Interview With Jeffrey Symynkywicz, Author of The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen: Rock and Redemption

When I read this article about a Universalist Unitarian minister writing a book about Bruce Springsteen's lyrics I decided to pursue an interview and am jazzed to get it.
His book is "The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen: Rock and Redemption, from Asbury Park to Magic."
Let me admit my bias from the outset - I'm a UU and I'm a Springsteen fan, especially for his lyrics.. So while I threw in a few skeptical questions this is NOT going to be an interview where I give the author or musician hell (heck most UU's don't even believe in hell) for their beliefs.
That said, let's get on with this show.
This is the first of a two part interview. The second part will focus more on the book itself. 

Scott: Why did you decide to write a book on this topic?

Jeffrey: I've been thinking about the meanings inherent in Springsteen's lyrics since the first time I heard him-- well over 30 years ago now. He has always had this amazing ability to "be there" for me-- to have that "just right" song to get me through a particular milestone or crisis in my life, and lead me on to the next stage. I think he does this for a lot of people. More and more, has he has become an increasingly public artist, I think he's doing it for us as a society, too. 

Over the years, I've come to use a lot of Springsteen references in my sermons (and just in the discussions I have with others on a wide range of subjects). More and more, I felt the need to get these ideas into a more organized, systematized format. "Why not a book?" I thought.
Then I discovered that Westminster John Knox Press has a really great series called "The Gospel according to..." which deals with the ideas of a wide range of popular culture figures-- the Beatles, Oprah, Tolkien, the Simpsons (my favorite), etc. I thought a Springsteen book might fit into this format very well; so, I put together a query, and sent it off to them. Luckily, their Director of Publishing, David Dobson, is a real Springsteen fan, so he "got" what I was driving at. 

Were you writing this with your Unitarian minister hat on or your Springsteen fan hat on or both?

Well, it comes more from my experience as a Springsteen fan than my life as a minister of a particular denomination, certainly. (And it's Unitarian Universalist minister; we from the Universalist side of the aisle are touchy about that.) Springsteen's work has touched my life in so many ways-- and I've always felt blessed to be in a church where I could share the insights he provided openly. So there is much in the book which looks at Springsteen through the lens of my particular faith-- but not "faith" as a particular denominational creed (we UUs don't have a creed, anyway), but rather as my way of apprehending and processing the world as a religious and spiritual being. My book certainly isn't out to peddle a particular religious point of view. There are Unitarian Universalist references, certainly; but there are also quotes from Catholic thinkers and writers, Jewish ones, and even the Buddha. I think there might even be a quote from the Koran in there, too. 

Did you use portions of this books as sermons?

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Portions of the material in this book are based on things I originally said in sermons at various churches I have served over the past 27 years. They're part of the ongoing conversation I've been having about the "meaning" in Springsteen's work-- which has been going on, as I said, from the first time I heard him sing (at my wife's senior prom in 1976). Now, no doubt, parts of what I've written in The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen will make their way into future sermons!
As I've said before (numerous times), the members of my congregation are thrilled I've written this book-- because now I have someone else to talk to about Springsteen besides them! 

Devil's advocate: How can this singer, whose sung songs about (gasp! horror!) pre-marital sex and other sins be a Christian let alone a singer with a Christian message?

Of course, the Bible is full of sex, too. Springsteen also presents the human predicament in all of its vast breadth and scope. He also is a rock & roll singer. So between the two, you know there's going to be some human sexuality involved.
Springsteen's "theology" is also a deeply incarnation, embodied school of thought. It doesn't just exist in our heads; it's all\about experiencing more life now-- about engaging our whole selves (including our bodies) in the living of life.
But Bruce is also has a refreshingly balanced and non-libertine view of sex: He doesn't believe in just doing it, whatever the cost and whatever the consequences. Sex, like any human endeavor, is neither all good nor all bad; it's how we use you. Just and loving sexual relations "open up the book of you", he says. Unjust and exploitive ones slam the book shut, and just lead to more pain and more heartache. 

Would you argue that Springsteen's music should be played on Christian songs?

Some of it. "Jesus Was An Only Son" (from Devils & Dust) is a lovely, reverent, almost traditional look at the man Jesus, his relationship with his mother, and the transcending meaning of his life. "Across the Border" (from The Ghost of Tom Joad) is a wonderful meditation (on heaven, I believe). The song "Tom Joad" is a clarion call for social justice. "Mary's Place" (from The Rising) is (to my ears) about our need for a community of faith. "The Rising" itself is an anthem about resurrection (I use it as my benediction every year now on Easter Sunday). I could go on and on... Lots of his music (though not all, admittedly) would resonate within the souls of even some more traditional Christian believers. 

Has Springsteen read this book? How has he reacted toward it?

I don't know if Bruce has read it, or if he's even heard about it. I've tried to get him a copy through someone who knows someone who knows someone in the band, but I don't know if he got it. He gets an awful lot of mail, I bet.
He seems to be pretty tolerant about people interpreting his work, and has always been a little reticent in the past about endorsing one particular take on what he means over another one. I hope he's pleased that people find his art worth discussing. 

Are you planning on writing other books?

I have a bunch of other book ideas. My wife and I are talking about doing a book together, on the topic of forgiveness-- about how people in all walks of life have managed to makes forgiveness work for them in their lives. I hope that will be the next book I do.

 
Should one listen to the Boss while reading this book?

Absolutely! I say that in the introduction. Because of the fair use doctrine, I could reprint only a smattering of the lyrics from each song discussed. Knowing the text of the full song-- and hearing it sung-- adds immeasurably to the experience, and to one's understanding of the points I'm making (and even more importantly, that Springsteen is making).
Sometimes, I wonder why I wrote the book-- maybe what people just need to do is go out and listen to Bruce! That would be sufficient. But I hope that The Gospel according to Bruce Springsteen will encourage people to do just that.

How has this book been received?

I have been deeply gratified, and touched, by the reception the book has gotten thus far. Many people seem to find its insights helpful; many say how they reflect things they themselves have been thinking over the years. Some have mentioned how handy it is now to have a volume that treats Springsteen's entire catalogue (studio records, anyway) from a spiritual perspective. And the early reviews have been very complimentary-- for which I am grateful-- except for one guy who said on Amazon that the book sounded like a high school term paper (ouch!) and that he couldn't find "one single insight" in the entire contents (sounds a little extreme: I mean, you can find more than a single insight from reading the ketchup bottle!). I don't know what his issue is.
Many people seem to appreciate that the book is accesible both to longtime Springsteen fans who hang on his every word, and to newcomers to the "church of Bruce". They also seem to think that it blends a bit of scholarship with just a great love for rock & roll in general, and Bruce Springsteen in particular.