Bruce Springsteen fans are trying to figure out why people “hate” one of his lesser-known songs.
Outlaw Pete, from his 2009 album, Working on a Dream, has picked up a poor reputation according to dedicated fans in the dedicated Springsteen subreddit. Fans curious as to why there is so much hate surrounding the song took to the Reddit group and put the question to fellow Springsteen listeners. One user asked: “Can someone explain the hate on Outlaw Pete? I keep seeing people saying how they don’t like Outlaw Pete and I don’t understand why. It’s my favourite song off Working on a Dream. and the live version is even better.”
Fans have tried to figure out where this hate for the song has come from, with one user suggesting it could be because it’s a “strange jumble” of tones. They wrote: “I think the thing that tends to put people off is that the song is such a strange jumble of tones: it starts with own of his goofiest verses, and it’s tough to tell if the over-the-top bombast of the music is sincere.
“At some point, the lyrics get less goofy, and it feels less like a thoughtful tonal shift and more like the song never really settles on one to begin with. To put it another way: the opening feels like a joke, but many other elements of the song are telling us that it’s not. This incongruity is easy to ridicule.
“I’m also fairly critical of the song’s musical arrangement, which I’ve always found clunky and derivative. The main riff blatantly being a KISS lift doesn’t help, but even on its own terms it’s an awkward rhythmic fit for the lyrics Bruce puts to it.” Another user has suggested it could be Springsteen’s own Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, the legendary song featured on Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.
Can someone explain the hate on Outlaw Pete
byu/TopApprehensive9806 inBruceSpringsteen
They wrote: “It’s something of a Springsteen equivalent to Dylan’s even longer ‘Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts,’ another Western epic story song that takes up a lot of space on the album containing it. In both cases, some people enjoy an unusual change of pace; others find the song boring after two or three plays and start skipping it.
“But “Lily…” tells a better tale and has more interesting turns of phrase, in my opinion. And even if I didn’t like “Lily…” at all, Blood on the Tracks would be better equipped than Working on a Dream to survive one long song I didn’t like.” Others were still adamant on Outlaw Pete being a poor song and cited some of the lyrics as a major problem.
One sure wrote: “I just can’t get over ‘He robbed a bank in his diapers and his little bare baby feet.’ It makes me cringe every time I hear it.” Another added: “Not everybody likes the same things. I don’t like it, it’s boring to me and nothing hooks me in. But that’s just me.” A third wrote: “It’s fun, it’s silly, it doesn’t bother me. Unfortunately, I think it’s one of the best songs on the album. I like 2000s Springsteen a lot, but Working on a Dream is kinda rough.”
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
It’s based on a bedtime story his mother used to tell him. I like the song and lived the live performances of it!! It’s a Bruce fairytale. Bruce at his storytelling best 👍
I just find the story weak. There’s no twist at the end. I cant even play the song anymore. Even something like Real Man off HT is much much better, cheese included lol