#6 Adam Raised a Cain by Bruce Springsteen

It’s a difficult process, breaking away from the blueprints of our upbringing. We emulate and pattern ourselves after our parents deliberately and subconsciously. Their ways of dealing with life often become our own, even for a short time only. Adam Raised a Cain exemplifies this struggle through the father/son relationship.

As a child grows and begins finding their own way, the faults of their parent (s) become evident. We no longer see our parents as flawless heroes who can do anything. We see their sins and their limitations. This does not mean we lose respect or appreciation for them. However, this process of growing up leads us to the realization that we need to find our own way, and not repeat the unhealthy patterns that exist in our family’s past.

This realization can be painful. “In the summer that I was baptized / my father held me to his side / as the put me to the water / he said how on that day I cried”. A parent’s inclination, though they want their children to succeed and grow, is often to direct and keep their children at or below their level of functioning. Our loyalty and ideals about the natural order of things, namely parents being more developed than their children, are put to the test. Our love for them makes passing them emotionally, spiritually, or in any other way, a very difficult, though necessary step. “We were prisoners of love, a love in chains”.

In order to break away from that shared “hot blood burning in our veins”, acceptance of what we’ve inherited and a determination to rise above it is needed. When Springsteen sings, “He was standin’ in the door I was standin’ in the rain” he paints an image of a stubborn father stuck in his ways and a determined son painfully letting his father know that though he’s his father’s son in many ways, he has to make choices for himself.

The world, too, makes this transition difficult. They see you as who you were, “your father’s son” and don’t easily accept you for who you are as your own person. “You inherit the sins / you inherit the flames” but they do not have to break you, they do not have to take you, they do not have to drive you into a life “working for the pain”.

All parents dream for something more for their children. Facing the reality of it, though can be a scary prospect. Watching their children surpass them only reminds them of where they failed in life, of what they wanted to become and never managed to do so. A parent can only give themselves as they are. A child can only take what is given them, appreciate the good, and process the bad to find their own way. “Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream”.

For Complete Lyrics Visit: http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/AdamRaisedACain.html