Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA

Bruce Springsteen “The Boss” is an American singer/songwriter and he is as American as it gets!

His music career started out rocky.  He is from New Jersey, from a working class family, and much of his music is about working class America.  His mom bought him his first guitar in 1953 at the age of 13 and it was not until 1975, 22 years later, that he broke the U.S. pop charts.

Everybody’s Got a Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen

Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don’t know where its flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going

Everybody’s got a hungry heart
Everybody’s got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody’s got a hungry heart

I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love I knew it had to end
We took what we had and we ripped it apart
Now here I am down in Kingstown again

Everybody’s got a hungry heart…

Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don’t make no difference what nobody says
Ain’t nobody like to be alone

Everybody’s got a hungry heart…

Do you know the uses of the word “get”?

The verb “get” is used to replace many other verbs.  What verbs can you replace with “get”?

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Where you able to think of some?

Get replaces all of these verbs:

To acquire – He will get some of his dead uncles paintings. 

To capture – When the police in Medellin get a robber they detain him temporarily and then let him loose.

To receive – I got a call from my grandmother on my birthday, she’s so sweet.

To earn – I get $50,000 COL an hour for private classes.

To understand – I didn’t get what the teacher was saying.

To catch – The goal keeper got the ball and threw it up-field.

To communicate – Andrew is always busy; the best way to get him is by email.

To become – My mom gets angry when I speak to her in English. 🙁

To arrive – When will you get to the party?

To bring – Will you get me some mazamorra?

To take – I was late to work this morning, so I got a cab.

To undergo – Laura got plastic surgery; now she looks like Yayita, Condorito’s wife.

To score – Nacional got 3 goals and Medellin did too.

To contract – My dog got the flu.

To coax (to persuade someone into doing something) – Laura got her new sugar daddy to buy her a car.

To buy – I need to buy some arepas and cheese from the corner store.

There are also a lot of phrasal verbs with the word “get” in them.  But we’ll look at those at a different time.

Everybody’s Got a Hungry Heart

Bruce uses the word “get” in the past tense.  But look at it closely, look at the contraction. Let’s write out the sentence without the contraction.

Everybody has got a hungry hear.

What tense is Bruce using? Present perfect?

It is easy to think that Bruce is using the present perfect tense because he is using “have” before the verb.  But remember that when you use the present perfect tense the verb is used in past participle.  So if Bruce was using the present perfect tense the sentence would read, “Everybody has gotten a hungry heart.”  This sentence wouldn’t make much sense.

Bruce is using the simple present.  “Have got” is an expression that means “have.”

So one can say, everybody has a hungry heart or everybody has got a hungry heart.

My mom has brown hair or my mom has got brown hair.

I have some money or I have got some money.

Song Meaning

Listen to the song again while reading the lyrics.

  • What is Bruce talking about?
  • What is the message he is trying to convey?
  • What does “to have a hungry heart” mean to you?
  • Do you have a hungry heart?

Bruce Springsteen

About the writer – Andrew Macia

Andrew Macia ArrieroHello, my name is Andrew Macia and I am the founder of the Medellin Buzz.  I am an advanced level English teacher here in Medellin, and I also have a website development, and marketing company which I run from home.

My idea with the Medellin Buzz is to push those who are learning English and to integrate native speakers with non-native speakers.

I love living in Medellin and I love Colombia.  I want to give back to the community and this is the best way I know how.  Let’s practice English and Spanish and have a great time!

About the Medellin Buzz

The Medellin Buzz is lighthearted resource for English as a Foreign Language students in Medellin, Colombia.  The Medellin Buzz is a great way to practice English because it is written in a way that is easy to understand.  If you have questions feel free to write them in the comments below or contact me.