By Arianna Balsamo, Music Subeditor
The aggressive resurgence of 'I’m on Fire' (1984) by Bruce Springsteen, also known as, ‘The Boss,’ is not an uncommon phenomenon; it’s one we’ve seen with songs such as Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ due to its appearance in Stranger Things season 4, or Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car,’ which has undergone countless remixes and covers since the original was released in 1988. Though these tracks have never actually been forgotten, it seems that every few years a song from the 80s comes back to haunt us, creeping into our reels in the form of a Jim and Pam edit from The Office.
It’s fair to say that the spike in 'I’m on Fire’s' popularity is not surprising due to the recent release of the Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere (2025), starring Jeremy Allen White. Though receiving mixed reviews at the Bath Film Festival preview, White received extensive training on how to sing and sound like Springsteen, and I think this is showcased the most when he sings 'I'm On Fire' (I’m not only saying this because it took me until the end of a TikTok reading some comments to realise that it in fact wasn’t Bruce Springsteen singing in the background.)
I do also believe that the reason why it is one of Springsteen's most streamed songs, standing at 670,887,193 million streams on Spotify, and why it is being talked about again and again is because of its timelessness; at its core, 'I’m on Fire' is full of a yearning and longing that applies to anyone who has experienced the kind of love that is painful, forbidden, or perhaps wholly unrequited. The lyrics ‘Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull/ And cut a 6 inch valley down the middle of my skull,’ are gut-wrenching, symptomatic of true heartbreak and a burning frustration that makes you feel like you're literally 'on fire.'
Of course, with some older songs, there also comes great modern criticism. The opening lines ‘Hey little girl is your daddy home?/ Did he go and leave you all alone?/ I got a bad desire’ have been questioned and interpreted in countless ways, seen by some as a predatory call out to a younger girl. However - the highly acclaimed original music video directed by John Sayles suggests a love for a woman who is already married - also synonymous with the lyrics ‘Tell me pretty baby is he good to you?/ And can he do to you the things that I do?’ It's sheer envy if I’ve ever heard it.
Perhaps another reason why it was criticised was as a result of its length, being one of Springsteen’s shortest songs at two and a half minutes long. Despite this being viewed as a drawback to some of its listeners, I’d have to disagree; I think a lot of its allure stems from its brevity - it is transient, and so it doesn’t leave any space for inattention - once it’s on, it’s on, and you have to listen closely before it’s over.
Listening to the rest of Born in the U.S.A (1984) and Springsteen’s discography comes as a slight shock if 'I’m on Fire' is the first song you’ve heard. The song is much slower and more minimalistic than, say, 'Cover Me,' for example. 'I’m on Fire' was almost entirely improvised, created by infusing some lyrics Springsteen had been working on with Roy Bittan on the synthesiser, Max Weinberg on bass drum, and Springsteen on acoustic guitar.
The 1980s were a time of heavy experimentation with synthesisers, and there were concerns that a sound that was so artificial combining with the classical plucking of the acoustic guitar wouldn’t work, but it most certainly did, and the sounds weave and blend in and out of each other beautifully. The final version was recorded in 1982, though it wasn’t released until 1984.
In an interview with David Letterman in 2002, Springsteen said that by the time he was finished with Born in the U.S.A he was ‘fed up’ with it, content only with the reception it got from his fans. Luckily, Springsteen still plays 'I’m on Fire' at his concerts and completed a world tour this year, now active in interviews with Jeremy Allen White promoting the biopic.
'I’m on Fire' deserves all the attraction it has received, it was and still is one of the greatest songs I have ever listened to.
Featured image: @Springsteen
What’s your favourite Springsteen song?
