In the lyrics of the song "My Hometown" how old is Bruce Springsteen when he picks up a newspaper for his dad?

The song "My Hometown", a single by Bruce Springsteen off his "Born in the U.S.A." album, was the then-record-tying seventh and last top 10 single to come from the album, peaking at No. 6 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles chart. It also topped the US adult contemporary chart, making the song Springsteen's only No. 1 song on this chart during Springsteen's career as of 2024. The song is a synthesizer-based, low-tempo number that features Springsteen on vocals.

In the song's lyrics, it begins with the speaker's (Springsteen) memories of his father instilling pride in the family's hometown. While it first appears that the song will be a nostalgic look at the speaker's childhood, the song then goes on to describe the racial violence and economic depression that the speaker witnessed as an adolescent and a young adult. It is noted at the very start of the song that Bruce Springsteen as a child is just eight years old when he picks up a newspaper for his old man/dad. This initial memory leads Bruce to others noted in the song.

The song concludes with the speaker's reluctant proclamation that he plans to move his family out of the town, but not without first taking his own son on a drive and expressing the same community pride that was instilled in him by his father.

Bruce Springsteen (b. September 1949, Freehold, NJ), an American singer, songwriter, and bandleader, became the archetypal rock performer of the 1970s and 1980s.