In 1969, a country song reached number 41 in America. Now, Bruce Springsteen says it is so beautiful it can reduce him “to tears”

Bruce Springsteen has praised Charlie Rich’s 1969 country song “The Gold Ring”, saying it can still reduce him to tears. He sees the song as an example of country music’s ability to give dignity to working people’s everyday struggles, a quality that helped shape his own songwriting.

The song tells of a husband who cannot afford a hoped-for dress or a pay rise, and finds comfort in his wife’s patience and their marriage. Written by Rich and his wife Margaret Ann, it reached number 41 on the country chart but did not cross into other charts as some critics had anticipated. Springsteen later included it among 11 songs that capture the meaning of music, helping bring renewed attention to Rich, who died in 1995.