Glee does Springsteen

Last night on Glee we heard their first attempt at a Bruce Springsteen song; the result was not that bad. The Boss didn't get the full episode treatment like Madonna, however, his song was in the opening few minutes of "Home." I had heard rumblings for awhile that Glee creator Ryan Murphy had been gunning to have a Springsteen song on his musical TV series. Many Boss message boards were all worked up trying to predict what song Murphy would select for his cast of misfits to perform. My guess was "Dancing in the Dark." Can't you just see Finn singing in the classroom and then gesturing to Rachel to get up and dance with him Courtney Cox style? In fact I could have guessed 25 BS songs before "Fire." When I found out that was the song I was surprised; even more I was impressed. I don't think anyone guessed "Fire." The song isn't even on an album proper. It was a live show favorite and was finally included on the great three disc/record set Live 1975-85. Legend has it that Springsteen wrote it for Elvis; that would have been awesome. A few prominent people have covered the song but I think it is safe to say it isn't one his most popular songs.

"Fire" is a short, sexy song about unrequited love. He is singing to a girl who is playing games with him :"Well your kisses they burn, but your heart stays cool." Springsteen name checks star-crossed lovers like Romeo & Juliet and Samson & Delilah. He sings about the passion between the two famous couples and how he and his muse can too be like those forbidden lovers. So would you pair R&J, S&D with Will & April? Probably not. They are not a couple and there is no real sexual tension between the two. If it was Will & Emma, that would be different; their relationship is more complicated and therefore "hot." Since Will and Emma have only kissed; lack of intimacy makes the song more powerful and you can bet when they kiss, "fire." Plus the song isn't a duet and having it as a duet is kind of confusing. Are they singing from one POV or two? But it doesn't matter, it was cute. I'm worried I'm sounding too much like Kara on American Idol talking about the meaning of the lyrics; oh well.

If Ryan Murphy wants to use more Springsteen songs lets hope they are as unpredictable as "Fire" was. My prayer is that next season there is a new character named Rosalita that Finn can sing to "Come out tonight!"

For fun here is a quick video of Robin Williams singing "Fire." It gets me every time!