Blinded by the Light

"Blinded by the Light"
	Side A of the 1976 UK single
Single by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
from the album The Roaring Silence
B-side	"Starbird No. 2"
Released	August 6, 1976
Recorded	1976, Workhouse Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock; hard rock;
Length	7:08 (album version); 3:48 (single version)
Label	Bronze Records
Songwriter(s)	Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s)	Manfred Mann and Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band singles chronology
Audio sample
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"Blinded by the Light"
Single by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
B-side	"The Angel"
Released	February 1973
Recorded	September 11, 1972
Studio	914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York
Genre	Rock
Length	5:06
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s)	Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos
Bruce Springsteen singles chronology
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. track listing
	9 tracks Side one "Blinded by the Light"; "Growin' Up"; "Mary Queen of Arkansas"; "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?"; "Lost in the Flood"; Side two "The Angel"; "For You"; "Spirit in the Night"; "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City";

"Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in February 1977 and was also a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada.

History

The song came about when Columbia Records president Clive Davis, upon listening to an early version of Greetings from Asbury Park N.J., felt the album lacked a potential single. Springsteen wrote this and "Spirit in the Night" in response.

According to Springsteen, he wrote the song by going through a rhyming dictionary in search of appropriate words. The first line of the song, "Madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summers with a teenage diplomat" is autobiographical—"Madman drummers" is a reference to drummer Vini Lopez, known as "Mad Man" (later changed to "Mad Dog"); "Indians in the summer" refers to the name of Springsteen's old Little League team; "teenage diplomat" refers to himself.[1] The remainder of the song tells of many unrelated events, with the refrain of "Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night".

"Blinded by the Light" was the first single from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Springsteen's version was commercially unsuccessful and did not appear on the music charts.

Manfred Mann's Earth Band version

Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of the song on their 1976 album The Roaring Silence. Their version includes the "Chopsticks" melody played on piano near the end of the bridge of the song. The track reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM charts. Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of "Blinded by the Light" is Springsteen's only No. 1 single as a songwriter on the Hot 100; his highest charting single as a solo performer was "Dancing in the Dark" in 1984, which reached No. 2 on the Hot 100, and his only No. 1 was as part of the USA for Africa ensemble that recorded "We Are the World".

Lyrics

Manfred Mann's Earth Band's recording of the song changes the lyrics. The most prominent change is in the chorus, where Springsteen's "cut loose like a deuce" is replaced with "revved up like a deuce".[2][3] The lyric is a reference to a hot rod "deuce coupe". Springsteen was fond of classic hot rods in his youth, hence the line "cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night". As the line is frequently misheard as "wrapped up like a douche", Springsteen has joked about confusion over the lyrics, claiming that it was not until Manfred Mann rewrote the song to be about a feminine hygiene product that it became popular.[1]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1976–77)	Peak position
Australia[4]	11
Canada RPM Top Singles	1
Netherlands	19
New Zealand (RIANZ)[5]	8
UK Singles Chart[6]	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7]	1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[8]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)	Rank
Australia[9]	88

Chart (1977)	Rank
Canada[10]	28
US Billboard Hot 100[11]	36
US Cash Box[12]	52

Musicians

Original version

Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez – drums, backing vocals
Clarence Clemons – saxophone, backing vocals

with

Harold Wheeler – piano

Manfred Mann's Earth Band cover

Manfred Mann – organ, piano, keyboards, backing vocals
Colin Pattenden – bass
Dave Flett – guitar
Chris Hamlet Thompson – vocals, guitar
Chris Slade – drums, backing vocals