A land of hope and dreams? Bruce Springsteen and America's political landscape from The Rising to Wrecking Ball

For 40 years Bruce Springsteen has examined and critiqued America's political landscape. From 1973's 'Greetings to Asbury Park, NJ' to 2012's 'Wrecking Ball', Springsteen has voiced the hopes and fears of those living in an ambivalent, divided and paradoxical America. After outlining Springsteen's earlier engagements with the political environment, the paper will concentrate on three recent Springsteen's albums released since 2002 - 'The Rising' (2002), 'Working on A Dream' (2009), and 'Wrecking Ball' (2012). I will show how each engages with particular events and circumstances across America's social, political and economic landscape; the September 11 attacks; the election of Barack Obama to the presidency; and the Global Financial Crisis. While these albums are products of a particular social and political environment, they must also be regarded as an opportunity for intervention and change in that environment.