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had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra
I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova
I could walk like Brando right into the sun
Then dance just like a Casanova
With my blackjack and jacket and hair slicked sweet
Silver star studs on my duds like a Harley in heat
When I strut down the street I could hear its heartbeat
The sisters fell back and said "Don't that man look pretty"
The cripple on the corner cried out "Nickels for your pity" Them gasoline boys downtown sure talk gritty....
Actually, I'd say 'No Surrender,' and 'Bobby Jean,' (along with 'Backstreets,' of course) are Bruce's best male-on-male love songs (sexual or otherwise). Why nobody's done an urban, east coast Brokeback Mountain (Brokeback Boardwalk? Brokeback Turnpike? Brokeback Streetcorner?) scored by the Boss, I don't rightly know.
Heh. I wouldn't exactly call that the same thing, IRFH. The theme's of intense male friendship among street people do kind of lend themselves to the Brokeback treatment, though, I think.
The only reason I think Wild Billy is the best argument isn't that it's the best song (you're right, the others are better) -- it's just the most unequivocal. I have heard thickheaded Bruce fans turn themselves inside out arguing that Backstreets, Bobby Jean, and No Surrender are actually about relationships with women. And Bruce walks the line in those songs -- he gives all the information you need to suss it out, but never spells it out.
But in Wild Billy, the innuendo and the homosexuality of some of the characters are made pretty darn clear:
The hired hand tightens his legs on the sword swallower's blade
and
And the strong man Sampson lifts the midget little Tiny Tim way up on his shoulders, way up
And carries him on down the midway past the kids, past the sailors
To his dimly lit trailer
And the ferris wheel turns and turns like it ain't ever gonna stop
And the circus boss leans over, whispers into the little boy's ear "Hey son, you want to try the big top?"
But I agree that the other songs are homoerotic, and that they're actually much better in that they describe a real relationship from the point of view of the person within the relationship. But he never just says it. So when you need to argue that yes, Bruce writes gay themes, this is the song I use.
And Bruce walks the line in those songs -- he gives all the information you need to suss it out, but never spells it out.
Which is what kind of makes them so amazing. They can also be about intense friendships and straight romantic relationships too. They bring home the fact that intense emotions and attachments are something we all feel.
'Wild Billy,' is more explicitly homoerotic, I'll grant you, but musically I always found it difficult to listen to.
Side question for the gay mechas: what the Boss' status within the gay community, bith politically and culturally? I was rereading his bio 'Glory Days,' and there was a passage that intimates that Bruce and his manager Jon Landau were conciously trying to reach out to the gay audience without sacrificing his essential rock and roller identity.
The first sausage'n'pepper sandwich is on me.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
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