January 30, 2017 at 10:05 AM
Eight thousand miles from the American mainland, Bruce Springsteen responded Monday to President Donald Trump's controversial immigration ban during a concert in Australia. A video of the protest was posted on the Boss's official YouTube page.
"Tonight we want to add our voices to the thousands of Americans who are protesting at airports, around our country, the Muslim ban and the detention of foreign nationals and refugees," Springsteen said, during a Jan. 30 concert in Adelaide, Australia. "America is a nation of immigrants and we find this anti-democratic and fundamentally un-American."
"This is an immigrant song," he continued, before beginning "American Land,"perhaps the most appropriate track in his vast catalog.
The 2012 "Wrecking Ball" album closer -- a rarity in recent sets -- includes the lyrics: The McNicholas, the Posalski's, the Smiths, Zerillis, too / The Blacks, the Irish, Italians, the Germans and the Jews /Come across the water a thousand miles from home."
"American Land" was immediately followed by other ostensibly protesting titles: "The Ties That Bind," "No Surrender," "Land of Hope and Dreams," and a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped," which according to the fan site BruceBase.com was dedicated "to the detainees."
Springsteen details 'pop music as a political force'
"In a certain moment, the right song can start a fire," Springsteen said Tuesday
Springsteen joins a long list of celebrities opposing Friday's executive order, to temporarily disallow refugees entering the United States from seven predominantly Muslim African and Middle-Eastern countries: Syria, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Somalia.
Earlier this month, Springsteen spoke at Monmouth University in West Long Branch and detailed his views on music's intersection with political activism:
"I tend to believe music is important to activism in the sense that it stirs passion, it stirs interest, it stirs curiosity, it moves you to question your own beliefs, it strikes straight to you emotions. And it stirs you up inside. After you've heard it, I think it marinates inside of you, and ends up coming out in your own energy. ... I have a deep belief in pop music as a political force."
Springsteen has openly criticized Trump on several occasions, including a recent interview on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast:
"I've felt disgust before, but never the kind of fear that you feel now," Springsteen said in the January interview. "It's as simple as the fear of is someone simply competent enough to do this particular job? Forget about where they are ideologically. Do they simply have the pure competence to be put in the position of such responsibility?"
Bobby Olivier