Bruce Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own” Lyrics Meaning
The title of this song (“We Take Care of Our Own”) in its literal sense could easily be misinterpreted as a patriotic song, when it is far from that. Though it looks as if the writer is saying that Americans look out for each other by repeating the titular phrase, all the other lines indicate that it is a sarcastic piece.
Right from the initial verse, the narrator implies that people with good hearts and good intentions can no longer be found. He references the state of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and how the American government failed to respond and render adequate help to the citizens who were affected. The writer questions whether love, mercy and compassion still exist in the nation. His assumption is that even though people claim to look out for each other, they only care about people who think, look and act like them.
Summary
This song is essentially a critique of how the American people and government claim to seek each other’s best interests when in fact, they are only concerned with the interests of people just like them.
Facts about “We Take Care of Our Own”
“We Take Care of Our Own” was released digitally on iTunes and Amazon in January 2012. Springsteen dropped it as the first single from his “Wrecking Ball” project.
He was first performed it live at none other than the coveted 54th Annual Grammy Awards.
The track was played several times during former president Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign, and after he gave his victory speech in Chicago. Following the victory speech, sales for this song are said to have risen by more than 400%.
In 2012, critic Robert Christgau named the track the Best Single of said year. Rolling Stone magazine also included it in their list of the best songs of said year.
The video for the song was filmed around New Jersey’s famous Asbury Park. Thom Zimmy, who directed the video, has said that the last part of the video was spontaneous. According to him, they gathered some fans from a just-ended charity concert and added them to Bruce’s shoot.
Creation Credits for “We Take Care of Our Own”
Writing Duty: Bruce Springsteen
Production Duty: Ron Aniello
Grammy Nomination
At the 2013 Grammy Awards, 5 songs (including this one) were nominated for the prize of “Best Rock Song”. “Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys (which was one of the nominated songs) eventually took home the award. The other three nominated songs are listed below:
- Jack White’s “Freedom at 21”
- Mumford & Sons’ “I Will Wait“
- Muse’s “Madness“
