Long Walk Home

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 partake in and remember, I wanted to put something to paper.  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 already 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 some may prefer it to prose as a definitive expression of American patriotism. 

Liberation Day is not for everyone, though. What I set out to do here is compose something for everyone, for every American. I wanted to pen something with which every rational American thinking in good faith could agree. 

I kept hitting walls. 

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 cannot only help 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 understand, with very very little 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 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 cutting E-Street band saxophone break. 

The song is not necessarily or overtly political, but it does present a civics lesson. Springsteen here is of course making a commmentary on the gap between our stated values and our ability to adhere to them. The Boss closes the song with hope, singing of new beginnings. "Everybody has a reason to begin again."

what is the American story? We have forgotten. We're 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 uplift us. Notice how Springsteen Does not use the word unless. 

We are better together. 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?

The song exist in several formats and many people prefer the slow (acoustic) version which is readily available on the webs.

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