Song Lyric of the Day (Bruce Springsteen, on the Meager Comfort of ‘Murder Incorporated')

“No matter where you step you feel you're never out of danger

So the comfort that you keep's a gold-plated snub-nose thirty-two.”—Bruce Springsteen, “Murder Incorporated,” from his Greatest Hits CD (1995)

The news of the hit on reputed Gambino crime family boss Frank Cali brought to mind for me—and, I suspect, many other people—memories of the last big rub-out of such a high-ranking chieftain, Paul Castellano in 1985. It represented an eerie reminder of the continuing relevance of Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, which became a publishing sensation this month 50 years ago.

It also brought to mind what remains, I think, one of the most ferociously powerful songs in the entire catalogue of Bruce Springsteen. His concise lyrics summon, quickly and effectively, the fear and loss of soul of the “made men” who go mad in organized crime. 

For a particularly blistering performance of this classic, I urge you to view this YouTube clip of Springsteen on David Letterman back in 1995, when The Boss made the most of his first appearance with The E Street Band in God knows how long.