Saturday, March 31, 2012

A shorty: Revved up like a deuce

So I was listening to the radio, and a song came on that I always enjoy: Manfred Mann's cover of "Blinded by the Light."


Just goes to show, sometimes regular FM radio really CAN come through for you (hey, I can't afford satellite radio ... so it's radio or iPod for me).

Some folks have no idea that it's a cover (and some folks have no idea who Manfred Mann is, either). But the song, penned by one Bruce Springsteen (my last blog post was on another of the dude's songs), is an instant pleaser. There's nothing about it I don't like.

Sure, Manfred Mann kind of take liberties with the lyrics ("cut loose like a deuce," gets changed), but that's a minor quibble. Revved up like a deuce isn't quite the same as wrapped up like a douche (or whatever people think they hear when the song plays ... Folks: it is DEUCE, as in deuce coupe ... a car), but the word play and the sound and the production still add up to some audio magnificence.

Rather than blather on and do song comparisons between the Springsteen and Mann versions, or go into asides on how the song incorporates the piano exercise "Chopsticks," or give notes on Manfred Mann (like giving trivia on a friend of the Beatles who was a member of the group for a while), I'll just let the track speak for itself.

(And just for your own gratification, I'm going to provide the lyrics to the song below the video. That way, you can follow along. These lyrics are copied and pasted from a website, so they could be wrong ... proving that it seems everyone hears or mishears things in the song that no one else does.)


The lyrics:

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. 

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 


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 

The calliope crashed to the ground 

And 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 that song with the funky break 

And go-cart Mozart 
was checkin' out the weather chart 
to see if it was safe outside

And little Early-Burly 
came by in his curly-wurly 
and asked me if I needed a ride. 

Asked me if I need a ride 

‘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 tired, 
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. 

Mama always told me not to look in to 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 standin' in the corner, 
watchin' the young girls dance. 


And some fresh-sown moonstone 
was messin' 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. 


Good enough. That'll do, Manfred Mann. That'll do.

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