“If you’re in my generation and if you grew up in any part of the alternative culture, [activism] was just a part of your birthright… that came as part of those times. [T]he people who we admired and emulated–which for me obviously begins with Dylan–had a very clear political voice. John [Fogerty] did it more subtly, but fabulously also.” –Bruce Springsteen to Christopher Phillips, Backstreets, February 10, 2009
Bruce Springsteen has been a fan of John Fogerty for as long as he’s been playing music, calling Fogerty “the Hank Williams of my generation.” As early as his days in Child, Bruce included the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival in his sets. The River Tour famously included covers of “Who’ll Stop the Rain” and “Run Through the Jungle,” and in 1993 Bruce had the privilege of inducting John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
But at the dawn of the 21st century, it seemed for a while like John might have said all that he had to say. Seven long years went by without new music from Fogerty, until inspiration struck in an election year.
In 2004, America was deeply divided over its leadership and involvement in a foreign war. That’s the environment that John Fogerty was built for. John met the moment by releasing a new album, Deja Vu All Over Again, with a terrific title track that compared the current conflict with the Vietnam War in a tone both jaded and pointed.
(If you get a sense of deja vu yourself while listening to the song, that’s probably because there are definite echoes of CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” — an homage I’d like to think was intentional given the more recent song’s title.)
“Deja Vu (All Over Again)” was a perfect song for the moment, so when John and Bruce joined forces later that year for the Vote For Change Tour in support of presidential candidate John Kerry, it was a perfect spotlight song for John on the set list.
John played “Deja Vu (All Over Again)” nightly during the brief Vote For Change Tour, backed by Bruce and the E Street Band.
The Vote For Change shows were powerful and energizing, but ultimately ineffective–that year at least.
It would take another four years before Americans would truly vote for change, and while Bruce and John would team up several more times over the decade that followed, they’d never play “Deja Vu (All Over Again)” again.
Deja Vu (All Over Again)
First performed: October 1, 2004 (Philadelphia, PA)
Last performed: October 13, 2004 (East Rutherford, NJ)
