Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ EP includes the anti-Trump speeches he’s been making on his European tour
Meanwhile, Trump posted a video that makes it look like he hit Springsteen with a golf ball and called him a fan of Kamala Harris.
The Bruce Springsteen-President Donald Trump back and forth continues.
The latest salvo is the rush release of Land of Hope and Dreams, a six-track EP issued on streaming services on Wednesday. It draws from the Boss’ May 14 European tour opener with the E Street Band in Manchester, England, where he made headlines by calling the Trump administration “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous.”
The new live EP contains four songs. The gospel-fired title track envisions an America where “dreams will not be thwarted” and “faith will be rewarded.” “Long Walk Home” is introduced by Springsteen as “a prayer for my country.” The other two songs in the EP are “My City of Ruins” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom.”
The music, however, is not the most noteworthy part of the release — it’s the speechifying. Land of Hope and Dreams officially puts out into the world two song introductions that feature Springsteen labeling Trump “an unfit president” who leads “a rogue government.”
By commercially releasing his critiques, Springsteen seems intent on making it as easy as possible for American listeners to hear what he has to say.
In the three-and-half-minute “My City of Ruins” introduction, Springsteen alleges that under the Trump administration “the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death” while “taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”
“They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society” he says, “removing residents off American streets, and, without due process of law … deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons.”
News reports of Springsteen’s remarks in Manchester — which he has repeated during all three of his shows so far — angered Trump last week. On Truth Social, he called Springsteen “not a talented guy” and a “dried out ”prune" of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!),” while warning “we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
On Monday, Trump turned up the heat, with an almost entirely all-caps post which asked: “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? … AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, And BONO?? I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter.”
As Rolling Stone has reported, payments made to performers at rallies during the presidential campaign were not in exchange for endorsements but were for services rendered, which is a legal requirement. Springsteen’s Thrill Hill Productions, for instance, was paid $76,000 after an appearance at a rally in Georgia in October.
Trump has yet to react to the commercial release of Springsteen’s anti-Trump rants, which are now easily accessible to subscribers to music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. But on Wednesday, the president did post a video on social media that was altered to make it appear like he knocked Springsteen down by hitting him with a golf ball.
Springsteen’s upcoming box set “Tracks II: The Lost Albums,” will be released on June 27.