Photograph: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Pictures
In 1994, Bruce Springsteen wrote “Streets of Philadelphia” for Philadelphia, one of many first movies to concentrate on the HIV/AIDS disaster. Now he’s repurposing the monitor’s title to handle a brand new horror. Springsteen launched “Streets of Minneapolis” simply days after ICE brokers fatally shot Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti. “I wrote this tune on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and launched it to you right this moment in response to the state terror being visited on the town of Minneapolis,” Springsteen wrote on Bluesky. “It’s devoted to the individuals of Minneapolis, our harmless immigrant neighbors and in reminiscence of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Keep free.”
The tune is a direct response to the protests and killings of Pretti and Good, a mom of three, in Minneapolis. “King Trump’s non-public military from the DHS / Weapons belted to their coats / Got here to Minneapolis to implement the regulation / Or so their story goes,” Springsteen sings on the monitor. He immediately name-checks the victims, saying, “And two lifeless left to die on snow-filled streets / Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” and provides, “We’ll bear in mind the names of those that died / On the streets of Minneapolis.” Springsteen even calls out White Home officers by title, singing, “Their declare was self-defense, sir / Simply don’t consider your eyes / It’s our blood and bones / And these whistles and telephones / In opposition to Miller and Noem’s soiled lies,” referring to Someland safety adviser Stephen Miller and Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem.
Springsteen has a protracted historical past of responding to American tragedies by tune. He wrote his 2002 album, The Rising, about 9/11 and in Might 2025 launched a full EP of anti-Trump protest songs, titled Land of Hope and Desires. On January 18, Springsteen devoted a efficiency of “The Promised Land” to Good and decried ICE’s “Gestapo techniques.” That’s why he’s the Boss.