[selcuka]

That was the first thing I thought of when I read the article. The verdict seems to be conflicting with the supporting evidence:

> He can play the guitar, but “the world is filled with plenty of good guitar players, many of them my match or better,” he writes in his excellent memoir, Born to Run

Should we assume that there aren't as many good lyric writers, who are Springsteen's match or better? This doesn't sound plausible, nor it is hinted by the article.

[spondylosaurus]

I interpreted it more as Springsteen knowing he was a better lyricist than he was a singer or guitar player, and as such played to his own strengths by focusing on that.

If everything's a competition of sorts, you're more likely to "win" if you enter in your strongest category. Even if that category isn't the category that tends to carry the most prestige (e.g., being a strong lyricist is arguably less legendary in itself than being a strong instrumentalist).

[jon-wood]

This to me feels more like the classic argument for being multi-talented. There’s lots of people who can play a guitar, or write song lyrics, or sing. There’s not so many who can do all three to the required standard to make a living from it.