The Boss

I went to hear Springsteen live! It was free, and also happened to be an Obama rally, but that's a minor technicality. I wrote about the experience here, but they tweaked my writing a bit and I'm just not a fan. I had intended to get another draft in, but they just posted it and so I never did more edits. It's okay, I'm not bitter. But here's what I sent them. YOU should read about it HERE:

I heard a rumor through the grapevine that Obama was going to be in Charlottesville, AND Bruce Springsteen would be with him AND I could go. For FREE. It sounded like the sort of life experience that could justify missing a few college courses. So I did.

                I joined a carpool of three political enthusiasts and we began the 90-minute trek to Charlottesville. Or at least we thought it would be 90 minutes. As soon as we left Buena Vista, we found traffic at a standstill. We figured that everyone, their mother and their dog were headed to see the President, but traffic eventually resumed its normal flow.

                Nonetheless, we were running late. Parking was tricky to find and, unfamiliar with the area, I searched my ticket for any useful information. I noted that Obama’s name wasn’t anywhere on the ticket—only Springsteen’s—and commented on the irony.

                We reached the pavilion after the rally had started, catching the end of a campaign video explaining the origins of one of Obama’s campaign slogans, “Fired Up! Ready to Go!” The video featured an enthusiastic, hat-wearing church-goer, and kept all in attendance chuckling because of her infectious zeal.

                The video was followed by former-governor Tim Kaine, a candidate for a seat in the Senate. We realized that President Obama wasn’t in Charlottesville (confirmed by our smart phones), and wouldn’t be coming. But then the Obama-supporting Springsteen was welcomed to the stage.

                I am not a connoisseur of music. I’ve listened to fewer Bruce Springsteen songs than I can count on one hand, and the only lyrics I can recite are “Born in the USA” (not the song; just those four words), but I can’t tell you the tune. The baby-boomers up front were holding down that fort. My appreciation for his music comes through the lyrics.

For one of my classes I read a profile on Springsteen, taking me back to his roots and forward to his dreams. It gave me a greater perspective for the truth and conviction behind his lyrics. To me, Bruce Springsteen is reminiscent of Woody Guthrie. He sounds like an advocate of a better America, and a believer in it. Springsteen explained, “I’m here today because for thirty years I’ve been writing about the distance between the American Dream and American Reality. Gauging that distance has driven me through much of my life. I’ve seen it from both sides.”

Although “Thunder Road” seems to have been the audience favorite, I found myself enraptured by the heart swells of “We Take Care of our Own:” “I’ve been stumblin’ on good hearts turned to stone/ The road of good intentions has gone dry as bone/ We take care of our own/ We take care of our own/ Wherever this flag’s flown/ We take care of our own./ From Chicago to New Orleans/ From the muscle to the bone/ From the shotgun shack to the Superdome/ We yelled ‘Help’ but the cavalry stayed home/ There ain’t no one hearing the bugle blown/ We take care of our own.”

Springsteen also played “Promised Land,” “No Surrender,” “The River,” and a short witty campaign ditty written specially for Obama that was carried by its humor with phrases like, “Let's vote for the man who got Osama... First debate really freaked me out, then Romney got schooled twice by Obama / Smilin’ Joe Biden brought the drama.”

On a more serious note (quasi-intentional pun), Springsteen attempted to motivate the crowd of 6,000 to get out and vote. He said:

“Voting matters, elections matter. Through our vote we get an individual hand in shaping the kind of America we want for our kids. At sixty-three I’ve lived through some galvanizing moments in American history. I’ve seen the Civil Rights struggle, the peace movement, times when you can feel the world shifting underneath your feet. And that always reminds me of President Obama’s election night. That was an evening when you could feel the locked doors of the past being blown open and I remember sitting on my couch and going yeah, this is the place I’ve been imagining in my songs and I’ve been trying to sing. Then comes the daily struggles to make those possibilities a reality in a world that is often brutally resistant to change.”

 Springsteen sings about the American Dream—hope for those who lack in money or spirit. He speaks and sings of America as though it were or could be a land of brotherhood, a land where everyone cares for and looks out for one another. And maybe that’s idealistic, but maybe that’s okay. His songs tell us that there is a better life, a better purpose, and a better way. And his songs tell us that this betterment is attainable. And that draws me in.

I may not have heard the President, but I listened to the Boss. And now that I know what I’ve been missing out on, I may just go ahead and add it to my bucket list, simply so I can cross it off and let people know, “Yeah. I did that.” And they will all think that I know something about music, and something about America.  

The man himself. And Obama paraphernalia.

Yaaaaaay!

Colin doesn't like this picture of him. But I look good, so I'm putting it up anyway. He's the one that insisted on getting one taking in front of Obama's name with me in it, anyway.

But, whoops, HAD to include the scrawling across the top of the board!

Why, yes, this is a giant chalkboard in the middle of an outdoor mall , equipped with giant pieces of chalk for passerby-ers. 

I wrote on it, too.

Beautiful. Although, being in Charlottesville did cause me to yearn after a small college town. I've got the small town and the college. Just not a small college town.