Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” Lyrics Meaning

Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska” is a reference to the shooting case of Charles Starkweather, a 19-year old school dropout. In 1958, Starkweather was arrested and sentenced to death after he was found guilty of murdering 11 people. According to reports, his then girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, was his accomplice, though her role in the incident still remains questionable. It was also believed that the murderer faced lots of challenges growing up which led him to the act.

In view of this, Bruce Springsteen, in this song, tries to explain why people act in a certain way though they are aware of its consequences. He makes reference to the electric chair which was used for Starkweather after he was found guilty. He also quotes the words of the teenage murderer who suggested that the situation one finds him/herself might be the reason why they carry out certain actions and might not necessarily be by choice.

Bruce Springsteen talks about “Nebraska”

In 1996, the singer, in an interview, explained that the song wasn’t intended to recreate the event, but to go further and dig up the cause of the actions.

Release and Composition

Springsteen released the song in January 1982 off an album which has the same title as the song. This well-composed song was written by the singer himself.

The Real Case of Charles Starkweather

Charles Starkweather was a high-school dropout who had a lot of issues growing up. He grew up with his parents who were having some financial challenges. In order to provide for himself, Starkweather took up a job in a newspaper warehouse owned by Western Union at the age of 18. It was at this stage that he met his lover, Caril Ann Fugate, through the lady’s sister. During one of their outings, Starkweather decided to teach his new-found girlfriend how to drive. In the course of doing so, Fugate crashed the car which was registered in the name of her boyfriend’s dad, Guy. Upon hearing the news, Guy became disappointed and banished his son from the house after a heated argument. Starkweather later ended his job at the warehouse and started working as a rubbish collector. During this period, he started developing different thoughts aimed at improving his situation. He then came up with the philosophy that “Dead people are all on the same level”.

Murders Begin

His murder records started somewhere in November 1957, where he shot and killed Robert Colvert, an attendant at a local service station. This happened after Colvert declined to sell to him a stuffed animal on credit. In January 1958, he visited the home of his girlfriend where he met the lady’s mum and stepdad, Marion and Velda Bartlett, but not his lover. It’s believed that Fugate’s parents weren’t a fan of his boyfriend, and after some arguments, Starkweather shot the couple and later stabbed and strangled their little daughter called Betty Jean, aged two.

He subsequently sought Fugate’s assistance to secretly bury the corpses of her own family whom he had murdered. Strangely enough, Fugate assisted him in burying the bodies in their backyard.

After noticing that the police has been informed, he together with Fugate fled to a farmhouse owned by August Meyer, a friend to Fugate’s family. Starkweather later shot and killed the 70-year-old man before murdering another couple named Carol King and Robert Jensen. By the end of the year, his murder count had risen to 11, making him one of the most wanted men in Wyoming and Nebraska.

Capture

During a car chase, he was injured by a piece of glass from his windshield after a police officer fired at him. He was later arrested and appeared before court in 1958. Though he initially argued that he held his girlfriend in hostage, he further explained that she also participated in the actions. After the trial, he was condemned to death by electrocution. Fugate was however given life imprisonment, but was pardoned in 1976. She became the youngest girl in the history of America to appear before court for first-degree killing.