The song is loosely based on a bus ride Springsteen once took to visit a girlfriend in uptown Manhattan.[1] As a result, the song is basically set in Spanish Harlem, although it contains some anomalous references, such as to actress Joan Fontaine.[5] The characters are more thinly sketched than in other songs on Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., but the song does contain the incongruous rhyming of other Springsteen songs of the period and is full of good humor.[6][7] Springsteen only rarely plays "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" in concert, but when he does it is usually enjoyed by the fans.[6]
Structure and themes
"Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?" is a beat-style pastiche of a journey through city streets.[8] It is fast-paced and has no chorus. One recognizable theme is a movement towards the sky, as in the lines "drink this and you'll grow wings on your feet", "interstellar mongrel nymphs" and "(Mary Lou) rides to heaven on a gyroscope."
Personnel
According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:[9]