The "Boss" and his nightly drive

One of my all–time favorite songs is "Open All Night," from Bruce Springsteen's album Nebraska. The album came out in 1982 and didn't do well. His follow–up LP, though, made him a "name" all over again. Born in the USA had something like seven top–10 hits and sold millions. My first version of it arrived at Christmas '84. I wore that cassette out and purchased another one a few years down the road. I also bought it a couple times on CD. At one point, I decided to buy all of Bruce's albums. Nebraska was one of them, and "Open All Night" is a great driving tune.

A couple of years back, I found a live version of "Open All Night," and Springsteen had one of his catchy stories as a prelude to the song. He talked about getting off the New Jersey Turnpike at Exit 8 and going through Hightstown, where he was pulled over. The cop recognized him as the "singer of that 'Born to Run' song," but informed him he was still "in a lot of trouble, boy." I always thought the live lead–in was cool, but never realized that the story could be true.

Springsteen talked in the intro about playing frequently up in New York City and driving home late, late at night, "around three, four in the morning." As I recently drove down the turnpike, I thought it was cool when we passed Exit 8. Now, I am aware that the "Boss" is from Freehold, NJ. Guess how you get there? That's right ... you have to use Exit 8 and go through Hightstown from the NJ Turnpike to get to Freehold. Now, whether the story is true ... I don't know. I do know, though, that the song makes more sense to me since I saw the reality of the exit, the turnpike, and how close NYC is to Exit 8.