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:

Just Give Me A ReasonPink

Pink wrote "Just Give Me A Reason" about how one partner can feel jilted over something trivial, like how her boyfriend passes her the butter.

RudeMagic!

"Magic" was the first word to serve as both the title of a #1 hit (Olivia Newton-John's 1980 tune "Magic") and the name of an artist behind a chart-topping song (Magic!'s 2014 hit "Rude").

Sister ChristianNight Ranger

"Sister Christian" was written by Night Ranger drummer Kelly Keagy, who was imploring his younger sister to be careful in her reckless youth, especially when "motoring" (driving around) with friends.

More Than a FeelingBoston

Boston leader Tom Scholz went back to his job at Polaroid after releasing the group's debut album. When his co-workers kept coming by to tell him "More Than A Feeling" was playing on the radio, he knew it was time to quit his day job.

HeroesDavid Bowie

David Bowie's "Heroes" is about his producer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend, but Bowie didn't admit this until the '00s, since Visconti was married at the time.

Harry Patch (In Memory Of)Radiohead

Radiohead's "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" is about the last surviving World War I veteran to fight in the trenches.

Editor's Picks

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.