The Wall

Annotation — Bruce Springsteen Songs

Springsteen wrote the song "The Wall" (Columbia Records # 88843015462) following a visit to the memorial, to see the names of two of his friends who were K.I.A. in Vietnam, both members of New Jersey rock & roll bands - Bart Haynes, the drummer in The Castiles, a group that Springsteen was a member of, and Walter Cichon, lead singer of The Motifs - Springsteen later recalled the story of Cichon on the intro track to "Born in the U.S.A." on the album Springsteen on Broadway discussed below.1 The song noted that the former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara (under both JFK and LBJ) had said he was sorry for his part in the war. The narrated said "apology and forgiveness got no place here at all".Sources1springsteenlyrics.com↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Veterans Memorial Wall Songs

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…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Notes

Columbia 88843015462, track 11, 4:20. Written after a visit to the Memorial, for Walter Cichon (The Motifs) and Bart Haynes (The Castiles), both killed in Vietnam. [From Discogs; the RYM annotation]

About the artist

Born Freehold, New Jersey, USA (23 September 1949). Currently Rumson, New Jersey.

Themes

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall · K.I.A. · Marines · McNamara

In collections

Bruce Springsteen Songs · Veterans Memorial Wall Songs