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 that we have lost the plot, we have Lost the binding narrative. 

I wanted to put something to paper.  I thought for days, weeks. I was at a loss On how to even approach this topic. 

It had to be prose.

Now poetry is my preferred medium and I had already recently completed  my definitive protest piece in response to the current administration's approach to governance (that's the nicest way I can put it). I will provide a link to the poem below. It is a powerful piece that may be too strong for some. 

As such, what I set out to do here is write something for everyone, for every American. I wanted to pen something that every rational American could agree with. 

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 has to include a careful And thoughtful statement of what we won't do.

here Springsteen has encapsulated the entire Bill of Rights in four words.

Think about that... "What we won't..."

Ken of the East 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?"

Is there anything more American than Bruce Springsteen? He was and is always willing to do the hard work.

I think Springsteen 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 as 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.

The song exist in several formats and many people prefer the slow version. (Acoustic version). 

Long Walk Home

Song by Bruce Springsteen ‧ 2007

Overview

Lyrics

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