We know that Bruce Springsteen has always been forthright in his views about American politics. But last night at one of his shows at the Manchester Co-Op Arena he made it quite clear – as if we were in any doubt – about how he feels about the current incumbent of the White House and his right wing policies.
Introducing the song Land Of Hope and Dreams, Springsteen said: “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!”
Later on, before the song My City Of Ruins, he gave a longer address, saying: "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. This is happening now.
"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 led to a more just and plural society.
He continued: “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 centres 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 of what it means to be deeply American.”
He ended his speech on a hopeful note, saying: “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.”
Inspiring stuff. Springsteen has sang at rallies for many Democrat Presidential candidates down the years, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. His own personal health notwithstanding, he’ll surely be doing the same come 2028.
He has two more shows in Manchester on Saturday and next Tuesday, before returning to the UK for a pair of shows at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium. There is also the little matter of those seven ‘lost’ albums – recorded between 1983 and 2018, they finally get a release on June 27.
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