Bruce Springsteen’s “Bobby Jean” Lyrics Meaning

This classic is about someone who is extremely close to the singer by the name of “Bobby Jean”. More to the point, Jean opts to leave town without notifying him, despite their closeness. Indeed the implication is that the person did so sort of on a whim, as even Bobby’s mother tried to talk him out of it to no avail.

Now it would be easy to presume that Bruce is singing about a romantic interest. In fact by using a gender-neutral name, if you will, he actually wanted to lead some listeners down such a path of understanding, as in leave the sex of the person he is singing about unidentified. However, the idea of Bobby being a romantic interest is buttressed by the singer referring to Jean as “baby” on the last line of the song. Thus this is the way some people have interpreted the song, as it being about the lover of the singer, who one day decides to bounce just like that. However, the more-scholastic conclusion is that Jean is actually representative of one of Springsteen’s male homeys.

Said individual would be one Steve Van Zandt. At the time of the release of this song, he was part of Springsteen’s E Street Band. And he unceremoniously quit while they were in the midst of recording the very album this track is featured on. He was someone who had been a friend of Springsteen since 1966 or as the song suggests, from around the time the Boss was 16 years old.

Conclusion

So conclusively, regardless of who Bruce may actually be referring to, the singer is not about to go and chase after Bobby.  Instead he just wants this individual to know that wherever he or she may be, he wishes them the best.

“Goodbye, Bobby Jean”

Facts about “Bobby Jean”

“Bobby Jean” came out via Columbia Records on 4 June 1984. It is part of Springsteen’s iconic album entitled “Born in the U.S.A.”, which produced a ton of hits including the likes of the following:

• “Glory Days”
• “Dancing in the Dark“
• “I’m on Fire“
• “Born in the U.S.A.“

The song was written by Springsteen, who also co-produced it alongside the following names:

• Jon Landau
• Little Steven
• Chuck Plotkin

“Bobby Jean” made an appearance on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. This is despite the fact that it was never released as a single.

This song is referenced in a book entitled “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby. And interesting to note is that when the book was made into a film in 2000, Springsteen had a cameo appearance in the movie, marking the first time he had done so.

And by the way, guitarist Zandt (whom this song is about) did eventually return to the E Street Band in the mid-1990s.