In the song, “The River”, Bruce Springsteen talks about the love he felt while at the river, and then of course an unwanted pregnancy, ruining his life and his dreams. It shows the actions of a good man, sticking by his wife and having the baby, but it also shows the dreams in which he gave up to do these things.

“And the judge put it all to rest, no wedding day smiles” is a line in the 5th stanza that shows how heartbreaking this truly is. Unwanted pregnancy in teens, or people in their young twenties, is a big factor today in modern society. The thing that isn’t mentioned in this song is the idea of abortion. Which sounds a little bit brutish, I know, but nowadays that is becoming more and more common. People believe abortion helps prevent things like shattered dreams, and unwanted children, and it may in fact do that.

“And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take,” is followed by “Now those memories come back to haunt me.” This shows the regret Bruce feels as he’s bringing up his child and being with Mary. And then, questioning himself to see if he ever had a dream. “Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true, or is it something worse.” Bruce, it is something worse, because if you can’t remember your dreams, then my man, you are not living.