In order to make a film about his young life, author Sarfraz Manzoor needed Bruce Springsteen’s help. Sarfraz’s teenage years were deeply influenced by Springsteen’s music, and the only person who could approve the synch licenses for the movie was The Boss himself. As if this wasn’t challenge enough, Sarfraz needed the songs at below-market prices, too. Even having one well-known song in a movie can cost a fortune, and Blinded by the Light needed a lot more than that.

“I had to write an email directly to Springsteen, explaining why I wanted to use his music,” Sarfraz says. “The thing about him is that he doesn’t allow his music to be used, at all. There are some films where he’s allowed, like, one song – we were looking for sixteen!”

Happily, Springsteen said yes. Blinded by the Light is about how Sarfraz used Springsteen’s music as a sort of emotional guide book to his teenage years. Sarfraz is older now, and for the new episode of SongWriter he decided to write a counterpoint. In it he explores how art has turned out to be an insufficient guide for some of the hardest moments in his life.

This was especially true when he lost his father. Sarfraz was still quite young at the time, and the two had not yet had time to reconcile over some hard moments in their relationship. Without a specifically relevant song about forgiveness without reconciliation, Sarfraz had to learn how to do this by himself. Though moments like this can often be painful, Sarfraz also experiences them as entry-points to his own work as a writer.

“Part of the reason I write is to try and add my image onto a canvas, or to add my verse to the story,” Sarfraz says. “Because I haven’t seen that verse or that story told.