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Brooklyn Rock
Instructor: Malcolm Campbell
English 1101
September, 17, 2014

Springsteen: An Analysis of a Country Music Song

To some, country music is irritating and should stay in the south. They may say that its
all right but too repetitive, and they only listen to it because their friends do. But to others,
country music is always played on their radio. They think of summer when they hear it, its an
emotion. The definition of country music can change depending on an individuals taste and their

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geographic location. However, with the continuously fast pace the country genre is growing at,

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there are bound to be fans all across the nation in the next few years.

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The country song I chose to analyze is well known classic called Springsteen by Eric
Church. This song in particular centers around two things: the infamous country rock singer
Bruce Springsteen and teen romance. The song is all about reminiscing to a past fling, every time
the main character hears a Bruce Springsteen song he is reminded of a love he had when he was

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17. One of the lyrics even goes funny how a melody sounds like a memory. This song is very
similar to two other songs called 19 You + Me by Dan and Shay, and Rewind by Rascal
Flatts. All three of these songs share the same plot of looking back on a romantic period of time
with a woman. You could even classify these songs into their own subfield genre of romance
country, which would apply to many other songs in the country genre. These songs also have
their own convention that country songs that dont involve romance may not have, which is
lyrics about loving or pursuing a woman.

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Although those certain songs share a convention separate from some other country songs,
all country songs in general are made of the same basic components. Those conventions consist
of a straightforward chord progression, a resonating chorus or bridge, and a lyric told story. You
will most likely never hear a country song that doesnt contain those things. There are also a few
things that you would never hear in a country song unless it isnt of the typical country music
genre. Those constraints consist of things such as techno/club type beats, lyrics involving drug
use, or lyrics that consist of multiple curse words.
The purpose of the country music song Springsteen is to be an easy listening, feel-good
song. The song lacks certain instruments such as the fiddle and steel guitar which are prominent

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in other country songs. The removal of these instruments was a rhetorical choice the singer Eric
Church made. He did this to ensure a laid-back tone and melody that gives a good vibe to its
audience. Church continuously uses his voice and with his unique pitch and tone changing from
verse to verse, he is able to convey more emotion in the song, which makes it more approachable
to his audience as he had intended.
This song in particular has three audiences. Firstly, it catches the attention of many teen
country music fans mainly because of the story told in the lyrics about the young romance, and
the easy sing-a-long aspect of the lyrics. The song also attracts many fans of the older
generation because of the many allusions to singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen and some
mention of titles of some of his songs. Lastly, this song appeals to many country song enthusiasts
because of the distinct tones and melodies that are flawlessly perfected in the song. This song
throws no surprises to its audiences because it speaks a familiar language. That is the language of
country music conventions; a steady chord progression, resonating chorus, and a lyric told story.

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As mentioned before, the purpose of this song is to be smooth and easy to listen and sing
to, and give the artist Eric Church an accessibility that he never had before. The medium of song
was the best choice because you can convey certain emotions through song that typically cant
be achieved through any other form of communication.
The song Springsteen came out in 2011 around the time that country music was
becoming more popular among teens. Artist Eric Church made the rhetoric choice to make the
story behind the song be about a teen romance so it would be more relatable to the new fans of

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country. By playing in favor of the youth, Church was able to get more hype for his song because
of how the teen generations spread publicity for it like wildfire.
I think this song from the country music genre could easily be adapted into a romance
novel. The conventions of the genre would change into the conventions of a romance novel, such
as male and female leading characters, development of a relationship between them, some type
of conflict between the two, and a resolution/happy ending. The purpose would be to entertain

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and engage readers in the story. The audience would typically be women of any age who enjoy
reading and romance. Converting from song to book means changing the medium, which can
have pros and cons. You get different emotions and responses from written word than you do
from actually hearing the emotion in a singers voice. The choice of medium all comes down to
what kind of reaction you want to get out of your audience. Basically, the whole purpose of
genres comes down to reactions and responses that are trying be achieved.
Although these are two very different genres, consisting of different conventions and
both of different mediums, they both have a similar goal. One strives to tell a story through lyrics
and derive emotions using certain melodies and tones in the singers voice. The other actually

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tells a story and provokes emotion through written word. With genres, it all comes down to
conventions when trying to achieve a goal.