Bruce Springsteen: Like a Killer in the Sun: Selected Lyrics 1972-2017

by Leonardo Colombati

Hard o find

Genres: Music

608 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Leonardo Colombati è nato nel 1970 a Roma. Ha pubblicato i romanzi Perceber (Sironi 2005; Fandango 2010), Rio (Rizzoli 2007) e Il re (Mondadori 2009). Ha curato i volumi Bruce Springsteen: Come un killer sotto il sole. Il Grande Romanzo Americano (Sironi 2007) e La canzone italiana 1861-2011. Storia e testi (Mondadori 2010). È redattore della rivista "Nuovi Argomenti" e ha scritto per diverse testate, tra cui "Corriere della Sera", "Il Giornale" e "Vanity Fair". Collabora a "IL", mensile de "Il Sole-24 Ore". È membro del Pen Club italiano.

Reviews

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a 2016 Springsteen concert in Rome's Circo Massimo: "And I know what everybody's feeling: they...realize that inside this gigantic ruin we will forget that nature is none other than chaos, brutality, and death and understand that beauty can save the world, that the music coming off the amplifiers hits you like a bullet below your breastbone--where the sound distributed by earphones in homeopathic doses will never get--and that anyone can be Johnny B. Goode and shout, "it's a town full of losers and I'm puling out of here to win." ... Every time this man fools me. When he gets up on stage, in that specific moment, in no other place on earth does anything so significant as his shows happen. You become the center of the world."

Despite the books several grammatical errors (I imagine due to the translation from Italian that needed better editing), Colombati has created an incredible historical resource and stirring written dedication for any Bruce fan. I'm nowhere near as die-hard a fan as many, but still greatly enjoyed the stories, facts, and interpretations presented here. It was fascinating to read the passionate exploration of America's songwriting prince & his all-American tales by a European author/fan.

[I did giggle when reading, as a Lake Oswego native, Colombati state that Bruce married Julianne Phillips "on" rather than IN Lake Oswego (the town of the same name). The parish the ceremony was performed in, Our Lady of the Lake, is still an 11-minute walk to the actual shore of the lake. Even though their marriage didn't last (and thank god, so he was able to find and love Patti), I do love knowing my hometown has a small connection to The Boss.]

[jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly if bruce springsteen played jungleland live and dedicated it to me i too would write a 900 page book about it so i can't fault this guy for that, even tho i don't know if the essay in the beginning made the points it wanted to make.

i also don't know if this did what i expected it to do but it did draw my attention to the fact that bruce springsteen apparently enjoys lana del rey's born to die (the paradise version. i SEE you old man) and also the national and i will treasure that information forever. and ofc the songs are brilliant so there's that. only for the hardcore fans i'd say, but if you are one this is worth the read.

[mal h · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a formal synopsis about Bruce Springsteen's career and songwriting, this is not the book for you. However, if you want to read a book that is written by an incredibly genuine and passionate lover of his work, then you're in the right place. The layout of the book is very nice, and it takes you through his career with the songs themselves in one section and brief explanations of their significance in the next. Whoever selected the songs did a really great job, but I would have liked to see more of them. There were a few typos throughout the book (this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Many of the bigger releases like SJM books and the fourth wing also had typos. it happens) but overall this is definitely worth the read.

I'm seeing bruce in concert this summer with my mom. I don't think I've ever been this excited about anything

[Wu Ming · Rating 5 out of 5]

WM1: Quello curato (o meglio, scritto) da Leonardo Colombati non è il primo libro dedicato ai testi e alla poetica di Bruce Springsteen, ma è certo il primo romanzo ottenuto montando quei testi e commentando quella poetica. Come un killer sotto il sole ha infatti un sottotitolo esplicito: "Il grande romanzo americano (1972-2007)". Frase che ha più significati. Messe in sequenza, le lyrics di Springsteen formano una narrazione di grande respiro, una saga dai personaggi e temi ricorrenti, descritti e affrontati da molteplici angolazioni. Leggiamo i testi, e il Great American Novel - sogno di ogni generazione di autori americani - prende forma sotto i nostri occhi, e - grande sorpresa! - non solo � scritto in versi, ma � una "lettera rubata", perch� questo romanzo lo abbiamo avuto sotto gli occhi - anzi, nelle orecchie - per tutti questi anni e non l'avevamo riconosciuto. Lo abbiamo visto uscire a puntate. Lo abbiamo scoperto e ascoltato in ordine casuale, sovente procedendo � rebours. Abbiamo visto milioni di persone appassionarsi alle storie di Johnny 99, di Raney Williams, degli operai siderurgici di Youngstown, e noi stessi siamo entrati in quel mondo, abbiamo chiesto a Rosalita di uscire con noi, ci siamo chiusi nella camera di Candy, siamo arrivati in ritardo per l'ultimo saluto a Bobby Jean...
Faulkner. Steinbeck. Dos Passos. Kerouac. Flannery O' Connor. Sono tra i numi tutelari di Springsteen tirati in ballo in interviste e conversazioni. Colombati dev'essere partito da l�, e non si � limitato a tradurre i testi e metterli in una particolare sequenza.
No, ha fatto molto di pi�, e la sua � un'operazione letteraria. Il serpente d'asfalto attacca a srotolarsi e allungarsi dopo un saggio introduttivo di oltre cento pagine: ciascuna canzone � presentata, annotata, sviscerata e messa in rapporto dialogico con tutte le altre. Possiamo seguire i riferimenti incrociati, le evoluzioni e variazioni, le riprese di un tema a distanza di anni, l'ascesa e il declino di un personaggio, di una localit�, di un rapporto tra persone. Dopo trecento pagine di epopea con testo a fronte, ecco un lungo montaggio di aneddoti raccontati da Springsteen in interviste o introduzioni parlate di canzoni, dal palco, in quei momenti in cui "il Boss" si trasforma in stand-up comedian.
Questa sezione del libro � a tutti gli effetti un'autobiografia di Springsteen dall'infanzia all'uscita di Magic, l'unica mai pubblicata, ed esiste solo in italiano! Colombati l'ha composta raccogliendo spizzichi, bocconi, battute, con un'abnegazione e una metodicit� che nei libri sul rock si riscontrano di rado. Seguono schede e glosse a tutte le canzoni presenti nel libro, una cronologia dettagliata della carriera di Springsteen e, giunti in fondo, un epilogo di Colombati in forma di "ringraziamenti", che in realt� � un prologo messo alla fine.
Terminata la lettura, si scopre un altro significato del sottotitolo. Quello di Colombati su Springsteen � stato a molti effetti lavoro autoriale: lo scrittore romano ha interrogato i testi del suo cantante preferito in modi diversi da quelli di un filologo, modi che solo uno scrittore/narratore potrebbe concepire. Usando Springsteen come materiale per il suo collage alla Kurt Schwitters, l'autore di Perceber e Rio ha finito per scrivere il proprio inatteso, paradossale Great American Novel. Vale a dire: la scansione quadri-dimensionale del canzoniere di Springsteen al fine di "schiuderlo" in quanto romanzo sui generis diviene essa stessa romanzo sui generis. Non c'� da parte mia alcuna malignit� nel definire Come un killer sotto il sole il miglior romanzo di Colombati. Con buona pace tanto dei pasdaran della forma-romanzo quanto dei suoi detrattori.
http://www.wumingfoundation.com/italiano/Giap/nandropau…

[J.J. Lair · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a bunch of books in one. The forward gives the thesis of the book. Songwriters such as Bob Dylan and especially Bruce Springsteen can and should be considered poets and literary artists. The author explains how the overall work of Springsteen to date could be considered one narrative. He drags this out for 131 pages. As I write this I'm surprised it was that short because it felt like forever.
Then, we get brief descriptions of songs that all have a similar theme. Interesting. There are the notes on lyrics, that was interesting because it does show the similarities in songs and how much religion is in the music.
The biography was good in at it showed Springsteen in the community of great musicians. It wasn't in Springsteen's own biography, but I learned here about the contract agreements arranged to put the E-Street band back together. Springsteen wrote about it in Born To Run, the book, but I got details here. Who has copyrights and royalties and whatnot. What the split on concert revenue is. We always think of Springsteen and the E Street Band as one unit, but it's more that they were hired hands rather than contributors.
Clearly I liked the end notes and song discussions, the first half of the book is a drag.

[Danny Marcalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not really a book. It's a very long essay on Springsteen's poetry, delivered through songs. Followed by a list of songs and their lyrics and then followed by some more or less interesting information about those songs. Followed by some biographical data and then statistics.

I've read this in the English translation, which is kind of weird. This really doesn't read like a book, more like the transcript of a presentation one would give in college. There are lots of rhetorical questions, something I did not appreciate.

The information is repetitive. But: there is some interesting stuff in here, some that I didn't register or know after reading the recent Carlin biography, nor after reading Bruce's autobiography.

So, all in all, it's a weird book, one that certainly is not for Springsteen starters, more for hardcore fans. Who will probably have a better time reading it, if they are fluent in the language in which it was written, in Italian.

[Karen Donnellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference book when looking for lyrics.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most fascinating book about BRUCE I have ever read, by far.