-Welcome back to "Late Night."
We're here with Bruce Springsteen.
So you know I've got three kids. They're all really young.
They're under 7, and I'm trying to
impress my music taste on them.
And I'm wondering, your kids are older.
Do they like Bruce Springsteen music?
-Um...
At first, they didn't know any Bruce Springsteen music
for a very, very, very long time.
-How do you keep it from them?
-Strangers would come up to us
and I used to always have this thing I'd tell them.
I'd say, "Look, my job? I'm Barney for adults, alright?
That's why people keep coming up to us."
And then eventually, one of my children came home
from kindergarten and said,
"Dad, what is 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out'?"
And I said, "Well, it's a song that dad wrote."
"Play it for me."
I got my guitar, and I started --
♪ Tenth Avenue... ♪
"Play it for real."
[ Laughter ]
Okay. [ Chuckles ]
And I played him the song and he got it.
And then totally ignored that part of my life for
most of the rest of my life, to this day.
They get a kick out of it sometimes.
But for the most part...
I always say, no child
wants to see 50,000 people cheer their parents.
[ Laughter ]
You may want to see 50,000 people boo your parents.
That would be fun.
That would be interesting.
But who wants to see 50,000 people cheer their parents?
No kid does. No kid.
So we have a very peaceful coexistence
where they pretend it never happened.
[ Laughter ]
You know, they picked their own heroes.
They don't need me. -There you go.
But they have in you, I know you're a grandfather.
Congratulations. -I am.
-And this is you. Is this the son who just had --
-Yes, he is.
-This is a lovely photo of you and your son.
Really keeping it together there, Bruce.
I'm not saying, he doesn't look like a weakling,
but you're just arm-for-arm with him right there.
-Not too bad for 72.
-It's not too bad at all.
[ Cheering ]
If they're gonna let you pick up the baby,
you've got to prove that you've got the arms for it.
-I know.
We've been so happy with the granddaughter.
Sam's great.
He's been a great dad,
and he's got a beautiful wife, Alex.
Love you, Sam and Alex, and...
Lily Harper.
-There you go, Lily Harper. That's a beautiful name.
-So what is Thanksgiving at the Springsteen house like?
-It's the usual thing.
My main thing on Thanksgiving is not the turkey,
it is the sweet potatoes covered with the marshmallows.
-Oh, really? -Yeah.
-I've had some people looking down their nose recently
at the marshmallows and the sweet potato,
but you're holding firm on this?
-Totally. -Alright.
-And canned cranberry sauce. -Yeah, absolutely.
[ Cheering ]
-I don't want to see
any real cranberries in that cranberry sauce.
I want it coming out of the can slice by slice,
so I can put it on my chicken. -Absolutely.
I feel like it was not a thing that was made
for the organic version.
-No.
-It was made to exist in a can, and anything outside of it...
-It's a great day. We have a lot of fun.
Usually most of the family tries to get together,
and, you know.
I mean, it's this bizarre day.
It revolves around eating, you know?
It's just kind of weird.
[ Laughter ]
But it's good.
-You're also part of this tour going international.
You're gonna be in Europe,
and I remember once, years and years ago,
I saw you in Holland.
And I thought the most interesting thing,
and it must be fascinating for you,
is when people sing along to your songs,
which are in many cases,
these real slice-of-Americana songs,
with thick European accents.
-Oh, yeah.
-I remember you doing "Hungry Heart,"
and just hearing a bunch of Dutch people being like,
[Imitates heavy accent] "I got a wife and kid
in Baltimore, Jack."
[ Laughter ]
-Well, you know, first of all, it's a shock to me
that when I started scrubbing away in my little bedroom
in Freehold,
that if I could have ever imagined
that thousands of miles away,
that people who do not speak or understand English
are going to sing your music?
And that you're gonna go out and you're gonna be greeted --
I mean, it still completely --
It still blows my mind, you know?
It's a wonderful thing.
We have incredible fans in Europe,
where we have our biggest audience.
2/3 of our audience is in Europe.
It's much bigger than our audience in the United States.
And it's just...
They're a deeply involved and committed audience
that is always there, year after year.
It's pretty amazing.
-Well, I think they're gonna be pretty happy
that you're coming back,
and we are just thrilled to have you with us.
Thanks so much for making the time.
Really appreciate it.
That's Bruce Springsteen, everybody.
His 21st album, "Only the Strong Survive,"
is available now.
Stick around. We'll be right back with Mike Birbiglia.