Backstreets to publish another article I wrote
I’ll have another article in Backstreets. This one is about Pete Seeger songs that Bruce Springsteen did not include on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, but that have themes, writing styles, or metaphors similar to Springsteen’s work.
A tease:
A musician tells a group of children “Our government is always right and never wrong.” Is it Bruce Springsteen reading his kids that bedtime fairy tale he mentioned in his public-service announcement during the Vote for Change tour? No. It was Pete Seeger singing “What Did You Learn in School Today?” 35 years earlier.
A musician sings about soldiers “waist deep in the big muddy/And the big fool said to push on.” Did Springsteen rework “The Big Muddy” from 1992 to reflect his “Bring ‘em home” remark from the 2006 Grammy awards? No. It’s Seeger again, this time singing “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” about a different president getting the United States mired in a different war.
I’m not sure if this article will be in the next issue, along with the piece I wrote on the military themes in Springsteen’s Norfolk, VA, concert or the subsequent one.
Tags: Backstreets, Bruce Springsteen, My work, Pete Seeger, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
My writing focuses on travel and culture. I've contributed to The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Air Canada's enRoute, BlackBook, Budget Travel, Deadspin, and Louisville Magazine. I'm also the editor-in-chief of Louisville.com and BlackBook's Louisville City Editor.