THE BOSS IS ALIVE AND SO ARE WE.
Gadfly Today Series
On this day, 14 years ago, one of my favorite albums of all time was released. It evokes Bob Dylan and Flogging Molly in a way that makes you want to hug your friends and march for justice. It’s called Wrecking Ball by Bruce Springsteen.
Good writers borrow from the greats. Great writers borrow from the Bible. It may be because recasting modern battles as ancient ones brings our struggle into some mythical battlefield where we can find salvation. The icons before Bruce riffed off that pattern quite successfully: Pete Seeger, Aretha Franklin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, and one of my personal favorites, Billie Holiday.
Springsteen’s “We Take Care Of Our Own” does that too in ways that galvanize the masses in a spirit reminiscent of “We Shall Overcome” or “Blowing In The Wind.” This track marches towards themes found in the rest of the album including protesting injustices, especially those from corrupt leaders, organizing the oppressed, uniting rather than dividing, blue collar evangelizing, and criticizing big business. “We Take Care of Our Own” rocks these chords to the max and is most viscerally felt through these lyrics:
I’ve been knockin’ on the door that holds the throne
I’ve been lookin’ for the map that leads me home
I’ve been stumblin’ on good hearts turned to stone
The road of good intentions has gone dry as bone
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag’s flown
This rhythm and noble vibe are put on high gear with another song in the album called “American Land.” The whole track rides like a souped up, modern take on “This Land is Your Land.” It kicks electric! You don’t have to listen closely to hear promises of a journey with others towards something legendary. The spirit of these lyrics jolts our hearts and awakens our conscience. We are transformed from “unfashioned creatures” to complete human beings with a place in this world. This change naturally endears us to the singer, but of course, we always loved the Boss.
As the album weaves in and out of stadium rock (”Land Of Hope And Dreams”) and acoustic sentimentality (”You’ve Got It”) or completely mesmerizing (”Rocky Ground”), its brilliant notes ring through our ears - thank goodness - and reinforce its central messages along the way. That is seen especially in “Easy Money.” The song puts populist themes front and center early on that reminds one of Occupy Wall Street. Take a look:
When your whole world comes tumbling down
And all them fat cats they just think it’s funny
Then, the song takes an interesting turn that John Dillinger might have appreciated as well as any other Robin Hood outlaw like him:
I got a Smith & Wesson .38
I got a hellfire? and I got me a taste
Got me a date on the far shore, it’s bright and sunny
I’m going on the town now looking for easy money
Again, Bruce is highlighting a folk hero that many people can understand, and he continues these ideas in his next song, “Jack Of All Trades.” This one paints an everyday hero trying to push back against similar foes. In the end, he expresses the frustration that many of us feel when we run smack into the wall of corporate monolithic power and feel powerless.
The banker man grows fat, the working man grows thin
It’s all happened before and it’ll happen again
So you use what you’ve got and you learn to make do
You take the old, you make it new
If I had me a gun, I’d find the bastards and shoot ‘em on sight
These storylines and the ideas embedded in them are most obviously displayed in “Death to My Hometown.” This song takes it a step further though. It distinguishes modern villains from old ones. By doing this, Bruce suggests we update our idea of what it means to be a bad actor in today’s society. He does it well:
Send the robber barons straight to hell
The greedy thieves who came around
And ate the flesh of everything they found
Whose crimes have gone unpunished now
Who walk the streets as free men now
… Ah, they brought death to our hometown, boys
I imagine many communities across America have felt invaded and leveled by the companies (especially multinational corporations) and individuals Bruce targets in this anthem. Yet, he is not a rebel without a cause. He doesn’t just scream to be heard. Rather, like any leader, he guides us towards harmony and fairness by encouraging collective action to overcome social inequities - all wrapped in beautiful Irish beats.
I saved my favorite tune on this album for last. It would perfectly complement any Edgar Allan Poe story. Both are unmatched in their use of ominous imagery and superior storytelling, blending the visceral and supernatural in ways that make us soar through the pains of hell into the clouds of heaven. It is called “We Are Alive” and folks, I think that when you hear it, you’ll feel the same way yourself. Here is a part to focus on:
A voice cried I was killed in Maryland in 1877
When the railroad workers made their stand
Well, I was killed in 1963 one Sunday morning in Birmingham
Well, I died last year crossing the southern desert
My children left behind in San Pablo
Well, they’ve left our bodies here to rot
The initial two lines reference a railroad strike that ended in violence and death of about a dozen workers. The next part mentions the infamous 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which saw the killing of four little girls at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Finally, the last part tells of the migrants leaving behind their families, crossing deserts, and coming to America in search of freedom and a new life.
He is singing for the lowest among us who cannot sing for themselves and maybe because they are the ones most subjugated and dispossessed of their humanity. Then, Bruce threads all these specific events together for us so we can understand our role and the consequences at stake in the context of the larger story:
We are alive
Oh, and though we lie alone here in the dark
Our souls will rise to carry the fire and light the spark
To fight shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart
Wrecking Ball has the glitz and glamour of rock songs like “American Land” and “Shackled and Drawn,” but “We Are Alive” mixes beauty and history with a call to arms in a way that reminds me of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” mixed with “If I Ever Leave This World Alive.” Again, as seen in the last line, he reminds us that our road to redemption should not be endeavored alone.
For so long, I really only listened to a few songs on this album when I worked out. However, as I looked a little deeper, or looked at it a little differently really, I found a diamond within my reach in this album, and I hope you are as lucky as me to find it yourself one day. Happy early St. Patrick’s Day, my funny little flies. And don’t ever forget, as I heard somewhere one time, wherever you go, there are people that are Irish, or there are people that want to be. None others.
If you like this, follow me on Bluesky for more musings @chibillyob.bsky.social.