American Skin

A re-occuring theme of my posts recently seems to be free speech. Tonight I was listening to a CD called The Essential Bruce Sprinsteen, and heard a song called 41 shots (AmericanSkin). The song was pretty haunting, and when I got home I looked it up on the web. Here's an abridged look at the lyrics and the song can be downloaded here .

41 shots....
and we'll take that ride
'cross this bloody river
to the other side
41 shots... cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

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

41 shots and
Lena gets her son ready for school
She says "on these streets, Charles
You've got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you
Promise me you'll always be polite,
that you'll never ever run away
Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in sight"

41 shots
And we'll take that ride
Cross this bloody river
To the other side
41 shots
And my boots caked in this mud
We're baptized in these waters
And in each other's blood

The song was in reference to four New York City Police officers who fired 41 shots at and killed an unarmed man,Amadou Diallo in February of 1999.

The song, doesnt seem to point any blame - just to say that it's a tragedy when an unarmed man is killed. Of course not everyone saw it that way.

"American Skin" is, however, an attempt by Springsteen to tell his audience that the music is about more than just the people listening to it. Since he began his current tour in March of last year, Springsteen, now reunited with the E-Street Band, has consistently played to packed houses in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. There was no new studio album to promote with this tour. The implicit understanding has been that Springsteen was going to sing all the old songs that his fans wanted to hear. If anything, this was an act of preaching to the converted. But with "American Skin," Springsteen is saying that this isn't enough. He is telling the audience that yes, your lives are valuable but so was Amadou Diallo's. And that his music is about that life as well. Springsteen is trying to create a community where people like Diallo have a place.

source

A single performance of "American Skin" was enough to launch a new chapter in the culture wars. Before even hearing the song, the nation s battalion of armed art critics sprang into action. The head of the NYC Police Benevolent Association called on the city s 27,000 cops to boycott the concerts by refusing to moonlight as security guards. NYC Police Commissioner Howard Safir supported the boycott and added his own insightful critique, "I personally don't particularly care for Bruce Springsteen s music or his song."
All were outdone by the president of the state chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Bob Lucente, who was forced to resign after his ugly outburst: "[Springsteen's] turned into some type of fucking dirtbag. He goes on the boycott list. He has all these good songs and everything, American-flag songs and all that stuff, and now he's a floating fag, and you can quote me on that."

For a balanced view on this perhaps it's easier to see it googled here, and make your own mind up.

There's also some cam footage from a live concert here if you're interested;