I’m sure people will somehow still have a problem with this answer…
Today Rolling Stone released their sixth-annual Musicians on Musicians issue, which features Zach Bryan and one of his musical heroes, Bruce Springsteen. The conversation was filmed back in April, around the time Springsteen surprised fans at Bryan’s Barclays Center show.
Of course, they talked a lot about music, writing and their respective careers, but politics came up towards the end of the interview which made for an interesting conversation.
Zach served in the U.S. Navy for seven years, enlisting at age 17 and being honorably discharged in 2021 to pursue music full time.
Rolling Stone asked both of them how they felt about the “pessimism and division in the U.S. right now,” and “if there is any degree of optimism from the two of you about the chances of us overcoming all of that,” wanting their thoughts as two great songwriters.
It’s no secret that Springsteen is a hardcore Democrat and has been very outspoken about his political beliefs over the years. He recently endorsed Kamala Harris with a lengthy video explanation. Zach, on the other hand, tends to be a much more private about his political opinions. Here’s what Bruce had to say:
“Big question. I don’t know. My take on it is it’s bad, but it’s going to get better. I will sit here and I will predict again, Donald Trump will not be the next president of the United States. Of course, I went all across Europe saying that the last time, and I was wrong.
It’s hard to read because sometimes I think, ‘Gee, I led my life a certain way. It rolled out a certain way, and maybe that has something to do with why I remain hopeful.’ And I just think that generationally, I still feel hopeful.
I think we’re going to get past the degree of division that’s in the country right now, and move on to something else—”
Bryan responded:
“Gratitude, maybe?”
Then Springsteen bailed on talking about it further, after obviously giving a pretty lengthy answer, saying:
“I have absolutely nothing brilliant to say about this, so I’m bailing.”
Zach then elaborated on his thoughts, saying he still feels young and inexperienced in a certain way, but thankful to have the freedoms we do in this country. Coming from someone who gave up years of his life to serve in the military, I think he’s pretty qualified to speak on it and has sacrificed a lot for the people in the United States.
I thought he actually gave a pretty solid, eloquent response to the question:
“So, I’m 28. I don’t have that much experience. I’m neither one way or the other. I served my country for eight, nine years. I think America ebbs and flows, and it always has. Always will. I’m tired of everyone arguing.
It’s about time people were just thankful to be American. ’Cause personally, I’m so grateful I get to wake up in a country that’s free. It’s really special to be in a country where there’s so many different people and so many different parties and so many people that have an opportunity to come together and be kind to each other and respect each other’s backgrounds.
There’s people that have died defending our rights. Men and women have died for these things, and we just are, like, pissed about what?”
He added:
“Being free enough to say everything we feel? It’s weird. It’s strange. It blows my mind all the time. And I’m just thankful.”
Whether you’re a huge Zach Bryan fan or not, I feel like that’s something a lot of Americans will resonate with and relate to, especially with the election right around the corner and all of the craziness that comes with it in full swing.
Bruce closed the interview by saying:
“That’s as political as we’re gonna get!”
Well, I’m not sure that’s political at all, but most of the conversation revolved around music, obviously, which is the one huge uniter we can all still love and get behind in this country… in my very humble opinion.
You can watch it here:
Of course, Bruce was featured on Zach’s latest album, The Great American Bar Scene, on a song called “Sandpaper.”