Bruce was never a very optomistic songwriter, he tends to be fatalistic, kinda like if Phil Ochs were still alive and touring for Kerry. Leftie musicians (the exception being Jimmy Buffet) are more down-in-the-dumps than the Alan Jacksons and the Martina McBrides...
There was optimism in "Greetings from Asbury Park" and "The Wild and the Innocent." Some even carried over to "Born to Run." Once his legal troubles began, it was totally dark from then on. The Woodie Guthrie portion of his creative influence was validated and it changed him to the bad forever.