Bruce Springsteen's angry anti-ICE song is on-the-nose in the right way | The Guardian Opinion |

The star's urgent and to-the-point protest song is not subtle about its target and right now that's why it works so well

Bruce Springsteen's new protest song isn't open to interpretation.

In Streets of Minneapolis, the Boss condemns "King Trump's private army from the DHS" that "came to Minneapolis to enforce the law - or so their story goes". He names Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both killed by federal agents amid protests. He rages against "Miller and Noem's dirty lies", referencing the faces of the Trump administration's onslaught against immigrants.

In its familiar structure, with chords any beginner musician can play, it echoes protest songs of the 1960s. But Blowin' in the Wind or A Change Is Gonna Come, it doesn't speak in metaphor. That probably means no one will be singing this song around the campfire 50 years from now; we can only hope the youth of tomorrow will be unfamiliar with private DHS armies. But it also leaves no doubt about its message. Springsteen, who says he wrote and recorded the song in the span of a weekend, has no time for ambiguity, and the result is a sense of urgency and genuine fury. Streets of Minneapolis sacrifices timelessness for raw feeling.

Aretha Franklin civil rights protests song

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Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

Through the winter's ice and cold
Down Nicollet Avenue
A city aflame fought fire and ice
’Neath an occupier's boots
King Trump's private army from the DHS
Guns belted to their coats
Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law
Or so their story goes
Against smoke and rubber bullets
By the dawn's early light
Citizens stood for justice
Their voices ringing through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renee Good

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We'll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Here in our home they killed and roamed
In the winter of '26
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

Trump's federal thugs beat up on
His face and his chest
Then we heard the gunshots
And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead
Their claim was self defense, sir
Just don't believe your eyes
It's our blood and bones
And these whistles and phones
Against Miller and Noem's dirty lies

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

Now they say they're here to uphold the law
But they trample on our rights
If your skin is black or brown my friend
You can be questioned or deported on sight

In chants of ICE out now
Our city's heart and soul persists
Through broken glass and bloody tears
On the streets of Minneapolis

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
Here in our home they killed and roamed
In the winter of '26
We'll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

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