#16 Backstreets by Bruce Springsteen

We are each born into a society, a culture, and a family that mold us as we live our lives. It shapes part of who we are and who we become. But each of us is also born into a “fire”, a fire of hunger and desire that throws flames at our insides as we make our way through this world.

That fire cannot be ignored. It is a fire that does not need to be tamed. It is a fire that needs to be faced and wrestled with and allowed to burn away bits and pieces of ourselves so that we can grow new skin, newer more developed parts of who we are in finding our place and purpose in the world.

It is on the backstreets this battle has to be fought. It is in the dark night of the soul where we can be “set…loose from everything”, away from the dictations of other men, away from the lies and promises of an empty, soulless world, a world where it’s a thin line between truth and lies, between love and hate, between existing and living.

It is a journey that must be made alone. We may have someone like Terry on our journey, someone to strengthen us on our ride, but in the end it is ourselves we must look in the eye. It is our questions we need to find the answers to on our own.

When we stop and take a moment, more than a moment, to wrestle this fire inside of us, only then can we get a real glimpse of who we are and what we are meant to be. Only then are we free to reach the highs and lows of a passionate life and escape the million year old chains we were born in…only on the “backstreets” of our lives.


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