It’s time for another dip into the “1968 Notebook,” a compendium of early, unrecorded song drafts by an eighteen-year-old Bruce Springsteen(!)
Somehow, the notebook survived through the years until it was auctioned by one of Bruce’s former roadies in the late 1980s, fetching $57,706.61. Because it was auctioned publicly, fans and collectors were able to get a peek at it. Here’s the table of contents:
Although we’re not aware of either studio or live recordings of any of these songs, we do have reason to believe that Bruce performed some of not most of them during his solo acoustic gigs that year.
One of those songs is the focus of today’s essay: “A Winter’s Revelation (In 9 Illusions).” It is, arguably, the most poetic song of this collection, and the most daring in its construction and ambition.
Unfortunately, though, it seems at the tender age of eighteen, Bruce’s reach on this song exceeded his grasp. To be fair, we’re forced to judge based solely on the lyrics–we do not know what style of accompaniment Bruce intended for these songs–and there are certainly many timeless songs that sound pretentious if recited as poetry rather than sung.
Still, it’s hard not to wince a little at times. Let’s take a read.
We should first note that the song is indeed a construction of nine “illusions.” Each brief verse presents a different dream, fantasy or metaphor, and all nine revolve around a “revelation” (although not the kind we expect). And in this respect, at least, Bruce succeeds at constructing his song’s framework.
The illusions themselves, however, range from serviceable to painful–none of them match the level of songwriting Bruce had already proven himself capable of.
The first two verses merely serve to establish the narrator’s despondent mood. (Note: I’ve taken the liberty to correct the misspellings in the original lyrics.)
As the walls of my wooden shack
come crashing on my dreams
Losing forever in the puzzles
of time-faded memories
As the ancient oak tree
stands shaking in the wind
Silent in its timeless rest
in her boughs loneliness sings
Illusion #3 appears to be the closest thing we have to a chorus, at least establishing an A-A-B verse structure with parallel opening lines for the B verses. It also marks a lyrical shift, as Bruce now rouses from his reverie to address his love, who we suspect (based on the previous two verses) is no longer with him:
Do you remember the hours we spent listening to the rain?
I felt the warmth of your tender love
and never knew your name
It didn’t matter, love was there just the same
Bruce returns to increasingly fantastical imagery for the next three verses, and although there is at least one flash of inspiration (a wizard who changes the poetry of a loner), for the most part Bruce is grasping without latching onto metaphors for the pain of lost love.
As the Wizard of the North
flies through crimson skies
Changing words stolen
from a verse written by a lonely child
As the creatures of the Magic Forest
lie crying in the sun
Thinking of their friend
who was lost to the hunter’s gun
Do you remember the days we spent on the Eastern Gate?
The aged shepherd of lost time
showed us the dead loneliness in hate
But things were good then, you were there with me again
The song’s final third is the weakest. I almost feel bad sharing it, so again I feel compelled to point out: Bruce was eighteen (at most) when he wrote this song, there’s no evidence that these were final lyrics, and certainly no reason to believe he ever intended them to be widely read. So this is for historical purposes only:
As the young flower lifts her head
to live in the warmth of the sun
The universe is hidden in her breast,
her cries cry out for love
As I run through the golden fields
that border the edge of my mind
The Queen of Darkness comes riding by
with diamonds in her eyes
Do you remember the years we spent in the Palace of Sunshine?
The elders taught us from century-old books
The wind gifted us with a child, the night bid us welcome
as we left to play amongst the stars during a winter’s revelation
See what I mean? There is, however, one admirable aspect here worth noting: Bruce titles the song “A Winter’s Revelation,” but waits until the song’s last line before referencing it–and when he does, it’s clear that he’s fooled us. He leads us to expect an epiphany, a revelation in the “eureka” sense, but instead Bruce meant “reveal” in the “laying bare” sense.
Because Bruce crafted the song out of fantastic imagery of the past, we don’t realize until the very end that he actually spends the song creating a barren landscape of the present, devoid of love and companionship. And that is the winter’s revelation.
We can clearly see what Bruce was aiming for, and it would have been a neat trick if he had pulled it off. Heck, it’s a neat trick even in the attempt. But “A Winter’s Revelation (In 9 Illusions)” requires stronger lyrics to meet the songwriter’s lofty goals, and at this point in time Bruce wasn’t quite there.
But of course we know he would be before long.
A Winter’s Revelation (In 9 Illusions)
Never recorded
Never performed
Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our full index. New entries every week!
