The Ghost of Tom Joad

....Highway Patrol chopper's comin up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under a bridge.
Shelter line stretchin 'round the corner.
Welcome to the New World Order.
Families sleeping in their cars in the Southwest
No job, no home, no peace, no rest.

The highway is alive tonight
Where it's headed, everybody knows.
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
waiting on the ghost of Tom Joad...

***

And Tom said
Ma, wherever there's a cop beatin a guy
wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me, Mom, I'll be there.

Where there's somebody fighting for a place to stand --
A decent job, or a helping hand --
Maybe somebody struggling to be free --
Look in their eyes, Ma: you'll see me.

The highway is alive tonight.
Nobody's kidding nobody about where it goes.
Sitting down here in the campfire light
with the ghost of old Tom Joad...

--Bruce Spingsteen

reply to post by sepermeru


Can't stop playing it lately for some reason...can't imagine why....

Didn't even realize it was a Springsteen song, had only ever heard it by Rage against the machine:

my favorite version

There must be more covers of this out there -- lot of live versions, but the RATM is the only cover I've found so far. Anyone know others?