I wrote a Friday Morning Listen that was a mashup of Joe Jackson, Bruce, Clarence, and Fellini. I was nervous about a bunch of things that day, not the least of which was the health of Clarence. Well, the Big Man flew off the earth and left me with a pile of memories and a huge desire to listen to “Growin’ Up” over and over again.
That is exactly what I did for several days. My version of choice appears on Live 1975-1985. It’s got everything you’d ever want in Bruce from that era: the rolling piano arpeggios, the glockenspiel accents, the goddamn guitar story, the explosion into the final verse.
Like most of the tunes from Greetings, “Growin’ Up” tells stories, however veiled, of the rise into adulthood and the ambitions that might get you there. I’m not sure what my young self thought about this song. At that point in my life, the road to maturity was paved with fear of the unknown, not ambition. Still, the positive energy that builds through the song is pretty hard to miss, though it always seemed like the song was over too soon. I wonder how old I was before I’d think the same thing about my youth?
Next up: Mary Queen of Arkansas.
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Whenever I come back to my guitar – sometimes even after months of non-playing it – I usually can’t remember how to play no more than two or three songs from start to end. One of them is always, no exceptions, ‘Growin’ Up’… My teen years are way behind me but that song remains. With the same spirit, same power and same joy as it was the first time I’ve heard it. Need to say more?