The CD opens with one of my favorite songs on it, "We Take Care of Our Own," the kind of anthem Springsteen has become known for. I read the refrain, "Wherever this flag's flown / we take care of our own," as both an ironic indictment of current practices in our country (i.e., we don't take care of our own) and as a call to live up to our ideals. Like a good prophet (there are bad ones, according to the Bible), Springsteen is "knocking on the door / that holds the throne" as well as "stumbling on good hearts / turned to stone." He challenges the powers that ignore the poor and feels with the poor who are being trampled on. Then he calls on the community (the United States) to take care of our own. A simple yet powerful request.
"Jack of All Trades" is narrated by a man trying to assure his "honey" that "we'll be all right" as he pursues work that others may not want to do. He wants to be hopeful that "we'll start caring for each other / like Jesus said that we might," but he realizes that "the banker man grows fat / working man grows thin." By the end, he's so frustrated that he admits, "If I had me a gun, I'd find the / bastards and shoot 'em on sight." In good folk tradition, Springsteen tells a story that expresses the feelings of many who struggle to believe "we'll be all right."
As if to show that he's not really in favor of using guns to oppose injustice, the next song, "Death to My Hometown," a rollicking Irish tune, vents its anger at "the marauders [who] raided in the dark / and brought death to my hometown" but encourages people to "get yourself a song to sing / and sing it 'til you're done. / Sing it hard and sing it well / send the robber barons straight to hell." Singing our sorrows together gives us courage and helps us stand against "the greedy thieves … / who walk the streets as free men now." It's not hard to figure out who he's referring to.
The haunting "This Depression" carries the double reference to economic and personal depression and confesses, "I need your heart." Don't we all.
The title track tells listeners to "hold tight to your anger / and don't fall to your fears." Like many other songs on this CD, this one says, Don't deny what you feel, but don't let it control you. This raises the question, How do we gain the strength to do that?
The CD's final three songs use gospel and hip-hop to express both the community of the faithful and the broad arms of God that embrace us all. "Rocky Ground" uses biblical references and calls listeners to "use your muscle and your / mind and you pray your best. / … The Lord will do the rest."
"Land of Hope and Dreams," another of my favorites, moves me to tears as it pictures a train that "carries saints and sinners," including losers and winners, whores and gamblers, lost souls, the brokenhearted, fools and kings. On this train, "dreams will not be thwarted / … faith will be rewarded." That strong hope can keep us going.
The final song, "We Are Alive," reminds us that our faith carries us beyond suffering and death. It begins with the reminder, "There's a cross up yonder on Calvary hill." It promises that "though our bodies lie alone here in the dark / our souls and spirits rise." Springsteen here and throughout this inspiring CD calls us "to stand shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart" and proclaims, "We are alive."
I don't want to get technical about whether Springsteen is a prophet in true biblical fashion, but he has the unique position of being able to speak to a wide audience, and he uses that podium, his art, to feel the pain of those downtrodden to speak it. He also calls us to care for each other and stand together. And he provides the hope that only faith can provide.
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