I’ve been a fan of Bruce Springsteen for many years. His music has accompanied me through countless moments — road trips, quiet nights, and of course, the electric energy of several of his live concerts. There’s something about the way he captures the lives of everyday people — the “Average Joes” — that speaks to me deeply. The struggles, the dreams, the grit. His lyrics have always felt like they were written for the working class soul, the people with callused hands and stubborn hopes.
What has always stood out to me is his blue-collar approach — raw, honest, and full of heart. He’s never needed to shout to make a point. His political stance has usually been woven subtly into the fabric of his songs — never overwhelming, but always present if you listened closely. That’s one of the reasons I’ve admired him not only as an artist, but as a human being.
But today, something changed.
Springsteen dropped what I can only call a bombshell. He took off the gloves, so to speak. No more poetic wrapping, no more metaphors. Today, he called a spade a spade. For some, it might come across as too direct. Maybe even polarizing. I guess it’s possible to agree or disagree with his declaration — and that’s fair.
But me? I agree.
In fact, it felt like he hit the nail right on the head. His words stirred something in me. They echoed feelings I’ve had for a long time, but maybe haven’t been able to fully articulate. So I took the liberty of borrowing the spirit of his message — his phrasing — and turned it into a song. A protest song, if you like.
I’ve titled it “My America.”
My America
In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.
Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!
The last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me.
It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.
There’s some very weird, strange, and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.
In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death.
In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society.
They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom.
They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands. They are removing residents off American streets and without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now.
A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.
The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real, and, regardless of its faults, is a great country with a great people, So we’ll survive this moment.
Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, ‘In this world there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.
— [Words by Bruce Springsteen]
