Bruce Springsteen strums, croaks through Lorde’s ‘Royals’

It looks (and sounds) like something conceived by the jokers at Funny or Die.

But evidently Bruce Springsteen wasn’t kidding when he performed a rather growly cover of Lorde’s “Royals” during his concert Saturday in that young pop star’s hometown of Auckland, New Zealand.

Strumming an acoustic guitar in the mournful-folky manner to which his fans are accustomed, Springsteen chews through Lorde’s lyrics about never having seen a diamond in the flesh in a video clip posted on YouTube (and brought to the attention of Pop & Hiss by the devoted Springsteen enthusiasts at Rolling Stone).

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Later in the video, the Boss makes a small adjustment to Lorde’s words, telling the crowd, “Let me be your ruler / You can call me king bee.” It’s pretty, uh, classic?

“Royals” is just one of several songs Springsteen has been covering on his current tour of Australia and New Zealand. According to Rolling Stone, he’s also done AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” and the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” at recent shows.

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Twitter: @mikaelwood