What’s A Poor Girl To Do But Keep Singing Her Song?

My obsession with the genius that is Bruce Springsteen is well established. We fans have our own hashtag on twitter #BruceBuds. But Bruce Springsteen has a special talent for being the voice of the underdog, the working class, and the crazy teen in all of us; so he is the focus of my post today. In this post I present you with ten Springsteen quotes that seem dead appropriate after Tuesday’s budget. Again, I’m not going to talk about actual policies (bored now…), simply present you with some of Springsteen’s best quotes and videos from the songs they come from so you can check them out yourself. I’ve tried to include live ones where I can because you can really see Bruce’s passion and sweat here; plus he tends to give soft acoustic songs anthem-like qualities live, it’s amazing. You may find they help your ailing brain and make you overly motivated (listen to number five and you’ll want to hold a protest), but that’s good. Don’t be defeated, your opinion and your thoughts matter. So enjoy: the music, the man, the ideology…it’s all good. 

Seeds (Live 75-85)

“How many times can you get up after you’ve been hit? Well I swear if I could spare the spit I’d lay one on your shiny chrome and send you on your way back home”.

Seeds is one of those “anthems of the working class” Bruce songs. When Bruce sings it live, he’s angry and fiery…the man means business. Seeds reveals the fears and emotions of being homeless, jobless and without prospects. It’s particular context is about a man leaving his hometown and heading south with “just spit and a song” with his family to tap into the opportunities of oil, but when he gets there “it’s all gone” and he and his family are poor and homeless. 

Credit: runawaydream 

Harry’s Place (High Hopes)

“When Harry speaks it’s Harry’s streets, in Harry’s house it’s Harry’s rules. You don’t want to be around brother when Harry schools…your blood and money spit shines Harry’s crown.”

Now technically this song is about gangsters, but this is the fun of Bruce songs. Sometimes the lyrics just fit out of context! Replace “Harry” with “Hockey” or “Tony”…it’s fun I promise. Do it. 

Credit : BRUCETHEBOSS2014

Factory (Darkness on the Edge of Town)

“Through the mansions of fear, through the mansions of pain I see my daddy walking through them factory gates in the rain. Factory takes his hearing, factory gives him life…just the working life”

It was really difficult to select just one verse from this short song. It’s all powerful. Factory is the ultimate story of the working class. This verse in particular I feel demonstrates that give and take horror of employment. Factory and labour work is hard on the body, it can take your hearing and give you life at the same time. It takes things from you physically, but you rely on that income to survive. The final verse of this song highlights the emotional consequences for the workers’ families. Short, but excellent. Tony take note. 

Credit: metalandi 

Your Own Worst Enemy (Magic)

“Once the family felt secure, now no one’s very sure. Your own worst enemy has come to town…everything is falling down”

I’m sure this is how many people affected by the budget feel. No one’s very sure about how their situation is going to turn out in a month, in six months. It’s an uncertain time. Bruce feel you guys, feel them Bruce feels. 

Credit: MsBrucejuice

Death to My Hometown (Wrecking Ball)

“So listen up my sonny boy, be ready when they come. For they’ll be returning sure as the rising sun. Now get yourself a song to sing and sing it ’til you’re done. Sing it hard and sing it well, send the robber barons straight to hell; the greedy thieves who came around and ate the flesh of everything they found, whose crimes have gone unpunished now, who walk the streets as free men now. They brought death to our hometown, boys.” 

Okay, I HAD to go for the whole verse here. This is an anthem. I’ve provided a live version below, but I suggest you also check out the studio version from Wrecking Ball. Both versions capture “political Bruce” so well. To me, this is what the uni students going to the protests around the country next week should chant (it’ll show you know songs other than One Direction guys). It’s strong, and angry, and says: “we’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore”. It’s awesome. Ily Bruce xo. 

Credit: BruceSpringsteenVEVO  [Official] 

Growin Up (Greetings From Asbury Park)

“I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they sad ‘sit down’, I stood up”

This to me is us, Gen Y kids. Don’t let anyone tell you that your voice doesn’t matter. When they say sit down, stand up. You want to not be treated like children? Go into battle armed with logic and fact….and peer reviewed journal articles! 

Credit: Paul C. 

This Hard Land (Tracks)

“In the morning we’ll make a plan. Well if you can’t make it stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can, and meet me in the dream of this hard land”

Such an amazing song, both live and on Tracks, and this verse in particular captures it for me. The themes of this song resonate very much with the working class, with farmers, and with those doing it tough. The power of Springsteen is that even if he’s singing specifically about something, the words can resonate with many other situations. For me, I hear Bruce singing to me in many situations when I play this song. But every time I’m feeling down or desperate, or like some crazy things are happening he says to me: stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive…and I feel like I can. Lefties: stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive! 

Credit: TheMagikRat

Shackled and Drawn (Wrecking Ball) 

“Gambling man rolls the dice, working man pays the bill; it’s still fat and easy up on banker’s hill. Up on banker’s hill the party’s going strong. Down here below we’re shackled and drawn”

Shackled and Drawn is one my favourite examples of “Political Bruce”. This verse exemplifies the feelings in many in the world, not just Australia, tonight. The poor, the hardworking, and the students: we watch as people with a lot more cash than us roll the dice on our future and we pay the bill for their losses. Students are paying the bill In Australia for the deregulation of university fees. But, irregardless, sing this one loud and proud. And do the Bruce dance…oh the Bruce shuffle, so fun. 

Credit: Lars Helden 

Badlands (Darkness on the Edge of Town)

“Baby I got my facts, learned real good right now. You better get it straight darling: Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king; and a king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything”

You grow up, you learn your facts; real good. Right now many Aussies have got their facts learned the hard way, and unfortunately that could be the new world order. But screaming other lines from Badlands is also helpful: I wanna spit in the face of these Badlands….It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive. Honestly, choosing one quote was darn hard. Concert halls full of people chanting also tends to make this song an epic anthem. 

Credit: metalandi

The Ghost of Tom Joad (The Ghost of Tom Joad) 

“Wherever somebody’s fighting for a place to stand, or a decent job, or a helping hand. Wherever somebody’s struggling to be free, looking in their eyes Ma, you’ll see me”

The original acoustic was haunting and beautiful with words that had a quiet power, like so many Springsteen songs, that give you validation and hope. Even better is the recently recorded (High Hopes) version that is based on Bruce’s amazing live duet with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. The song becomes an anthem, especially with social justice warrior Morello at the guitar. Sing it loud, sing it proud. 

Credit: Zarastro1040

Oh Bruce, you know how to make my heart soar. I love political Bruce, working class Bruce, and dark Bruce; he speaks to so many, still brings the power after over forty years, and gives so much love to the fans. 

 

“We’re here tonight because you’re here!”

 

“You can’t get to those things by yourself, you got to have help! That’s why I wanna go there tonight and I want you to go with me.Because I need to go with you!” 

 

Journey. You go on a journey with Bruce. Lefty friends, Bruce Buds…go on a journey with these songs. 

Not Another Budget Blog

No, seriously…this is not a blog about policy, or numbers, or even political affiliations; if you want that I posted some choice tweets last night that I was pretty happy with and the right wing members of my family probably had seizures over. This blog is about people. People affected by the budget and our society’s view of those groups (that may or may not have lead to certain policies that we won’t be discussing…you be the judge). Really when it comes down to it, one can’t change policy…we can bitch about it (that’s fun) and protest, and vote for someone else in the hopes that they’ll reverse it, but we ourselves can’t undo these things someone else has done. But we should by all means take this opportunity to consider the lives of all affected by policy, not just our own. Whether you associate with the left or the right, or you really just don’t know or care, people are what matters. 

Let’s start with an easy on shall we? (*Ahem*). Students and young people. It seems that society loves babies (because…ALL the cuteness), then once we start to talk they start to dislike us. It is a sad but accurate statement that discrimination based on age (both young and old) is very much a part of our society. Students are told by men who never had to pay for their tertiary education that they are a strain on the system. Sadly, that’s just too damn bad sometimes. Very few people could afford to pay university fees up front, which is why the HECS-HELP debt was introduced, to ensure equal opportunity for participation in the university system. Now let’s move away from policy associated with students (I promised remember) and towards their value as individuals. Students are future teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, criminologists, policy-makers, dentists, CEOs, journalists, novelists, economists and so many more. It is a simple fact that in order to perform certain professional careers, one needs to acquire a degree in the chosen area. Hate us now, but it is an inevitability that we are the future. We will take over your roles, take care of you in your old age, write books and articles that you love, and determine policy for years to come. So maybe that’s threatening to some people, but it shouldn’t be. That’s because we look to the older generation to teach us….you guys have the opportunity to be teachers, and we’re asking you: show me, teach me, help me appreciate what it is you do because you’re who I want to be. Maybe feel complimented. 

As a young person and student, I have a dream….a fickle fantasy. You wanna hear it? I would like to get through a few days without being referred to as entitled. Every few days it seems that someone who knows nothing about me or my life decides that because I’m an eighteen year old Caucasian woman, I’m entitled. It’s rare for someone to say it to my face, more likely to happen anonymously in response to commentary on the internet, but is almost always is used as a blanket term to describe all people of my age and/or generation. Really, what makes me so entitled? Is it because at fourteen I wasn’t off in the salt mines, earning my keep? (That’s child labour kids, look it up). Because I got to go to school and got into university? Because I live with my parents? Because I was born into the a world where there’s opportunity, technology, and ease? Ah, that last one probably made a few of you nod (you’re probably also not 18). The complaint of the older generations is that we have it “so easy” compared to them, because they’re parents spanked them, and they had to do laundry by hand, and takeaway was only for rich people. GET OVER IT. Yes, technology has vastly improved and made my childhood different to yours; you also have access to this lovely new technology, use it if you want. My parents just had to be more creative than yours in teaching me the value and inevitability of hard work, responsibility, and kindness; personally I think they did pretty well, as did a lot of parents of generation Y and Z. The fundamental thing I think a lot of people forget is that I didn’t choose to be born in 1995 to a middle class family any more than James Packer chose to be born in 1967 to an upperclass empire. We don’t choose when or into what circumstances we are born, hence it is pointless to victimise and discriminate against people for it. Accept it, have faith that the younger generation is not made up entirely of superficial airheads (give me literature over couture any day), and treat people fairly. 

Next I would like to present you with the greatest love-hate relationship of all time: pensioners. They’re your parents or grandparents. They feed you sugar, alcohol and homemade remedies because “it builds character/a good immune system/can’t hurt you”. They’re awesome (unless they’re telling you that your generation sucks, then I’m gonna have words). They’re also costly. Pensioners take without really giving back in return through income tax. Though their spending can help to stimulate the economy, like any consumer, they’re viewed on par with students in terms of money: sucking the public teat. Though pensioners seem to be entitled (there’s that word again) to claim they’re hard done by. The reality is that pensioners have done their stint in the work force, they contributed and played their part in serving their country; so when they can no longer work, yes, they are going to receive things without giving back. That’s life, they surely earned it. Pensioners today lived through some of the world’s biggest disasters. They worked through wars, economic crises, law and policy shake-ups, and a rapidly changing landscape of technology. Women worked in jobs where they earned way less than men, were grabbed on the ass and told that it was a compliment not sexual harassment, and often fired when they got married or had children. They’ve played their part and left us a prosperous future, so maybe go easy on the pensioner whining. 

Finally, we come to the public health system (*annoyed grunt*). On the way to the library every few days I walk through the Mater Public Hospital and Mater Mothers Hospital in South Brisbane. Here you share an elevator with every walk of life you can imagine, both worker and patient. This is where young doctors become the future of medicine; where nurses fill the lives of many with joy and compassion; where volunteers smile as they walk through the wards because they know they’re doing a good thing. I love this place, I look at my future career every day and feel happy. But I also feel sad. I know that the patients sitting in waiting rooms have been waiting a long time, not just today but for months to get here. I know that the young doctors are working hard, for a small salary, to impress their superiors (to quote Miranda Bailey from Grey’s Anatomy: you work every second night until you drop – and you DON’T complain). I know nurses try their hardest to improve the quality of life and care of their patients while they work under-staffed and under-paid. Patients are often unsure whether they are truly an “emergent” case and wait to seek attention, causing an escalation in even the most treatable of conditions. This is why we should also lay off the rich…for every person who can afford private health care, that’s another bed free in a public hospital or seat free in a bulk billing clinic for someone who can’t afford a $160 specialist consultation, or a $70 GP fee. The people in the public system are doing the best they can with what they have, and sometimes it’s not good enough. This is what cements health as an essential service, policy changes are literally life or death for some people. Some people need to understand that the public system is not just people getting something for free, though there are numerous cases of people misusing an already ailing system. You might not have to pay for your hospital treatment in a public hospital, but that doesn’t mean it is without cost. Upon using the private system recently (Oh God the fees…) because my GP just happens to refer to private providers, I was struck by how quickly the health system moves if you have money (which I don’t, so I might as well head back to public and wait there). I was literally asked “I’ve got an opening in two weeks, shall I write your name down?” for a surgery that in the public system would have taken me months or even years to get. I’m not commenting on whether this is good or bad, it’s just something to consider having never experienced such speed before. 

These are the people of Australia. These are the people who reacted to the handing down of the budget last night. They are the stakeholders. Consider each of their situations as you pass judgement on the budget (oh I know you will, it’s fun). There are more people with more stories that cannot be done justice in this one post, but they too are affected by the consequences of government policy, no matter which party is doing the handing down. These stories are here so that you can see the multiple points of view and how different people may be affected by the same decisions. What’s your story? How will it be rewritten in the wake of the 2014 Budget? 

Dannielle