Bruce Springsteen - Worlds Apart

Surfing around the web something about a poll on religious freedom caught my eye. What's there to poll you may ask, as I was wondering, shouldn't everybody just be pro? I continued scanning and found out that apparently the majority was for more religious freedom ... for Christians not so much for other religions. Of course, the outcome of any poll depends of a variety of factors including, but certainly not limited to, the demographics and the manner in which questions are phrased. Nonetheless, things like that poll are scary, I think. Doesn't it makes a wasted effort out of the struggles of those who have fought hard -and even given their lives- to ensure liberties such as freedom of religion ... Of course, I'm well aware that such issues are rarely if ever painted in black and white and there are infinite nuances and facets adding to the total picture. Alas, the weeks past have been rather trying and I'm feeling utterly wretched tonight ...

"May the living let us live before the dead tear us apart" ~ "Let's let love give what it gives"

Worlds Apart (The Rising)
Bruce Springsteen

I hold you in my arms, yeah that's when it starts
I seek faith in your kiss and comfort in your heart
I taste the seed upon your lips, lay my tongue upon your scars
But when I look into your eyes we stand worlds apart

Where the distant oceans sing and rise to the plain
In this dry and troubled country your beauty remains
Down from the mountain road where the highway rolls to dark
'Neath Allah's blessed rain we remain worlds apart

Sometimes the truth just ain't enough

Or is it too much in times like this
Let's throw the truth away we'll find it in this kiss
In your skin upon my skin in the beating of our hearts
May the living let us live before the dead tear us apart

We'll let blood build a bridge over mountains draped in stars
I'll meet you on the ridge between these worlds apart
We've got this moment now to live then it's all just dust and dark
Let's let love give what it gives
Let's let love give what it gives

Bruce Springsteen The Ghost of Tom Joad live in Studio

Every year I take a road trip to clear my mind and reset my equilibrium ~ for me, there's nothing better, nothing more relaxing than driving some off-the-beaten-path road and listening to music. One such trip included driving through the night on some forgotten street, and in the early hours of the new day -long before the sun would make its appearance- 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' by Bruce Spingsteen started playing on the radio ...

Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kidding nobody about where it goes ...

It wasn't a highway, and the street wasn't alive that night, but -as strange as that may sound- the song dispelled some of the lonely feeling that I hadn't been able to shake ~

The Ghost of Tom Joad
Bruce Springsteen

Men walking 'long the railroad tracks
Going someplace, there's no going back
Highway patrol choppers coming up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Philadelphia

It's quite amazing -and saddening- how quickly the warm, golden glow of Christmas fades into memoryland while the rush and hustle accompanying the preparation for the looming year's end takes over ... It's grey outside and the cold drizzle seems to seep into the bones and my mind keeps playing 'Streets of Philadelphia' by Bruce Springsteen ~ oh, well, just one of those days ...

Streets of Philadelphia
Bruce Springsteen

I was bruised and battered, I couldn't tell what I felt.
I was unrecognizable to myself.
Saw my reflection in a window and didn't know my own face.

Bruce Springsteen - Youngstown

Going through the online news today I ran into an article starting with the sentence "The people of Youngstown are fed up." Immediately, my mind went to playing Bruce Springsteen's 'Youngstown'. From the first time I heard the song it spoke to me ~ perhaps because I grew up in a coal-mining, steel-milling town, perhaps because the haunting lyrics and melody wormed their way into my mind, or perhaps because Bruce Springsteen's voice of velvet, rust and gravel just brings a lot of memories to life ... Whatever the reason, I'm sure the song will be playing on my mind for a while again ...

From the Monongaleh valley
To the Mesabi iron range
To the coal mines of Appalacchia
The story's always the same

Youngstown
Bruce Springsteen

Here in north east Ohio
Back in eighteen-o-three
James and Danny Heaton
Found the ore that was linin' yellow creek

Bruce Springsteen - War

My heart cries for the people in Munich and around the world ~ thoughts and prayers to all affected by the cowardly acts ...

War, what is it good for?

Absolutely nothing!

War

Oh no-there's got to be a better way
Say it again
There's got to be a better way-yeah
What is it good for? (war)

Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.

This page is about music, certainly not politics. But then, sometimes, music touches on politics and there’s no getting around scraping the issue.

Not that I believe all I hear on the news, but this sounds just wrong enough to be true: Donald Trump is playing Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” at his rallies as a swipe at his co-contender Ted Cruz. … What’s wrong with this picture? Anybody? Anything?

 

To me, the song is anything but glorious or patriotic.