You Can Get Killed Just for Living in Your American Skin
Last Friday, Bruce Springsteen dug his song “American Skin (41 Shots)” from Live In New York City (2000) out of the vault in Tampa, Florida. Without any comment from Springsteen, the reason for the song eventually became clear to the crowd. Although it was written about New York police shooting the unarmed Amadou Diallo in February 1999, the refrain about getting killed just for living in your “American Skin” resonated in Florida, where this February the 17-year-old unarmed Trayvon Martin was killed.
While everyone is still sorting out what happened in the incident, both liberal and conservative commentators have been doing a lot of yelling. While one may debate whether Springsteen’s decision to bring back “41 Shots” helps with the debate or just adds more confusion to the developing story, when Nils Lofgren’s electric guitar kicks in after the 3-minute mark, there is no question. Even more than the refrain, the building tension and screaming guitars say that despite all of the rhetoric on both sides, it’s a damn tragedy.
