By twenty, no race-car driving rebel, I was a guitar player on the streets of Ashbury Park and already a member in good standing amongst those who "lie" in service of the truth ... artists with a small "a.
-- Narrator (Bruce Springsteen) (Forward paragraph 1)

Importance: This quote indicates that Bruce Springsteen has long self-identified as an artist, but that he does so without pretension. This element of humility is indicated by his emphasis on spelling "artist" with a lowercase letter "a." This quote also illustrates how Bruce feels about the role of art, specifically music in his case. Readers learn right in the book's opening paragraph that Bruce believes it is the role of the artist to illuminate some kind of truth. Even when the process of artistic creation involves the invention of stories and lyrics (so called "lies") that invention is always in the service of some greater truth.

Then, in a moment of light, blinding...
-- Narrator (Bruce Springsteen) (chapter 7 paragraph 2)