One Headlight

Jakob Dylan on performing the song with Bruce Springsteen at the VMAs:

I was definitely self-conscious when we were sitting down to rehearse it. I think I sang the first verse and he did the second and we were going to trade lines on the last verse. I saw it coming up: He’s going to end up with the line that I basically took from him. “I turn the engine but the engine doesn’t turn.” ... Before he got to it I pointed at it and I was like, “You know, I took that line from you.” He laughed and said “Yeah I know.” Which is the nicest thing he could say at the time. It’s also just fair game. He’s understanding. That’s what rock ’n’ roll is. I didn’t take a song, I took a bit from one of his songs, and we all do that.

I never understood why the line “She said it’s cold / It feels like Independence Day” was so confusing to people. People wondered whether I maybe lived in Alaska. It never had anything to do with the Fourth Of July. It came from Bruce’s song, “Independence Day.” His song, I don’t think he talks about the Fourth Of July at all. It’s a metaphor for your own independence.