Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen have joined forces once again, this time on a passionate protest anthem called “That’s What Makes Us Great.”
It’s the first track that the singer-songwriters from Pittsburgh and New Jersey have worked on since Grushecky’s 2009 album “East Carson Street.” The two musicians, who have been friends since the mid ‘80s, first collaborated in the studio when Springsteen produced Grushecky’s 1995 album “American Babylon.” Springsteen won a rock performance Grammy in 2005 for a live version of “Code of Silence,” a song they wrote together in 1997.
This duet, a gritty rocker in the vintage Houserockers/E Street vein, takes on the Trump administration over immigration and alternative facts.
Grushecky wrote the song around the time Donald Trump took office in January.
“I had this song, and Bruce and I had been talking. I sent it to him and he liked it. I said, ‘What do you think about singing on it?’ He gave it the Bruce treatment.”
Rather than hooking up in the studio, they handled it all digitally, long distance. The Houserockers laid down the track with Rick Witkowski, Brian Coleman and Grushecky’s son Johnny producing. Springsteen, who wrapped up a world tour with the E Street band in February, emailed his part from Jersey.
Asked what specifically sparked the song, Grushecky, who taught in schools for decades, said, “[Trump] lost me the moment he started making fun of special needs people. How could a person like that be president of the United States? Regardless of all the other [stuff], that to me is appalling. I have special needs people in my family and in my neighborhood. I worked with special needs people my whole life and I was really offended by it.”
“That’s What Makes Us Great” will debut on E Street Radio on Sirius XM at 10 a.m. Wednesday and will hit www.joegrushecky.com and iTunes and other streaming services soon after.
Here are the lyrics:
That’s What Makes Us Great
Grushecky:
They come from everywhere
A longing to be free
They come to join us here
From sea to shining sea
Together:
And they all have a dream
As people always will
To be safe and warm
In that shining city on the hill
Grushecky:
Some wanna slam the door
Instead of opening the gate
Aw, let’s turn this thing around
Before it gets too late
Together:
It’s up to me and you
Love can conquer hate
I know this to be true
That’s what makes us great
Springsteen:
Don’t tell me a lie
And sell it as a fact
I’ve been down that road before
And I ain’t goin’ back
And don’t you brag to me
That you never read a book
I never put my faith
In a con man and his crooks
Together:
I won’t follow down that path
And tempt the hands of fate
Aw, let’s turn this thing around
Before it gets too late
It’s up to me and you
Love can conquer hate
I know this to be true
That’s what makes us great
Springsteen:
In the quiet of the night
I lie here wide awake
And I ask myself
Is there a difference I can make?
It’s up to me and you
Love can conquer hate
I know this to be true
That’s what makes us great
First Published: April 19, 2017, 12:47 a.m.
