Bring 'Em Home
2006 · Columbia 88697 00916 2 · Freehold, New Jersey
- Artist
- Bruce Springsteen
- Title
- Bring 'Em Home
- Release
- We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (American Land Edition)
- Year
- 2006
- Label
- Columbia # 88697 00916 2
- Format
- CD · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- Freehold, New Jersey, USA
- Genre
- Folk · Contemporary Folk
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
On this record, Bruce Springsteen recorded a version of the Pete Seeger protest song of "Bring 'em Home". As discussed above, Bruce Springsteen, born on 23 September 1949, in Long Beach, New Jersey, nicknamed the "Boss", is an Americana and heartland rock artist, known for his socially conscious lyrics, including many songs that reference Vietnam or feature a Vietnam veteran as the protagonist. This includes "Highway Patrolman" on Nebraska (1982); a double-sided Vietnam single, "Born in the U.S.A." and "Shut Out the Light" (1984); a cover of Edwin Starr's "War" (1986); "Youngstown" & "Galveston Bay", both on The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995); "The Wall" on High Hopes (2014); two songs on Tracks (1998), a compilation of rare material, called "Brothers Under the Bridges '83" and "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"; in 2006 he released a version of Pete Seeger's anti-Vietnam song "Bring Them Home" on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions [American Land Edition]. He also discussed the Vietnam War on the album Springsteen on Broadway (2018), especially with regards to the acoustic rendition of "Born in the U.S.A." His debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) contained many war references, such as "Lost in the Flood". Additionally, his song "Freedom Cadence" dealt with both the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, featuring in the closing credits of the 2017 film Thank You for Your Service.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Bruce Springsteen Songs
On this record, Springsteen recorded an abridged version of the Pete Seeger protest song "Bring 'em Home" (Columbia Records # 82876834391). As with the original, the lyrics took an anti-Vietnam stance, opposed to government policy (rather than general anti-war): "it will make the politicians sad...they wanna tangle with their foe", thus presenting the government and military as war-mongers. Yet, it also displayed a degree of patriotism (for the United States) and support for the soldiers fighting: "if you love this land of the free, bring ’em home".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: If you love this land of the free / Bring ’em home, bring ’em home / Bring them back from overseas... / It will make the politicians sad, I know / Bring ’em home, bring ’em home / They wanna tangle with their foe... / They wanna test their grand theories... / With the blood of you and me... / Now we’ll give no more brave young lives... / For the gleam in someone’s eyes... / The men will cheer and the boys will shout... / Yeah and we will all turn out... / The church bells will ring with joy... / To welcome our darlin’ girls and boys... / We willl lift their voice and sound... / Yeah, when Johnny comes marching home / Bring ’em home, bring ’em home
About the artist
Born Freehold, New Jersey, USA (23 September 1949). Currently Rumson, New Jersey.