- Mr. Evans: 48 years ago I marched into war with my friends to fight men in swastikas. Today I see swastikas on young men on the streets of Luton. That was a very brave poem, young man. You must write more and get your message out. N.F. scum indeed!
- [leaves]
- Javed: Wow. He liked my poem.
- Malik: Why are you writing rubbish?
- Malik: You're here to study, OK? I'll find you a wife in good time. You leave that to me. And remember... stay away from the girls! Follow the Jews!
- Malik: Listen to me, beta. I'm not your typical Pakistani father who says you must be a doctor. I'm saying... lawyer, accountant, estate agent. I'm giving you freedom, see?
- Passport Official: [Processing Javed's entry into the United States] Purpose of your visit?
- Javed: I'm going to see Bruce Springsteen's hometown.
- Passport Official: I can't think of a better reason to visit the United States than to see the home of the Boss!
- [first lines]
- Young Javed: September, 1980. My best friend Matt and I have the same birthday. He got a brand new chopper bike. It's really fast and looks so cool. I got a Rubik's cube. But Matt gave me this diary that he didn't want. And I'm going to write in it every day.
- Noor: If we don't try to fix this now we will lose our son for good. And if that happens, I will never forgive you.
- Javed: Goodbye, cheese and pickle! My summer job is done! The cold war rages on. Reagan and Thatcher are still number one! But I'm stuck in Luton, one of the herd. No fun, freedom or future, 'cause Luton is a four-letter word.
- Javed: Roops! Roops! I listened to everything. Both tapes. I'm telling you, I could feel it all right here. It's like Bruce knows everything I've ever felt, everything I've ever wanted. I mean, "Sometimes I feel so weak, I just wanna explode. Explode and tear this whole town apart. Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart." I didn't know music could be like that. I mean, "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true? Or is it something worse?"
- Roops: Congratulations. You've popped your Bruce cherry. You never forget your first time.
- Javed: But the reason I connected with Springsteen is because what he sings about and champions are not only American values but are the best of human values. He talks about working hard and holding on to your dreams and not letting the hardness of the world stop you from letting the best of you slip away.
- Javed: My dad's not a typical dad. We don't have
- [sniffs]
- Javed: jokey chats. He's not like the dads you see on the telly. A lot of the time he seems pretty angry at the world. I think Bruce Springsteen would understand my dad, 'cause, like his father, they both came from poor backgrounds, both worked hard in factories, both had dreams that never came true, which left them angry. And they both had sons who wanted the chance to make them proud.
- Javed: This place is bad. It's the United Nations of kicking tribes. You've got goths, a Salt-N-Pepa crew, there's Wham! boys, Bananarama girls, and - and there's Eliza. Smart, sassy, and a politico fighting to free Nelson Mandela. And then there's me. I don't have a tribe.
- Javed: [shouting] "If I could take one moment into my hands. Mister, I ain't a boy. No, I'm a man. And I believe in a Promised Land!"
- Roops: You should try telesales. You could be anyone on the phone. They don't know if you're Tom, Dick or Ali.
- Ms Clay: [to Javed, about his poems] They're raw, they're distinctive. You have a responsibility to make this invisible, this absent voice, heard.
- Javed: For the ones who had a notion, A notion deep inside, That it ain't no sin, To be glad you're alive
- Javed, Roops: I wanna find one face, That ain't looking through me, I wanna find one place, I wanna spit in the face of these, Badlands, You gotta live it every day, Let the broken hearts stand, As the price you gotta pay, Keep moving till it's understood, And these Badlands, Start treating us good ...
- Javed: This guy is incredible. You've never heard lyrics like his.
- Matt: Is that Billy Joel?
- Matt's Dad: Billy Joel? You plonker. That is Bruce! God, you try and raise your kids right, J. I was there, son. 1981, Wembley Arena. Row T. The River Tour.
- Matt: Oh, don't go writing me songs like him, J. He's too...
- Javed: Old school?
- Matt: No! American.
- Malik: Have you forgotten why I want you to get an education?
- Javed: To broaden my mind, learn about the world, be inspired to make a difference?
- Malik: No. To get a good job, so you don't end up driving a taxi like every other Pakistani in this town. Ever since you've been following this American Jewish man, you've changed.
- Javed: He's not Jewish.
- Malik: He's not Pakistani either.
- Javed: It's got a brilliant English and creative writing course. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna be a writer.
- Matt: But your dad, he won't even let you cross the road to come to mine for a party. You know Manchester's 200 fricking miles away, don't you?
- Javed: "Someday, man, I don't know when, We're gonna get to that place, Where we really want to go, We'll walk in the sun, But till then, Tramps like us, Baby, we were born to run."
- Matt: Did you write that? I've told you before, your lyrics are rubbish, mate. That didn't even rhyme.
- Javed: [looking into Eliza's eyes] Baby, tie your hair back, In a long white bow, Meet me in the fields, Out behind the dynamo, You hear their voices, Telling you not to go, They've made their choices, And they'll never know, What it means to steal, To cheat, to lie, What it's like to live and die
- [kisses Eliza]
- Javed: Shazia, you are good. I didn't even know you could dance!
- Shazia (Sister): It's the only time I can forget life. When I'm dancing, I block out the world.
- Javed: I know what you mean.
- Shazia (Sister): And this is what you do in your own crazy Gora rock world.