Independence Day
performed and written by Bruce Springsteen
Papa, go to bed now, it's getting late
Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
I'll be leaving in the morning from St. Mary's Gate
We wouldn't change this thing even if we could somehow
'Cause the darkness of this house has got the best of us
There's a darkness in this town that's got us too
They can't touch me now and you can't touch me now
They ain't gonna do to me what I watched them do to you
So, say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day all down the line
Say goodbye, it's Independence Day
It's Independence Day for me this time
I don't know just what it always was with us
We chose the words and yeah, we drew the lines
There was just no way this house could hold the two of us
I guess that we were just too much of the same kind
Well, say goodbye, it's Independence Day
All boys must run away, come Independence Day
Say goodbye, it's Independence Day
All men must make their way, come Independence Day
Now the rooms are all empty down at Frankie's joint
And the highway she's deserted, clear down to Breaker's Point
There's a lot of people leaving town now
Leaving their friends and homes
At night they walk that dark and dusty highway all alone
Papa, go to bed now, it's getting late
Nothing we can say is gonna change anything now
Because there's just different people coming down here now
And they see things in different ways
And soon everything we've known will just be swept away
So, say goodbye, it's Independence Day
Papa, now I know the things you wanted that you could not say
But won't you just say goodbye? It's Independence Day
I swear I never meant to take those things away
この曲は，独立記念日に父との確執から，父と故郷に別れを告げ自分の独立を決めていくという歌である。されどその裏には，父と故郷への強烈な愛情を感じとることができる実に切ない歌である。
アメリカ独立記念日の今日7月4日，久しぶりにこの曲を聴いてみたくなった。数日前からブルーススプリングスティーンのことが，なぜかふと頭に浮かんでいたのは，今日のこの日のこの曲のためだったのだと思う（いやほんとに）。
高校生の頃よく聴いていた The River に収録されていた。そして僕がアメリカにいる頃に発売された Live album にも収録されていた。同じ曲でも，時や場所，環境が違うと，また違った感慨を覚えて，泣けた。
その時々の今の自分と語り合うことができる，これは今も昔も変わらない音楽の力なのだろう。