Album: Lucky Town (1992)

License This Song 

• I was driving through my hometown
  I was just kinda killin' time
  When I seen a face staring out of a black velvet painting
  From the window of the five and dime
  I couldn't quite recall the name
  But the pose looked familiar to me
  So I asked the salesgirl "Who was that man
  Between the doberman and Bruce Lee?"
  She said "Just a local hero"
  "Local hero" she said with a smile
  "Yeah a local hero he used to live here for a while"
  
  I met a stranger dressed in black
  At the train station
  He said "Son your soul can be saved"
  There's beautiful women nights of low livin'
  And some dangerous money to be made
  There's a big town 'cross the whiskey line
  And if we turn the right cards up
  They make us boss the devil pays off
  And them folks that are real hard up
  They get their local hero
  Somebody with the right style
  They get their local hero
  Somebody with just the right smile
  
  Well I learned my job I learned it well
  Fit myself with religion and a story to tell
  First they made me the king then they made me pope
  Then they brought the rope
  
  I woke to a gypsy girl sayin' "Drink this"
  Well my hands had lost all sensation
  These days I'm feeling all right
  'Cept I can't tell my courage from my desperation
  From the tainted chalice
  Well I drunk some heady wine
  Tonight I'm layin' here
  But there's something in my ear
  Sayin' there's a little town just beneath the floodline
  Needs a local hero
  Somebody with the right style
  Lookin' for a local hero
  Someone with the right smile
  Local hero local hero she said with a smile
  Local hero he used to live here for a while Writer/s: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 4

• Simone from ItalyI completely disagree, Bruce here doesn't play the part of a charlatan. It's a song about the perception of himself with all the limitations and struggles while he's seen as a hero... until they bring the rope to hang him. The guy at the train station tells him that he can be saved, and he actually feels he needs to. The lines about the whisky line and the desperation are quite clear. Butt he's seen as a hero.
• Floyd Lamore from Collge Park Maryland, FlThe College Park Kid thinks this is Bruce's best effort, sadly w/out THE Band. Sometimes I think of my hometown College Park and my running budies, Bo,JB,Ronnie, and the infamous Art Carney. When I re-visit the heritage hits me and this song will blare. Forgive my indulgence, but the Boss creates bonding similarities in his music and this song jumped out at me when I first heard the disc. Leap of Faith and Living Proof and on from there. Being near the Nation's Capital as a college Vet in the early '70's I would have the incredible good fortune to know who to talk to for a front row table in the small venues he was then playing. Like The Childe Harolde and Cellar Door, with his guitar picks on my table, our liquid courage and his incredible creative energy of Rosalita etc... surrounding us. So many wonderful times and magic and then this disc speaking concisely to his life. UNREAL yet so grateful. Thank you for the lift BOSS.
  
  
  
  
• Gene from San Diego, CaGreat song, one of the best on the album. The line "if they make us the boss, the devil pays off" might have some relevance to his name (The Boss)...
• Tyler from Hamilton, CanadaThe picture was valued at 19.99 so Bossman tells everyone in the Mtv Plugged concern in 92.

More Songfacts:

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On MeElton John

Recording "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," Elton John was frustrated and sang the line "don't discard me" with an exaggerated American accent, which is why is sounds strange.

King TutSteve Martin

The comedian Steve Martin had a hit in 1978 with "King Tut." The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who Martin would open for on tour, were his backing band on the song.

Mistress For ChristmasAC/DC

AC/DC's 1990 song "Mistress For Christmas" is about Donald Trump, who was in the news because of his affair with the model Marla Maples.

Hot For TeacherVan Halen

The voice of Waldo in Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" video was the late Phil Hartman of Saturday Night Live Fame.

No Woman No CryBob Marley & the Wailers

Bob Marley gave the songwriting credit for "No Woman No Cry" to his friend Vincent Ford, who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown, the area of Kingston where Marley grew up.

The Long and Winding RoadThe Beatles

"The Long and Winding Road" became The Beatles' last US #1 song on June 13, 1970.

Editor's Picks

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.