Manfred Mann - Blinded by the Light

Manfred Mann - Blinded by the Light

The song came about when Columbia 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, the song came about from 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. 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 song on, and first single from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Springsteen's version was commercially unsuccessful and did not appear on the music charts.

"Blinded By The Light"

[Chorus:]
Blinded by the light
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night
Blinded by the light

Madman drummer bummers
Indians in the summer
With a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps
As the adolescent pumps
His way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder
Feeling kinda older
I tripped a merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing
Sneezing and wheezing
The calliope crashed to the ground
The calliope crashed to the ground

[Chorus:]
But she was blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night.

Some silicone sister
With her manager mister
Told me I got what it takes
She said, I'll turn you on sonny to something strong
Play the song with the funky break
And go-kart Mozart
Was checking out the weather chart
To see if it was safe outside
And little Early Pearly
Came by in his curly-wurly
And asked me if I needed a ride
Asked me if I needed a ride

[Chorus:]
‘Cause she was blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce,
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.

She got down but she never got tight
She's gonna make it to the night
She's gonna make it through the night

But mama, that's where the fun is
But mama, that's where the fun is

[Solo]

Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun
But mama, that's where the fun is

Some brimstone baritone
Anticyclone rolling stone
Preacher from the east
Says, "Dethrone the dictaphone.
Hit it in its funny bone.
That's where they expect it least."
And some new mown chaperone
Was standing in the corner
Watching the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone
Was messing with his frozen zone
Reminding him of romance

The calliope crashed to the ground

But she was blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.

(Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat)

Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.

(With a boulder on my shoulder feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground)

Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.

(And now Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers daddy's within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band.)

Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.
Blinded by the light.
Revved up like a deuce
Another runner in the night.

(Some silicone sister with her manager mister told me I got what it takes
She said I'll turn you on sonny to something strong)

She got down but she never got tired,
She's gonna make it through the night.