar
• Colin Pattenden – bass
• Chris Slade – drums, backing vocals

with

• Doreen Chanter – backing vocals
• Irene Chanter – backing vocals
• Susanne Lynch – backing vocals

• Blinded by the Light (2019 film) – a 2019 British comedy-drama about an aspiring writer inspired by Bruce Springsteen songs.

{{Reflist}}

{{Manfred Mann's Earth Band}}

{{Bruce Springsteen songs}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blinded By The Light}}

Category:1972 songs

Category:1973 debut singles

Category:1976 singles

Category:1977 singles

Category:Bruce Springsteen songs

Category:Manfred Mann songs

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Cashbox number-one singles

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Songs written by Bruce Springsteen

Category:Columbia Records singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Appel

Category:Bronze Records singles

Category:Warner Records singles

Category:Songs about drugs