As we approach the semiquincentennial of America I have been thinking quite a bit about the American story. So have many others. I see a general concern among many that we have lost the binding narrative that unites us in support for democracy. The nation has changed considerably since the 1976 bicentennial, for which I would have been two years old.
Given that this may be—probably will be—the only semicentennial anniversary I will both partake in and remember, I wanted to put something to paper. As is typical for writers with OCD, I struggled with ideas for days and weeks. I was at a loss on how to even approach this topic.
Now, poetry is my preferred medium and I had recently completed my definitive long-awaited protest piece Liberation Day to respond to the current administration's approach to, ahem, "governance." Liberation Day is a powerful poem and many will enjoy, I think, it's barbaric yawp of selfless American patriotism.
The style of Liberation Day may not appeal to everyone, though. Some may prefer prose (or prefer that I don't write anything at all). What I set out to do here is compose something for everyone, for every single American. I wanted to pen something for which every rational American thinking in good faith could agree.
Easier said than done. I needed a launchpad idea and I kept hitting walls.
when pressed for ideas, writers will often make attempts to distract the mind to let ideas filter in like water clearing through gravel.
A common distraction is of course music. Fortuitously, in this case the distraction became the topic, a topic that in hindsight presents as maddeningly obvious.
American music. Far and away this is what I love about America. Blues, jazz, roots, rock 'n' roll. I love the power of American music. Emotional, social, political. Music not only helps us cope with hard times but it can also bring us together to effect change.
We of course have the long tradition of blues music, which gave rise to rock 'n' roll. Rock 'n' roll has its roots in rebellion but it is also a powerful force for change and renewal. American music can give us a boost when we need it the most.
Rock songs can often express a feeling or an opinion with greater clarity and gravity than an essay, speech or editorial. Rock music can compress an idea into its barest, edgiest, most incisive form. A clever parody or abrasive invective can lay bare a politician or other prominent figure as a naked buffoon much quicker than an essay that few will read and even fewer will expend the effort to understand. Another advantage of good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll is that the subject faces a minuscule chance for an equivalent reply of sufficient power.
The lyrics, style, tune, arrangement, orchestration, mix and recording are important. Some pieces exemplify the rule that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Other songs have memorable parts but which do not elevate the whole. Some songs have it all, including the lyrics.
Over the years I have talked to many people who say they do not pay attention to the lyrics in a song. To me, this is astounding. I am quite fond of analyzing how song lyrics contribute to a specific work. Memorable lyrics are one of the elements that can elevate an otherwise pedestrian piece of music.
I offer for your consideration today the 2007 song Long Walk Home by Bruce Springsteen, which has it all: A profound message ensconced in metaphor, memorable lyrics, driving rock guitar, catchy hooks and of course a thrilling Clarence Clemons saxophone break.
The song is not necessarily or overtly political, but it does offer a civics lesson. As many have pointed out, Springsteen here is of course making a commmentary on the chasm between our stated values and our ability to adhere to them.
put a little more here about what is wrong with the town and the country
The nameless town comes across in the song as empty of many things- Community, goals, unity of purpose- but not permanently so and thankfully not empty of hope.
The Boss strategically closes the song with hope, singing of new beginnings. "Everybody has a reason to begin again."
The American story seems to be Perpetually in the state of new beginning but is perhaps stuck in neutral. Springsteen doesn't tell us what the story should be, but he gives us the tools to write it. He provides a framework.
What is the American story? We have either stopped caring about it or have forgotten. or better yet we have never clearly Defined it.
Quote the Atlantic here. The three types of approaches to telling the American story.
What is Springsteen's approach to the American story? What is he telling us?
Clearly something about community. Something about our community is important and it uplifts.
when he says everyone has a reason to begin again, he means everyone. The locations in the poem our place where community occurs, and places that everyone may frequent: Grocery, barbershop, VFW, Diner. We are better together, The song strongly implies . We shouldn't board ourselves up like abandoned buildings, like the shuttered diner.
Of course I need to provide my own definition here of what I think the American Story should be. I will get to that.
to me one of the most striking lines in the song, perhaps the most striking, is the end of this line:
"Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't."
Any definition of the American story simply must include a careful and thoughtful statement of what we won't do. I could post a very long list here of recent events. Trust me, it would take many pages. But instead I need my readers to compile their own lists.
Thankfully for our purposes today we do not need a list, for, essentially, Springsteen has encapsulated the entire Bill of Rights in three words.
Think about that... "What we won't..."
Is there anything more American than Bruce Springsteen? He was and is always willing to do the hard work.
I am all but certain that Springsteen's definition, then, of the American story would align with mine:
We come together as a nation in community to build things both concrete and abstract that elevate us. The institutions we build comprise "wholes" that surpass the sum of the parts, and are used for purposes of protection and invention but never as weapons against any of the "parts."
then we put the agreement on the hill like the VFW in the song, leaving room for those in its shadow to opt out if they choose but to do so nonviolently, and without corrupting the whole, and with the standing invitation to rejoin us. We also let them know they will be protected if they choose not to rejoin us.
Let's finish with the words of another reviewer who has been a keen observer of Springsteen's songwriting power. Ken of the E-Street Shuffle Blog writes:
In
any version, though, “Long Walk Home” isn’t really about a journey–it’s
about the moment of reckoning when we realize how far we’ve come. Are
we still the country we think we are? Are we still the people we think
we are? Do we even know each other anymore? And if not, are we willing
to do the hard work required to get back to center–and do we even want
to?
Are we willing to do the hard work? are we willing to peel the boards off the diner windows? are we willing to put our money where our mouth is? The walk is long, which gives us plenty of time to think about it. Plenty of time to unstick ourselves if we are stuck. is highly likely if we take enough of these long walks we will run Into others who likewise have the same internal struggle. The song exist in several formats and many people prefer the slow (acoustic) version which is readily available on the webs. Springsteen typically introduces the song as a prayer for America.
Long Walk Home
Bruce Springsteen (2007)
Last night I stood at your doorstep
Trying to figure out what went wrong
You just slipped something into my palm and you were gone
I could smell the same deep green of summer
'Bove me the same night sky was glowin'
In the distance I could see the town where I was born
It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
A long walk home
In town I pass Sal's grocery
Barber shop on South Street
I looked in their faces*
They're all rank strangers to me*
Well Veteran's Hall high upon the hill
Stood silent and alone
The diner was shuttered and boarded
With a sign that just said "gone"
It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home
Here everybody has a neighbor
Everybody has a friend
Everybody has a reason to begin again
My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town,
It's a beautiful place to be born.
It just wraps its arms around you,
Nobody crowds you and nobody goes it alone"
"Your flag flyin' over the courthouse
Means certain things are set in stone.
Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't"
It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home