“Blinded By The Light” Lyrics & Meaning (Bruce Springsteen & Manfred Mann)

Blinded by the Light has had several chances at success.

It failed on its first attempt when Bruce Springsteen released it.

But it was a huge success on its second attempt, when British group Manfred Mann’s Earth Band released a cover of the song.

And it got new life in 2019, with the release of a movie based on Springsteen’s music that was titled Blinded by the Light.

No matter when you first discovered the song, you probably have some questions as to the Blinded by the Light lyrics and their meaning.

The lyrics were famously misunderstood when the Manfred Mann version came out, and there has been some debate on the meaning as well.

Keep reading to learn the true lyrics of Blinded by the Light, along with their meaning. We’ll dive into the fascinating story behind this track, too.

 

Blinded By The Light Lyrics And Meaning

This song was included on Bruce Springsteen‘s very first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J, and it was his first single. This was in 1973.

Bruce wrote the song specifically to be a single, after the president of Columbia records (Clive Davis) told him the album needed a song that could potentially be a single. As mentioned above, it was not successful.

Three years later, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band covered this song, along with a few other Springsteen tunes. They omitted some lyrics and slightly changes others.

The big changes were in the arrangement. And the changes worked.

The song hit number one on the charts. Bruce joked that the reason for the success was a mumbled lyric. Manfred Mann had changed the repeating line “cut loose like a deuce” to “revved up like a deuce”, but the way he pronounced “deuce” made it sound like “douche”.

Since there are two versions of this song, we thought it easiest to give you both lyrics. Although they are similar, Springsteen’s original version has quite a few lines that were cur from Mann’s. Since the Mann version was more popular, we’ll begin with that one. 

 

Blinded By The Light Lyrics: Manfred Mann Version

Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.

Madman drummers bummers
Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat.
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps
His way into his hat.
With a boulder on my shoulder
Feeling kinda older, I tripped the merry-go-round.
With this very unpleasing, sneezing and wheezing
The calliope crashed to the ground.
The calliope crashed to the ground.

But she was
Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
(repeat previous 2 lines 3 times)

Some silicone sister with a manager mister
Told me I got what it takes.
She said “I’ll turn you on, Sonny, to something strong
Play the song with the funky break”.
And go-cart Mozart was checking out the weather chart
To see if it was safe outside.
And little early-pearly came by in his Curly-wurly
And asked me if I needed a ride.
Asked me if I needed a ride.

But she was
Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.

She got down but she never got tired.
She’s gonna make it through the night.
She’s gonna make it through the night.

But, mama, that’s where the fun is.
But, mama, that’s where the fun is.
Mama always told me not to look into the eye’s of the sun
But, mama, that’s where the fun is.

Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone
Preacher from the east.
Says, “dethrone the Dictaphone, hit it in it’s funny bone
That’s where they expect it least”.
And some new-mown chaperone was standing in the corner
Watching the young girls dance.
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messing with his frozen zone
Reminding him of romance.
The calliope crashed to the ground.

But she was
Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
(repeat previous 2 lines 8 times)
Blinded by the light.

She got down but she never got tired.
She’s gonna make it through the night.

 

Blinded By The Light Lyrics: Bruce Springsteen Version

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat.
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat.
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin’ kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round.
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground.
Some all-hot half-shot was headin’ for the hot spot snappin’ his fingers clappin’ his hands.
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover’s knot with a whatnot in her hand.
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand.
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers daddy’s within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band.

And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she’ll make it alright.

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east.
He says: “Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that’s where they expect it least”.
And some new-mown chaperone was standin’ in the corner all alone watchin’ the young girls dance.
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin’ with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance.

Yeah he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he’s gonna make it tonight.

Some silicone sister with her manager’s mister told me I got what it takes.
She said I’ll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break.
And go-cart Mozart was checkin’ out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside.
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride.
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin’ backyard bombardier.
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
he said, do what you like, but don’t do it here.
Well I jumped up, turned around, spit in the air, fell on the ground,
Asked him which was the way back home.
He said take a right at the light, keep goin’ straight until night, and then boy, you’re on your own.

And now in Zanzibar a shootin’ star was ridin’ in a side car hummin’ a lunar tune.
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we’re gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon.
And some kidnapped handicap was complainin’ that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night,
Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but figured he’d be all right.

He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun.
Oh but mama that’s where the fun is.

 

Blinded By The Light Meaning

I’ve come across a lot of different interpretations of this song. That’s always nice, because it means it can appeal to different people in different ways. In other words, it is able to touch a lot of people on a personal level.

That said, Bruce himself has basically explained what the song means during a VH1 special. And his explanation is that the song doesn’t really have an overall meaning. Each line has a meaning, but the lines don’t all connect to form a coherent story.

In other words, the song is basically a collection of different kinds of imagery from Bruce’s life. He was heavily inspired by Bod Dylan and the song has a very Dylanesque feel overall. But unlike Dylan, the various images do not come together to form a larger whole. That is why Springsteen’s version of the song was never successful.

In addition, Bruce admits to using a rhyming dictionary to write this song. That is why there are so many rhyming words that sometimes feel a little strange together. At the same time, it does lend the song a kind of poetic quality, similar to Dylan’s tunes.

Since there is no overall meaning to the song, let’s take a look at what some of the individual lines mean. After that, well look at an interesting alternate theory concerning the meaning.

Because even though Bruce himself has said there is no rea meaning behind the song, that has not stopped fans from reading a meaning into it anyway.

 

Meaning Of Individual Parts

As mentioned, everything in the song is drawn from something in Bruce’s life. IT’s just that those things are not related. Let’s take a look at some of them.

 

Madman drummers

This phrase in the very first line of the song refers to Vinnie Lopez, whose nickname was “Mad Dog” Vinnie was the original drummer of Bruce’s E-Street Band.

 

Indians in the summer

Growing up, Springsteen played L:ittle League baseball and the team he played on was called the Indians. They played in the summer.

 

Teenage diplomat

Bruce has said he was referring to himself here.

 

In the dumps with the mumps

Bruce was once sick with the mumps when he was younger.

 

Boulder on my shoulder

Bruce considers himself to have a large chip on his shoulder. It’s a boulder, because it rhymes (thank you, rhyming dictionary).

 

Some all hot, half-shot, heading for a hot spot, snapping fingers clapping his hands

This is about being a know-it-all when younger, who in actuality, does not know much about anything.

 

Cut loose like a deuce

The “deuce” here refers to a “little deuce coup, which is a two-seater hot rod.

 

Silicone sister

This is obviously a reference to breast implants, which comes from a stripper at a local strip club in Asbury Park. Bruce believes it may be the first ever mention of breast augmentation surgery in popular music.

 

An Alternate Theory

I’ve come across a few different explanations for this song. Perhaps the most interesting turns it into a song about drugs, specifically cocaine. As is so often the case with theories like this, there is a good chance it was concocted while high on drugs.

Let’s take another look at different lines and see how they could be interpreted in this way.

 

Blinded by the light

This refers to dilated pupils, a common side effect of being high on drugs.

 

Runner

This refers to staying up all night long, which is also common with cocaine and other stimulants.

 

Revved up like a duece

Refers to being wired, i.e. full of energy. This is a common effect of cocaine.

 

Tripped the merry-go-round

This refers to tripping on drugs and feeling wild.

 

Told me I’ve got what it takes

This says that he can handle the strength of the drugs being consumed.

 

I’ll turn you on

“Turning someone on to something” is getting them interested in something new. In this case, that is some new cocaine.

 

Play the song with the funky break

Listening to music is great when high on drugs, so she wants to listen to some cool music while they get high together.

 

Checkin’ out the weather charts to see if it was safe outside

This refers to making sure that there is no police presence outside, i.e. it is safe to go out.

 

Early Burly asked me if I needed a ride

He was hitchhiking home early the next morning after an all-night drug binge and someone stops to pick him up.

 

She got down but she never got tired

She came down from her drug high, but she still has energy and is not tired yet.

 

She’s gonna make it through the night

She did not suffer an overdose, despite the amount and the strength of cocaine consumed. She will make it through the night.

 

Blinded By The Light Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

What did you think of the alternate theory relating this song to cocaine use? Considering Bruce himself has explained the meaning of Blinded by the Light, we obviously know it is incorrect. But it’s still interesting how different interpretations of the same song can be?

Do you have another interpretation of this song? Which version do you prefer: the Manfred Mann one or the Springsteen one? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

If you enjoy Bruce’s music, you might enjoy our list of songs about spirits and ghosts and our list of songs about migration and immigration. They both includes one of the Boss’s songs. Any idea which ones?

And if you enjoy articles discussing the meanings of songs, check out our interpretation of Fade Into You by Mazzy Star. The meaning of those lyrics is much less clear.

Another good one is the meaning of Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival. For many years, fans thought the meaning was mostly obvious, but John Fogerty shocked them all when he explained the true meaning in an interview years later.

For something completely different, check out our analysis of the lyrics to Black Betty. That song generated a ton of controversy, although it was not the lyrics that did it, but the race of the band members.