Factory

Album: Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)
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  • Early in the morning factory whistle blows
    Man rises from bed and puts on his clothes
    Man takes his lunch, walks out in the morning light
    It's the working, the working, just the working life

    Through the mansions of fear, through the mansions of pain
    I see my daddy walking through them factory gates in the rain
    Factory takes his hearing, factory gives him life
    The working, the working, just the working life

    End of the day, factory whistle cries
    Men walk through these gates with death in their eyes
    And you just better believe, boy
    Somebody's gonna get hurt tonight
    It's the working, the working, just the working life
    Oh it's the working, the working, just the working life

    Uh hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
    Uh hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
    Uh hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
    Uh hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm Writer/s: Bruce Springsteen
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 7

  • Martin from ScotlandIncorrect. Bruce was from the Freehold borough, downtown Freehold, which was the poor end of town and his lyrics and songs reflect reality. He may not have held a real working mans job but his observations resonate through the decades which is why his lyrics connect with hundreds of millions across the planet
  • Seth from Freehold,Bruce Springsteen's father drove a bus. Freehold is the county seat for Monmouth County, NJ and has a sizeable population of professionals such as doctors, administrators, and lawyers. Songs about an administrator's harsh working conditions prove unpopular while songs about downtrodden factory workers prove financially successful. Although Freehold boasted several mills within the borough, Freehold is not an industrial town like Jersey City or Perth Amboy, NJ. Nor is Freehold like the one mill towns depicted in movies, or seen in places like Manville, NJ where the asbestos plant closed due to unintended consequences.

    Nevertheless, Springsteen is a gifted song writer. He is a hard working entertainer. He is competitive. And he is a wealthy socialist. Don't let the art define life as a reality, you'll be disillusioned by the delusion.
  • Gene from San Diego, CaFactory, the song of communism.
  • Steve from Fenton, MoActually the music to Jesus Christ Superstar was written many years before Bruce's album Darkness on the Edge of Town came out. If Bruce used the melody of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" as the bridge, it would simply be as a symbolic tribute to his father, not Bruce trying to steal the melody.
  • Kartik from Peace River, CanadaI'm almost positive Bruce Springsteen did not copy the short instrumental off Jesus Christ Superstar. He wrote this before that movie or song were made so no it was not intentional.
  • Steve from Fenton, MoA friend of mine pointed out that the short solo in Factory is the same melody as the title lyric in the Jesus Christ Superstar song "I Don't Know How to Love Him". I always wondered if that was intentional by Bruce symbolizing his rough relationship with his father.
  • Tyler from Hamilton, CanadaBruce said the only two songs his dad ever liked were the two about him.

    This song really makes it clear that Springsteen is all for the working man. Freehold NJ was an inudstrial town.
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