What is the meaning of the lyrics of Manford Mann's "Blinded by the Light"?

Bruce Springsteen wrote "Blinded By The Light" after most of the other songs on the Greetings album were finished and is also one of the few songs for which Springsteen wrote the words before arranging the music.

The song's swiftly-paced, jumbled lyrics are stream of consciousness descriptions of a series of bizarre individuals he met while a young artist in New Jersey. Playing small venues, such as bars along the Jersey Shore, Springsteen recounts various characters from these events. He alludes to Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, then his drummer, in the opening line "Madman drummers", as well as the "silicone sister" (bartender, possibly referring to an erotic dancer) who encourages him to play a particular, unknown song. United by the chorus: "And (s)he was blinded by the light/cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night/Blinded by the light/(S)he got down but (s)he never got tight, (s)he's gonna make it (alright) tonight", the song goes on to chronicle Springsteen's trouble to get the bar patrons, who rarely cared about or even heard the music, to get excited by his performance.

The meber reference is to the religious conversion of Paul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, but Springsteen was referring metaphorically to the music industry and wealth and fame. The lyrics of the song feature extensive use of internal rhyme rather than the more common end rhyme, in couplets such as:

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east. He says "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funnybone, that's where they expect it least." Springsteen's version has been described as folky and acoustic compared to the Earth Band's hard rock take on the song, which prominently features early electronic keyboards. The theme from the popular piano waltz "Chopsticks" can be heard prominently after the song's bridge.

The chorus of the song features the commonly misunderstood lyric, "Blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night." ("Deuce" refers to a '32 Ford Deuce Coupe.) Many listeners hear the word "douche" in place of "deuce." Manfred Mann's Earth Band changed this line slightly to "revved up like a deuce" (often misquoted as "wrapped up like a douche") and repeated it much more frequently in their version than Springsteen did in the original; they also omitted parts of the verses and rearranged the order of the remaining lyrics.

Springsteen, in his 2005 VH1 Storytellers appearance, lightheartedly made the assertion that the sole reason that Manfred Mann's version of the song went to number one is that the altered lyric is actually "revved up like a douche". Bruce said, "The original lyric is 'cut loose like a deuce' referring to a two seat hot-rod, a little deuce coupe. Manfred Mann changed the lyric to 'revved up like a douche', which is a feminine hygienic procedure.... so, they're different." It should be noted, however, that Manfred Mann's website lists the lyric as "deuce" rather than "douche". It was once rumored that Chris Thompson's New Zealand accent may be responsible for swapping deuce for douche; however, this cannot be correct as "deuce" said with a New Zealand accent is pronounced something similar to "juice". A video of a 1976 Manfred Mann performance seems to support the "altered lyric" position. While "deuce" and "douche" would be pronounced in much the same way, in the video, the singer clearly seems to be singing "wrapped" - rather than "revved" - consistent with the "douche" lyrics listeners have heard.

...wrapped up like a deuce another runner in the night....


i have no freakin idea! catchy song though :)

One of my many fav's. Doing what your not suppose to do. The things you are forbidden to do are the things you what to do the most no matter what people say or their warnings. "Mama always told me never to look into the eyes of the sun...but Mama that's where the fun is."

The song was written by Bruce Springsteen. Here's the basic meaning:

The song's swiftly-paced, jumbled lyrics are stream of consciousness descriptions of a series of bizarre individuals he met while a young artist in New Jersey. Playing small venues, such as bars along the Jersey Shore, Springsteen recounts various characters from these events. He alludes to Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, then his drummer, in the opening line "Madman drummers", as well as the "silicone sister" (bartender, possibly referring to an erotic dancer) who encourages him to play a particular, unknown song. United by the chorus: "And (s)he was blinded by the light/cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night/Blinded by the light/(S)he got down but (s)he never got tight, (s)he's gonna make it (alright) tonight", the song goes on to chronicle Springsteen's trouble to get the bar patrons, who rarely cared about or even heard the music, to get excited by his performance.

The meber reference is to the religious conversion of Paul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, but Springsteen was referring metaphorically to the music industry and wealth and fame.

Ask Bruce Springsteen... it's his song. Cut loose like a deuce, referring to the '32 Ford Deuce Coup. Revved up is what Manfred changed it to and deuce is commonly heard as douche in this rendition. As for the meaning... it's all over the place. Some say drugs and sex, etc. but I believe what others seem to agree on and that's being a star being caught up in the moment. Some argue that the being blinded by the light is being blinded as to what the music industry is actually doing ie manipulating your song and trying to give you an image that distorts what you're trying to convey. Springsteen's version is better in my opinion, but I believe most people enjoy Mandred Mann's version better being as it went #1 and this was the only one of Springsteen's songs to go #1 even though he wasn't singing it.

These other people may be right to... I'm going off of what I've heard and what seems to make sense to me (the other ideas make sense too so pick your favorite answer haha), but honestly all songs are open to interpretation, and what they mean to you is what's important. If a song has no meaning to you then you probably don't care much for it. If you find it mimics your life or a part of you is in the song you generally grow a bit attached to it.