Souls of the Departed

Listen while you read:  Bruce, featuring Neil Young!

On the road to Basra stood young Lieutenant Jimmy Bly
Detailed to go through the clothes of the soldiers who died
At night in dreams, he sees their souls rise
Like dark geese into the Oklahoma skies

Well, this is a prayer for the souls of the departed
Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted
This is a prayer for the souls of the departed

Now Raphael Rodriguez was just seven years old
Shot down in a schoolyard by some East Compton Cholos
His mama cried, "My beautiful boy is dead"
In the hills the self-made men just sighed and shook their heads

This is a prayer for the souls of the departed
Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted
Young lives over before they got started
This is a prayer for the souls of the departed

Tonight as I tuck my own son in bed
All I can think of is what if it would have been him instead?
I want to build me a wall so high, nothing can burn it down
Right here on my own piece of dirty ground

Now I ply my trade in the land of King Dollar
Where you get paid and your silence passes as honor
And all the hatred and dirty little lies
Been written off the books and into decent men's eyes

~ Bruce Springsteen

On the heels of All Saints' Day, Christians celebrate All Souls' Day, a day to honor the departed. It appears that only Christian souls are honored, but what do I know? And, if I was to believe what Father Scerbo answered when, as a child, I asked him if my recently departed dog's soul went to heaven, only human souls gain entry and are therefore honored. I am still having a problem with that, because if there ever was a soul worth honoring, it belonged to Mack, my Golden Retriever, who died a few years ago. But, hey, I didn't make the rules. Nor do I follow them.

Inspired by the Gulf War, Springsteen wrote "Souls of the Departed" for his 1992 release, Lucky Town. The live video linked above was from a performance in St. Paul MN, part of the 2004 "Vote for Change" tour. While I did take a couple of my kids to the NYC leg of that tour, Neil Young did not appear and join Bruce for a rip-roaring guitar duet of the song. Seriously, watch the video. Bruce and Neil and their guitars . . . oh, my!

So, yeah, both Bruce and Neil can be quite political, and I happen to share their ideology. How sad is it to revisit this song from 1992 and know that we are still having to pray for the souls of the suddenly and unexpectedly departed? As you know, just two days ago, we were confronted with yet another violent act of hate as the radicalized driver of a rental truck plowed through bicyclists in NYC, killing eight and wounding eleven others. What is remarkable about this incident is the immediate call by the current administration to further tighten our borders, despite the fact that Uzbekistan, the home country of the killer, is not even on their list of "banned" countries. Where was the outrage and call to action when a white American male killed 58 people and wounded hundreds of others in Las Vegas last month? We were told then not to politicize the murders, that it was too soon to talk about gun control.

I don't have the answers. These killings have become our norm. Another day, another mass killing. What else can we do but offer a prayer for the souls of the departed?

Like it will do any good.

Mack. A soul if there ever was one.