Long Walk Home Archives - chimesfreedom

On November 6, 2024, Bruce Springsteen awakened feeling like many people in the United States did following the previous night’s election of Donald Trump. While many were happy, in a divided country there were around just as many people who were sad, angry, scared and/or feeling despair. Those feelings have amplified for many people in the months following the election.

Back in November, like many of us, Springsteen did not have the option of staying in bed all day and had to go to work. Unlike most of us, though, Springsteen had to do his job in front of a large audience.

And as he often does, he let his music speak for his feelings. So that night, playing for our neighbor and friend Canada, Springsteen opened with a brief comment introducing what he called “a fighting prayer” for his country, which was a one-two punch of two of his most powerful songs.

First, he opened with “A Long Walk Home” from his 2007 album Magic. He had never opened with that song prior to the election. The song, inspired by a Stanley Brothers song, is in the voice of a person coming back home and not recognizing where he once lived. Originally written about the George W. Bush and the post-9/11 years, the song is even more relevant for many today.

But Springsteen is not one to leave us in the dark, as his songs and performances bring together his fans and lifts them up. So, as part of the opening after “A Long Walk Home” he followed with one of his most hopeful songs, which we have previously discussed more in-depth, “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

While many may not have felt they were living in such a land that morning, Springsteen reminded us that your community is what you make of it. ” This Train / Dreams will not be thwarted; / This Train / Faith will be rewarded.”

Music does not change the world overnight. But at least for now, here is something to listen to during the next several years when you need to feel less alone and to find some hope to get you through the night.

The full audio of the November 6, 2024 show is also available on Nugs.net. Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Bruce Springsteen released “Long Walk Home” in 2007 on his Magic album. He wrote the song to reflect how he felt during the years of the George W. Bush presidency.

Last night I stood at your doorstep,
Trying to figure out what went wrong.

“Long Walk Home” is about a guy coming back to his hometown and not recognizing anything. As Springsteen explained about the singer’s character in The New York Times, “The things that he thought he knew, the people who he thought he knew, whose ideals he had something in common with, are like strangers.”

Long Walk Home

In town I pass Sal’s grocery,
Barber shop on South Street;
I looked in their faces,
They’re all rank strangers to me.

The reference to “rank strangers” in Springsteen’s “A Long Walk Home” was inspired by the song “Rank Strangers to Me,” sometimes called “The Rank Stranger” or just “Rank Stranger.” Albert E. Brumley wrote “Rank Strangers to Me,” which was made famous by The Stanley Brothers.

“Rank Strangers to Me” is also about a man returning to the town of his youth. As in Springsteen’s song, the singer discovers he does not recognize anything.

The meaning of “Rank Stranger” is open to interpretation. There is no resolution or explanation about why the singer does not recognize the people in his town. Has he died? Has everyone else died? It is a mystery that makes the song haunt you long after you have heard it.

Similarly, in Springsteen’s song, the unrecognizable world feels alien to the singer. The meaning would be mysterious too, except that Springsteen has provided context for “The Long Walk Home.” He explained about the alienation during the Bush administration, “I think that’s what’s happened in this country.”

It’s gonna be a long walk home;
Hey pretty darling, don’t wait up for me;
Gonna be a long walk home,
A long walk home.

While some celebrated the election results this week, many felt they were seeing their country in a way they could not recognize. Maybe Springsteen had a feeling about what was going to happen when he chose to play “Long Walk Home” outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall during a rally for Hillary Clinton the night before the election.

Either way, the song captures the disappointment that one side often feels after an election. But that is the nature of democracy. At one time or another, we all have to take a long walk to get back home.

Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo by Chimesfreedom.