Mar 31, 2022

We're All Riders On This Train



Human Touch
Bruce Springsteen (1992)
The ninth studio album from Bruce Springsteen was released 30 years ago today.  It's not his strongest album by a long shot, but the title track is one of my favorites.  It features Randy Jackson playing bass a decade before he would become a household name on American Idol, as well as Jeff Porcaro from Toto on drums.  Mr. Porcaro was one of the most prolific drummers of all time, and he passed away less than five months after Human Touch was released.
You and me we were the pretenders
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well, the world just strips away

Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers
Ain't gonna find no miracles here
Well, you can wait on your blessin's, my darlin'
I got a deal for you right here

I ain't lookin' for praise or pity
I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch

Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood
It's just you and me tonight

Tell me, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much?
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch

Oh girl, that feeling of safety you prize
Well, it comes at a hard hard price
You can't shut off the risk and the pain
Without losin' the love that remains
We're all riders on this train

So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But, hell, a little touch up
And a little paint

You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that human touch

Baby, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much?
I just want to feel you in my arms
Share a little of that human touch