When Bruce Springsteen went off-script during his Broadway residency to fight for children
Bruce Springsteen has long been hailed as one of the most important figures in music. The man has an undoubted knack for penning stirring anthems that appeal to our primal side, uniting people in song. A real blue-collar hero, he has always championed the little man and righteous causes, leading to him being affectionately labelled as ‘The Boss’.
Since he broke through back in 1973 with his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Springsteen has invariably led by example, and despite his latest Ticketmaster fiasco, he is still regarded as the de facto man of the people. From LGBT rights to respecting the dignity of work concept, Springsteen has thrown himself behind a myriad of causes, using his status for only gregarious means.
One of the most impactful uses of his platform came back in 2018 when he was in the middle of his Broadway residency. He was noted for playing the same setlist during his show every night for eight months, with scripted monologues from his memoir mixed in. However, one night in June of that year, he broke from the norm and used his platform to voice his opinions on a great crime.
He went off script from Springsteen on Broadway and vocalised the “inhumane” treatment of children who were separated from their parents and kept in cages at the country’s southern border. At the time, thousands of children were being detained by law enforcement and separated from their families, following an April policy from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, which allowed for every person caught crossing the border illegally to be referred for federal criminal prosecution.
It was reported that Springsteen’s unscripted condemnation of “senior people in government” was a lengthy one. “For 146 shows, I have played pretty much the same set every night. Tonight demands something different,” he then said before tearing through his fan favourite ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’, his 1995 protest song that was not part of the setlist for Springsteen on Broadway.
Famously, the track features the line: “Wherever somebody’s fighting for a place to stand / Or a decent job or a helping hand / Wherever somebody’s struggling to be free / Look in their eyes, Ma, and you’ll see me.”
Whilst Springsteen’s Broadway effort didn’t change much, it is a testament to him that he took the opportunity to highlight the injustice of what was happening, reaffirming that he is truly ‘The Boss’.
