Trapped

Exactly one week ago today, I was enjoying the best concert I have ever been to.

Funny—it was a show by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Yes, the 80s rock singer of Born in the U.S.A. The guy that led me to tell my mom nearly 10 years ago, after meeting my now-husband Dan, “Sure he’s cute and all but Mom, Dan likes Bruce Springsteen. Yuck!!”

But in these last 10 years, I’ve gotten familiar with and fond of Springsteen’s vast catalogue of music. It is so much more than Jersey bar band music and Born in the U.S.A.

I’ve even seen Bruce and company live in concert seven times, enjoying every single show.

Whether you like his music or not, there is no denying that Springsteen is quite a musical icon. And if you don’t like his music, I challenge you to sit through one of his three-hour performances and leave the concert saying that you are still not a fan.

The man is just that magnetic and ubertalented and hard not to enjoy. Simply put, he’s quite an entertainer. That, and as I’ve learned, he finds a way with his lyrics (or the way he performs them) to get you.

It seems most of his fans can pick out at least one such song.

For me, it’s Trapped. The song’s powerful lyrics were written by Jimmy Cliff, but Bruce and the band perform them in such a way that seems to understand, empathize with, and empower me in my life right now.

Last Thursday, April 12, in front of 18,000 screaming fans, Sprinsteen sang Trapped.

For those five or six minutes, I felt like Bruce was singing it right to me. It is a perfect anthem for me and those of us living with Multiple Sclerosis. Especially those of us “confined to a wheelchair.” I hate that phrase, but as much as I hate it, that is my reality.

This song gives me hope and makes me believe and feel powerful… do you see what I mean?

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Well it seems like I’m caught up in your trap again
And it seems like I’ll be wearin’ the same ol’ chains
Good will conquer evil and the truth will set you free
And I know someday I’ll find the key
Then I know somewhere I will find the key

Well it seems like I’ve been playin’ the game way too long
And it seems the game I played has made you strong
Well when the game is over, I won’t walk out the loser
And I know that I’ll walk out of here again
And I know someday I’ll walk out of here again

But now I’m trapped! Ooh yeah!
Trapped! Ooh yeah yeah!
Trapped! Ooh yeah!
Trapped! Ooh yeahhh!

Now it seems like I’ve been sleepin’ in your bed too long
And it seems like you’ve been meanin’ to do me harm
But I’ll teach my eyes to see beyond these walls in front of me
And someday I’ll walk out of here again
Yeah I know someday I’ll walk out of here again

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There are a few more lyrics, but I’m choosing to end with these.

Yes. Right now I’m trapped.

I’m stuck inside my body and held prisoner by Multiple Sclerosis. MS is evil. And I definitely believe good will conquer evil.

Yes. I know someday I’ll walk out of here again.