Nearly half a century after the release of Bruce Springsteen’s iconic track Thunder Road, one lyric has officially been changed.
The song opens Springsteen’s Born to Run, and when pressed in 1975, was said to begin with the line: “The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves“.
But a debate has been making rounds online recently regarding whether Mary’s dress “waves” or “sways”. So to settle it, The New Yorker reached out by email to Springsteen‘s longtime manager Jon Landau.
He, who also co-produced Born to Run, confirmed that Mary’s dress actually “sways“. “The word is ‘sways'” Landau said, “any, typos in official Bruce material will be corrected.”
“That’s the way he wrote it in his original notebooks, that’s the way he sang it on ‘Born to Run’, in 1975, that’s the way he has always sung it at thousands of shows, and that’s the way he sings it right now on Broadway“, he added.
Unfortunately, Landau didn’t have much sympathy for #teamwaves, saying: “By the way, ‘dresses’ do not know how to ‘wave’“.
If Springsteen can officially change “waves” to “sways” in “Thunder Road” then Taylor Swift should officially sign off on “Starbucks lovers” in “Blank Space.”
— Steven Hyden (@Steven_Hyden) July 19, 2021
Born to Run is Springsteen’s third studio album, and is his second-highest selling album after Born in the USA. It features favourites including “She’s the One” and “Born to Run”.
It has garnered much critical acclaim in the four decades since its release, and is certified 6 times Platinum in the US. In Australia, it went Platinum twice, selling 140,000 copies.
Thunder Road is not unique in its confusing lyrics. Many classic tracks continue to befuddle listeners. Aqua’s Barbie Girl is often mistaken to say, “I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world“. In reality, the lyrics are “in the Barbie world”.
BeeGees‘ How Deep is your Love is often heard as “How deep is your love? I really need to know“. If you listen closely, it’s actually “I really mean to learn“.
Oy vey! Get this Bruce lyric shit outta my feed! https://t.co/9NndRYbucU
— Stevie Van Zandt (@StevieVanZandt) July 5, 2021
