Bruce Springsteen was advocating for the rights of the common working-class man. The song was widely misinterpreted as jingoistic, and in connection with the 1984 presidential campaign became the subject of considerable folklore. In 1984, conservative columnist George Will attended a Springsteen concert and then wrote a column praising Springsteen's work ethic. Six days after the column was printed, in a campaign rally in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan said, "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire—New Jersey's own, Bruce Springsteen." Two
The River (Bruce Springsteen song) became one of Springsteen's best-known songs. It was included on both his 1995 "Greatest Hits" and 2003 "The Essential Bruce Springsteen" compilations. The song was also incorporated in the European edition of the 2009 "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Greatest Hits". The aggregation of critics' lists at Acclaimed Music rated this song as the #13 song of 1980, as well as #114 of the 1980s and #800 all time. The song was debuted in public at the Musicians United for Safe Energy concerts at Madison Square Garden in September 1979, and was featured in the subsequent 1980 film