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“We will make it through the love, faith, anger, and hope in your hearts and souls, and the undying faith that better days lie ahead. This is how America renews itself.”
Bruce Springsteen at TD Garden Sunday. Ben Stas for Boston.com
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Review and tracklist: Springsteen eviscerates Trump at TD Garden fire station
Bruce Springsteen gave four separate statements to the TD Garden audience at his show in Boston on Sunday night, summarizing his thoughts behind the “Land of Hope and Dreams Tour.” Below are the notes in their entirety.
prewar”:
Good evening, Boston. Welcome to the “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour. We begin the night by praying for our men and women serving overseas. We pray to God that this conflict will end and that they will return safely.
The E Street Band is here tonight to celebrate and defend the American ideals and values that have sustained our country for 250 years. We are here to summon the righteous power of art, music and rock ‘n’ roll in these difficult times. Our democracy, our Constitution, and our rule of law are being challenged now as never before by a reckless, racist, incompetent, and traitorous president and his administration’s foolish ship.
So, tonight we ask you all to join us in choosing hope instead of fear, democracy instead of tyranny, the rule of law instead of chaos, morality instead of unbridled corruption, resistance instead of complacency, truth instead of lies, unity instead of division, and peace instead of war.
Before “The Streets of Minneapolis”:
Last winter, federal forces brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis. They chose the wrong city.
The strength and solidarity of the people of Minnesota was an inspiration to the entire country. They stood shoulder to shoulder for their neighbor. Their strength and commitment tell us that this is still America, and the Gestapo tactics of this president and this administration will not stop here. They gave us hope. They gave us courage.
As for those who gave their lives: Renee Judd, a mother of three, brutally murdered, and Alex Peretti, a Virginia nurse, executed by ICE and left to die in the street without our lawless government even investigating their deaths — there was nothing, nothing, nothing. We will not forget their courage, their sacrifices and their names.
Before “My City of Ruins”:
We are living in turbulent and worrying times. The lives of our young men and women are at risk in an incompetent, ill-advised and illegal war. And this is happening now. The Supreme Court struck down the Voting Rights Act and did historic damage to the hard-fought civil rights movement. A movement for which people marched, fought and sacrificed their lives. And this is happening now. There are immigrants being held in for-profit detention centers across the country, being deported without due process. This is un-American and this is happening now.
Our Department of Justice has completely abandoned its independence and takes its orders directly from the corrupt White House. They are putting our president’s perceived enemies on trial. They cover up his misdeeds and protect his powerful friends. And this is happening now.
The richest men in America have abandoned the world’s poorest children to death and disease by dismantling USAID. This is no longer on the front page, but children are dying every day. And this is happening now.
We are undermining NATO and the global order that has kept us and world peace safe for 80 years. Our museums are asked to whitewash American history of any unpleasant or uncomfortable facts such as the full history of the brutality of slavery. Want to talk about snowflakes? We have a president who cannot handle the truth.
We have a president who wants to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate and reward the people who attacked our capital, our democracy, and assaulted our police officers on January 6. This is American anger and this is happening now.
This White House is destroying the American ideal and our reputation around the world. We continue to stand as a beacon of hope, freedom and liberation around the world. An imperfect but staunch defender of democracy, for the universal good. To many now, we are America, the reckless, unpredictable, predatory, and untrustworthy rogue state. This is the legacy of this administration and this president. And this is happening now.
Honesty. honor. Humility. a personality. integrity. fact. sympathy. Humanity. Thinking. Ethics. True strength and fitness. Don’t let anyone tell you that these things are no longer important because they are. They are at the heart of the kind of men and women we are, the kind of citizens we want to be, and the kind of country we want to leave to our children.
We have failed so many of our elected leaders that only the American people can stop this American tragedy. You. There is no one coming to save us. We have to do it ourselves.
So join us and let’s fight for the America we love.
Do you hear me, Boston?
Do you hear me, Boston?
Do you hear me, Boston?
Are you with us, Boston?
Let’s go.
Before “Beats of Freedom”:
Thank you for supporting our band all these years. I remember the early 70s when we played at Joe’s Place, Charlie’s Place. I was 24 years old. So what I want to say is Boston, thanks for life.
Yes, these are tough times, but the E Street Band was created for tough times. We will overcome these things because of the love, faith, anger, and hope in your heart and soul, and the undying faith that better days lie ahead. This is how America renews itself.
The hardest part for me is the feeling of distance between you and your neighbors, and between you and your fellow citizens. That distance is painful and can darken your soul.
We have a president who says he wishes nothing but evil on those with whom he disagrees. This is not the country I want to live in. From the beginning, America was born out of disagreement. It’s an argument. It is a continuous, blessed, and sacred argument about the course the country should take to form this more perfect union. We can argue about these matters and still recognize our common humanity, our dignity, and our unity.
The saddest example of what I’m trying to say are the last words of Renee Goode. The last words she said to the man who would kill her minutes later would kill her. She opened the window and the last thing she said was: “I’m not mad at you. I’m not mad. God bless you.”
So, when you get home tonight, keep your loved ones close by and in the morning, do as Renee did. Find a way to take peaceful, aggressive action to defend our country’s ideals and do what the great civil rights leader John Lewis said. Go out and get into some good trouble.
Say something, do something, give something, sing something… It’s okay if we feel helpless, hopeless, frustrated, betrayed, or angry. I understand. That’s why we’re here tonight. We needed to feel your strength, your hopes and your faith. We needed to give you some strength and bring you some hope and some faith. I hope we did that tonight.
So, God bless Alex Pretty. God bless you, Renee. God bless you, and God bless America.
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