TO surprise, Bruce Springsteen he posted online Streets of Minneapolisa song born by the urgency of reporting what is happening in the United States around migration policies and the operations of federal forces. The song of “boss” was born after the death of Renee Good And Alex Prettitwo activists from Minneapoliskilled in their city during an intervention byICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
With harsh and direct lyrics, Springsteen denounces a system that justifies violence and invites us not to take the truth for granted, questioning the relationship between information, power and civil responsibility. Few agreements and direct words to hold political leaders responsible for the violence to account. A denunciation and an invitation not to accept the narratives of a government that normalizes the abuse of power.
Bruce Springsteen, the voice of American protest
It’s not the first time Springsteen has used music to denounce injustices. His career has always been intertwined social commitment and political reflection. In the eighties, Born in the USA he said the fate of Vietnam veterans: alone and abandoned, unmasking the hypocrisy of a country that celebrated them only in words. In the nineties, with The Ghost of Tom Joad And American Skin (41 Shots) he reported poverty, marginalization and police violence. In his musical career, Springsteen has always written lyrics capable of making you think on the contradictions of wars and on the broken promises of the American government.
Bruce Springsteen against Trump: «I don’t care what he thinks of me»
During the tour Land of Hope and DreamsSpringsteen he has openly criticized the Trump administrationdenouncing abuses of power, violations of civil rights and the use of force against citizens. On September 26 – in an interview with Time – Springsteen responded to the tycoon who called him “a dried plum” which should “keep your mouth shut”: «I don’t care what he thinks of me».
For the boss, Trump is «the person for whom the 25th Amendment and impeachment were created». Springsteen he chose to come out publicly about ICE also on the stage of Light of Daybenefit event for Parkinson’s research at Count Basie Theater of Red Bank, New Jersey. He dedicated the song The Promised Land to Renée Good and said: «ICE needs to get the fuck out of Minneapolis».
Rock as collective conscience
Springsteen explained on social media the rapid genesis of Streets of Minneapolis: «I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday, and released it today in response to state terror in the city of Minneapolis. It is dedicated to our innocent immigrant neighbors and to the memory of Alex Pretti and Renée Good. Stay free, stay free».
The song is not meant for the charts or for the radio: it is a necessary song, born from the urgency of denouncing what is happening now. A gesture consistent with an intertwining career music and civil responsibilityremembering that rock can still be a form of collective consciousness.
iO Donna © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
