(Credits: Far Out / Larry Busacca – Alamy)
Wed 1 October 2025 19:30, UK
The River could well be considered one of Bruce Springsteen‘s finest records.
Split in two, and therefore, naturally somewhat polarising for fans, the duality of the hard rock songs alongside their more tender moments is a balancing act that few artists could have pulled off with such aplomb. But Springsteen does just that with the delicacy usually reserved for French patisserie.
But even in the finest bakeries of Paris there is the odd fly in the Chantilly cream, and one such track is ‘Crush On You’ a tune that arguably demonstrates Springsteen at both his most playful and his most lost artistically. Now, for those shouting at their screens demanding that the rock anthem be given a fair process, let me explain a little.
Firstly, for the most part, Springsteen is a bona fide original. But as E-Street Shuffle carefully pointed out, the track is deeply influenced by The Clash’s own track ‘1-2 Crush On You’, and not just in title alone. The track that featured as the B-side to the 1978 release of ‘Tommy Gun’ is equally bouncing, equally joyful and feels about as close as Springsteen ever got to truly copying one of his major influences.
“Joe Strummer, my great, great departed friend and brother that I never had. You have been my inspiration for the past 40 years, Happy birthday, brother. God bless you,” Bruce Springsteen said on what would have been The Clash frontman’s 70th birthday. And with Strummer once repaying the compliment, there’s a lot to suggest that Springsteen wasn’t just aware of the Clash track, but a fan of it.
Taking inspiration is one thing that nearly every single musician has done, and perhaps even fallen foul of before. But things get a little worse for ‘Crush On You’ as Springsteen once proclaimed the track “the stupidest song we ever wrote,” and that’s a remark that is hard to ignore. Though lyrically the tune is clearly not aimed at being the most intellectualised piece of ‘The Boss’ output, there are some lines in there worth burying down deep into the annals of Springsteen’s history.
But, if you want the final nail in the coffin as to why ‘Crush On You’ deserves to be considered perhaps one of the songwriter’s worst efforts, then you need only look at his setlists. Springsteen is famed for delivering a truly awe-inspiring run of songs during any given show. He often asks for requests to fill his hours-long performances, and with buckets of songs suggested, he picks the ones he likes and provides buckets of sweat performing them.
After performing the track 31 times in the year of its release as part of The River‘s promotional tour, Springsteen would unpack it only twice before having to once again air out the tune during the 35th anniversary tour in 2016. The fact is, Springsteen considers this a tune worthy of being thrown into the fire, even if you do want to rescue it.
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