"Hungry Heart" captures the feeling of a restless spirit, drawn from a line in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "Ulysses" about "roaming with a hungry heart." Bruce Springsteen initially wrote this rock song for the Ramones after Joey Ramone approached him. However, on the advice of his producer and manager, Springsteen kept it for himself, and it became a lead single from his fifth album, The River. The recording features a slightly sped-up vocal and backup from Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles. It plays like an anthem for those searching for something more, even if they're not sure what it is.