For some unknown reason, I can relate to this song and Bruce Springsteen’s experience when writing the excellent Tunnel of Love album. A disastrous and short-lived marriage to someone too young and too ill-suited to him, followed by a period of bitterness and then finding a ginger to settle down with for decades. Such was my bitterness in the late 1990s that I told a close friend of mine to kick my head in if I ever contemplated marriage again; he reminded me of that when I got engaged to my current wife. The song itself is a celebration of both love and vulnerability; in the video Springsteen and his future wife Patti Scialfa spend most of the song staring into each other’s eyes.
Again, there is no reason for sharing this video other than that I heard it on the radio and it is one of my favourite songs.
I have eclectic music tastes…
Gin Blossoms: Video of the Day #27
The Jam: Video of the Day #26
Even Gary Glitter: Video of the Day #17
And here’s a video of John Cleese expressing transphobic wrongthink in 1979: Video of the Day #2
Full lyrics of Tougher than the Rest…
“Well it’s Saturday night
You’re all dressed up in blue
I been watching you awhile
Maybe you been watching me too
So somebody ran out
Left somebody’s heart in a mess
Well if you’re looking for love
Honey I’m tougher than the rest
“Some girls they want a handsome Dan
Or some good-lookin’ Joe, on their arm
Some girls like a sweet-talkin’ Romeo
Well ’round here baby
I learned you get what you can get
So if you’re rough enough for love
Honey I’m tougher than the rest
“The road is dark
And it’s a thin thin line
But I want you to know I’ll walk it for you any time
Maybe your other boyfriends
Couldn’t pass the test
Well if you’re rough and ready for love
Honey I’m tougher than the rest
“Well it ain’t no secret
I’ve been around a time or two
Well I don’t know baby maybe you’ve been around too
Well there’s another dance
All you gotta do is say yes
And if you’re rough and ready for love
Honey I’m tougher than the rest
If you’re rough enough for love
Baby I’m tougher than the rest”
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