Speaking at a concert in Manchester, the American singer-songwriter said his country was “in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”
Musicians protesting against political leaders and government policies have a long and distinguished history in the United States. Bruce Springsteen, 75, one of the country’s most beloved singer-songwriters, lambasted President Donald Trump this week at a concert in Manchester, England, during the first leg of his “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour.
Here is a transcript of Springsteen’s remarks:
Introduction to Land of Hope and Dreams
Good Evening!
It’s great to be in Manchester and back in the U.K. Welcome to the Land of Hope & Dreams Tour! The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times.
In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.
Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!
Introduction to House of a Thousand Guitars
The last check, the last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.
Introduction to My City of Ruins
There’s some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.
In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.
In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.
They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society.
They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands.
They are removing residents off American streets and, without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now.
A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.
The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, ‘In this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.’ Let’s pray.
In a statement, the White House lashed out at Springsteen saying that “the 77 million Americans that elected President Trump disagree with elitist and out-of-touch celebrities like Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is welcome to stay overseas while hardworking Americans enjoy a secure border and cooling inflation thanks to President Trump.”
On Friday, Mr. Trump responded on his social media platform, saying that the rocker is “just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country.”
He added: “Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
Dating back to pre-Revolutionary War times, protest music has always had its day. “Yankee Doodle” was ordered played by the Marquis de Lafayette after the British surrender at Yorktown. The music of the abolition movement celebrated African musical traditions.
During the Great Depression Woody Guthrie sang about refugees forced of their land and migrating across the country. Billie Holiday singing Abel Meeropol’s 1939 anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit” was a catalyst for the civil rights movement. Paul Robeson sang about mistreated workers. Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Marvin Gaye and others crafted songs protesting, racism, social injustice, and the foolhardiness of the Viet Nam War.
In 2003, at a concert in London, The Chicks (then known as The Dixie Chicks) spoke out against George W. Bush and the Iraq War, triggering a backlash that had an enormous effect on its career. At the time, The Dixie Chicks were one of the most popular American country acts. After the statement was reported it triggered a backlash from American country listeners. The group was blacklisted by many country radio stations, received death threats and was criticized by other country musicians.
In addition to his tour, later this summer, Springsteen will release a new album collection that will include dozens of “never-before-heard” songs from previously unreleased records.