Bruce Springsteen and Pittsburgh musician Joe Grushecky are sending a strong message to President Donald Trump with a new anthem called “That’s What Makes Us Great.”
The track — a gritty song Grushecky wrote after the inauguration in January — lifts the President’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan as an answer record taking lyrical aim at the administration’s positions on immigration.
“I had this song, and Bruce and I had been talking. I sent it to him and he liked it. I said, ‘What do you think about singing on it?,’” Grushecky told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He gave it the Bruce treatment.”
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“[Trump] lost me the moment he started making fun of special needs people. How could a person like that be president of the United States? Regardless of all the other [stuff], that to me is appalling,” he continued. “I have special needs people in my family and in my neighborhood. I worked with special needs people my whole life and I was really offended by it.”
The song, which was recorded with Rick Witkowski, Brian Coleman and Johnny Grushecky, was finished after Springsteen emailed his vocals from New Jersey.
Grushecky and Springsteen have a long history together, first collaborating on the 1995 album American Babylon and later on the Pittsburgh rocker’s 2009 album East Carson Street. Springsteen also took home a rock performance Grammy in 2005 for a live version of the 1997 co-write, “Code of Silence.” The Houserockers laid down the track with Rick Witkowski, Brian Coleman and Grushecky’s son Johnny producing. Springsteen, who wrapped up a world tour with the E Street band in February, emailed his part from Jersey.
The song is now available for download at grushecky.com. Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers will appear this summer at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ. on July 8.
Here are the song’s lyrics:
They come from everywhere
A longing to be free
They come to join us here
From sea to shining sea
And they all have a dream
As people always will
To be safe and warm
In that shining city on the hill
Some wanna slam the door
Instead of opening the gate
Aw, let’s turn this thing around
Before it gets too late
It’s up to me and you
Love can conquer hate
I know this to be true
That’s what makes us great
Don’t tell me a lie
And sell it as a fact
I’ve been down that road before
And I ain’t goin’ back
And don’t you brag to me
That you never read a book
I never put my faith
In a con man and his crooks
I won’t follow down that path
And tempt the hands of fate
Aw, let’s turn this thing around
Before it gets too late
It’s up to me and you
Love can conquer hate
I know this to be true
That’s what makes us great
In the quiet of the night
I lie here wide awake
And I ask myself
Is there a difference I can make?
It’s up to me and you
Love can conquer hate
I know this to be true
That’s what makes us great