Guitarists From The United States

"I don’t think anybody truly knows where we’re going from here yet. It depends on too many unknowns. We don’t know where the COVID virus is going to take us. We don’t know where Black Lives Matter is going to take us right now. Do we get a real practical conversation going about race and policing and ultimately about the economic inequality that’s been a stain on our social contract? And of course, nobody knows where our next election is going to take us. I believe that our current president is a threat to our democracy. He simply makes any kind of reform that much harder. I don’t know if our democracy could stand another four years of his custodianship. These are all existential threats to our democracy and our American way of life."

"The country we carry in our hearts is waiting. And together, we can move America towards her deepest ideals. And besides, we had a sax player in the House. We need a guitar player in the White House."

"We're here to re-dedicate you to The Power, The Passion, The Mystery, and The Ministry of Rock and Roll."

"Your success story is a bigger story than whatever you’re trying to say on stage... Success makes life easier. It doesn’t make living easier."

"Music was my way of keeping people from looking through and around me. I wanted the heavies to know I was around."

"I think what's happening now is people want to forget. There was Vietnam, there was Watergate, there was Iran – we were beaten, we were hustled, and then we were humiliated. And I think people got a need to feel good about the country they live in. But what's happening, I think, is that that need – which is a good thing – is gettin' manipulated and exploited. And you see the Reagan reelection ads on TV – you know: "It's morning in America." And you say, well, it's not morning in Pittsburgh. It's not morning above 125th Street in New York. It's midnight, and, like, there's a bad moon risin'. And that's why when Reagan mentioned my name in New Jersey, I felt it was another manipulation, and I had to disassociate myself from the president's kind words."

"Whenever I see Bruce Springsteen do anything, he empties the tank. Every time. And the beautiful thing about this man is he empties that tank for his family, he empties that tank for his art, he empties that tank for his audience, and he empties it for his country. And we, on the receiving end of that beautiful gift, are ourselves rejuvenated, if not, redeemed."

"Too bad the guy's name wasn't Melvin or something."

"Our slot was immediately before Bruce Springsteen, who was headlining that night. It was his birthday and people were yelling "Bruuuuuce," you know, all night long. And Jackson Browne, at the side of the stage, he says to me "Now listen, if you go on and you think they're booing you, don't, don't get thrown because they're really just saying 'Bruce.'" And I said, "Well, what's the difference?'""

"The reason I’m running for president is because I can’t be Bruce Springsteen."

"Our love is like a Bruce Springsteen concert. It's not that great, it's really long. But wow! What energy."

"Last Thursday, at the Harvard Square theatre, I saw my rock'n'roll past flash before my eyes. And I saw something else: I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time."

"Springsteen had previously responded to the events unfolding in Minneapolis during a performance at the Light of Day Winterfest concert in Red Bank, New Jersey. Before he played his hit “The Promised Land,” he dedicated the song to Good’s memory, according to cellphone video from the performance shared by NJ-dot-com. In the video, Springsteen characterized federal law enforcement participating in the Trump administration’s crackdown as “heavily armed, masked federal troops invading an American city, using Gestapo tactics against their fellow citizens.” Springsteen also said he wrote the song “as an ode to American possibility” and added that the United States’ set of ideals and values is “being tested as it has never been in modern times.” He told the crowd he hoped his message would reach Trump. “If you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, then send a message to this president. And as the mayor of that city has said: ‘ICE should get the f--- out of Minneapolis,” Springsteen told a supportive home-state crowd, echoing the words of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey."

"Bruce Springsteen released a fiery protest song Wednesday dedicated to the memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Minneapolis residents who were fatally shot by federal agents this month. “Streets of Minneapolis,” which Springsteen wrote Saturday and recorded Tuesday, is a “response to the state terror being visited on the city,” he said in a post on Instagram. He added that the song is also for “the people of Minneapolis” and “our innocent immigrant neighbors.” Daily life for residents in the Minnesota city has been upended in the weeks since 3,000 federal agents flooded the streets for an immigration crackdown operation. The song, which is about four and a half minutes long, denounces U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and calls out Trump administration officials by name, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and President Donald Trump himself."

"Bruce Springsteen put it best in 2004 when he said: "America is not always right. That's a fairy tale for children.... But one thing America should always be is true. And it's in seeking her truth, both the good and the bad, that we find a deeper patriotism, that we find a more authentic experience as citizens, that we find the power that is embedded only in truth to change our world for the better.""

"I couldn't believe how happy his music made me and how good it was. He's a gift, and I didn't know. I mean, I knew 'Born in the USA' and 'Glory Days,' but I didn't know that he covered so much ground, and there was something in his music that touched what I was going through, the process of falling back in love with my America."

"The label of liberalism is hardly a sentence to public igominy: otherwise Bruce Springsteen would still be rehabilitating used Cadillacs in Asbury Park and Jane Fonda, for all we know, would be just another overweight housewife."

"In 1974, I was 14. Even I knew the '60s were over. It was the era of soft-rock infusion. The Beatles were gone, Elvis was in Vegas. What was goin' on? Nothin' was goin' on. Bruce Springsteen was comin' on, saving music from the phonies, saving lyrics from the folkies, saving black leather jackets from the Fonz."

"Bruce Springsteen feels familiar to us. But it's not an easy familiarity, is it? Even his band seems to stand taller when he walks in the room. It's complex. He's America's writer, and critic. It's like in Badlands, he's Martin Sheen and Terrence Malick. To be so accessible and so private, there's a rubric. But then again, he is an Irish-Italian, with a Jewish-sounding name. What more do you want? Add one big African sax player, and no one in this room is gonna fuck with you!"

"We call him the Boss. Well that's a bunch of crap. He's not the boss. He works for us."

"America was staggering when Springsteen appeared. The president had just resigned in disgrace. The U.S. had lost its first war. There was going to be no more oil in the ground. The days of cruising and big cars were supposed to be over. But Bruce Springsteen's vision was bigger than a Honda, it was bigger than a Subaru. Bruce made you believe that dreams were still out there, but after loss and defeat, they had to be braver, not just bigger."

"Here was a dude who carried himself like Brando, Dylan, and Elvis. If John Steinbeck could sing, if Van Morrison could ride a Harley-Davidson. But he was something new, too. He was the first whiff of Scorsese, the first hint of Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, and the Clash. He was the end of long hair, brown rice and bell bottoms. It was the end of the 20-minute drum solo. It was good night, Haight-Ashbury; hello, Asbury Park."

"I think music changed when Bruce Springsteen came on the scene. I think if it wasn't for Bruce Springsteen, we may have gone in a very scary direction. We may have gotten to the point where disco music ruled and I would have had to quit."

"We all come up a little short and we go down hard. These days I spend my time skipping through the dark. Through the empires of dust, I chant your name. I am the hunter of invisible game."

"Is it a gun, is it a knife? Is it a wallet, this is your life? It ain't no secret, It ain't no secret, No secret my friend. You can get killed just for living In your American skin."

"This train... Carries saints and sinners. This train... Carries losers and winners. This train... Carries whores and gamblers. This train... Carries lost souls.I said this train... Dreams will not be thwarted. This train... Faith will be rewarded."

"Tend to your flock or they will stray. We’ll be called for our service come judgment day. Before we cross that river wide, The blood on our hands will come back on us twice."

"Well, no cannon ball did fly, no rifles cut us down. No bombs fell from the sky, no blood soaked the ground. No powder flash blinded the eye. No deathly thunder sounded. But just as sure as the hand of God, They brought death to my hometown. They brought death to my hometown."

"I been knocking on the door that holds the throne. I been looking for the map that leads me home. I been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone. The road of good intentions has gone dry as a bone. We take care of our own. We take care of our own. Wherever this flag’s flown, We take care of our own."

"Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free/ If you've ever seen a one trick pony then you've seen me. Have you ever seen a one legged dog makin' his way down the street? If you've ever seen a one legged dog then you've seen me."

"I'm working on a dream, Though trouble can feel like it's here to stay. I'm working on a dream; Our love will chase the trouble away."

"I've seen strong hearts give way To the burdens of the day, To the weary hands of time Where fortune is not kind."

"Out of the East on an Irish stallion came bounty hunter Dan. His heart quickened and burdened by the need to get his man. He found Pete peacefully fishing by the river. Pulled his gun and got the drop. He said "Pete you think you've changed but you have not.""

"When they built you brother, they turned this dust to gold. When they built you brother, they broke the mold."

"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, nobody goes it alone. That you know flag flying over the courthouse Means certain things are set in stone: Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't.""

"Here everybody has a neighbor, Everybody has a friend. Everybody has a reason to begin again."

"The wise men were all fools, what to do?"

"She went away, she cut me like a knife. Hello beautiful thing, maybe you could save my life. In just a glance, down here on magic street, Loves a fool's dance And I ain't got much sense, but I still got my feet."

"I was tryin' to find my way home, But all I heard was a drone Bouncing off a satellite, Crushin' the last lone American night. This is radio nowhere, is there anybody alive out there? This is radio nowhere, is there anybody alive out there?"

"I got God on my side. I'm just trying to survive. What if what you do to survive Kills the things you love? Fear's a powerful thing; It can turn your heart black you can trust. It'll take your God filled soul And fill it with devils and dust"

"I got my finger on the trigger But I don't know who to trust. When I look into your eyes There's just devils and dust. We're a long, long way from home, Bobbie. Home's a long, long way from us. I feel a dirty wind blowing Devils and dust."

"Come on, rise up! Come on, rise up!"

"There is a blood red circle On the cold dark ground. And the rain is falling down. The church door's thrown open; I can hear the organ's song. But the congregation's gone. My city of ruins. My city of ruins."

"Come on up for the rising. Come on up, lay your hands in mine. Come on up for the rising. Come on up for the rising tonight."

"Can't see nothin' in front of me; Can't see nothin' coming up behind. I make my way through this darkness; I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me. Lost track of how far I've gone, How far I've gone, how high I've climbed. On my back's a sixty pound stone, On my shoulder a half mile line."

"Trees on fire with the first fall's frost Long black line in front of Holy Cross Blood moon risin' in a sky of black dust Tell me Baby who do you trust? The fuse is burning Shut out the lights The fuse is burning Come on let me do you right."

"Now I been out in the desert, just doin' my time. Searchin' through the dust, lookin' for a sign. If there's a light up ahead well brother I don't know. But I got this fever burnin' in my soul. So let's take the good times as they go, And I'll meet you further on up the road."

"It's a fairytale so tragic, There's no prince to break the spell. I don't believe in magic, But for you I will, for you I will. If I'm a fool, I'll be a fool. Darlin' for you."

"It's rainin' but there ain't a cloud in the sky; Musta been a tear from your eye. Everything'll be okay. Funny, thought I felt a sweet summer breeze; Musta been you sighin' so deep. Don't worry we're gonna find a way."

"May your strength give us strength. May your faith give us faith. May your hope give us hope. May your love give us love."