The recession has been rough on everyone -- except maybe Bruce Springsteen , who 's emerged with some good material for his new album . He says `` Wrecking Ball '' was inspired by Occupy Wall Street , and even though some of these songs were written before anyone pointed a bullhorn at the banks , he 's smart to make that declaration . Whenever America 's falling on hard times , his music simply sounds better , his lyrics taking on near-biblical significance . Take 2000 's `` My City of Ruins , '' which was originally written to help promote the revitalization of Asbury Park , New Jersey , but took on an entirely new meaning after September 11 , when he began introducing it as `` a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters . '' Or there 's 2005 's `` Devils & Dust , '' penned before the 2003 invasion of Iraq , which became a de facto anti-Iraq-war song after he added a coda for the troops : `` Bring 'em home ! '' Whenever there 's a movement in need of an anthem , it turns out Springsteen has already written one . There 's no doubt that die-hard fans will hear a fierce rallying cry on behalf of the 99 percent on `` Wrecking Ball . '' With an awesomely rootsy production style that recalls 2006 's `` The Seeger Sessions , '' the album even sounds like a cross section of America , drawing from folk , gospel , and hip-hop . And on `` Ball 's '' best moments , Springsteen is fired up enough to borrow a socket wrench and knock out Lehman Brothers ' teeth . The working-man paean `` We Take Care of Our Own '' recalls `` Born in the U.S.A. '' both in its upbeat E Street boogie and in its ironic message , which practically dares some Republican to misinterpret it as a campaign song . Elsewhere , the moving title track ( one of the last to feature the late , great Clarence Clemons ) stands among his best blue-collar anthems , with a chorus that 's the perfect prayer for anyone who 's been laid off : `` Hold tight to your anger/And do n't fall to your fears . '' Of course , that message could just as easily apply to football fans . ( He actually wrote `` Wrecking Ball '' about the demolition of Giants Stadium . ) That 's the problem here : The images are so broad -- every song 's got a rising flood or a train of sinners or a dead man 's moon -- you 'll be dying for a detail that 's anchored in the real world , circa 2012 . True , Springsteen 's ballads have always been made of archetypes like rivers and fast cars . But he 's rarely written anything as excruciatingly vague as `` You 've Got It , '' which plays like Twenty Questions clues : `` Ai n't no one can break it/Ai n't no one can steal it ... . You just know it/When you feel it . '' Though there are heartfelt tributes to the downtrodden , the only overt reference to the financial collapse comes in `` Easy Money , '' when he scoffs at `` all them fat cats . '' The money may be easy -- but the target is too . B . See the full article at EW.com .
Bruce Springsteen ' ` ` Wrecking Ball '' was inspired by ' Wall Street . Die - hard fans will shout a fierce rallying cry on behalf of the 99 percent on ` ` Wrecking Ball '' The working - man paean ` ` We Take Care of Our Own '' recalls ` ` riots in the U.S.A . ''