{"id":12926,"date":"2019-10-27T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=12926"},"modified":"2020-12-16T07:25:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T15:25:46","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-matamoros-banks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/27\/roll-of-the-dice-matamoros-banks\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Matamoros Banks"},"content":{"rendered":"

“We need nothing more right now than a humane immigration policy.” — <\/span>Bruce Springsteen, April 25, 2005<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a more just world, “Matamoros Banks” would be widely regarded as one of Bruce Springsteen’s finest songs.<\/p>\n

In an even more just world, Bruce would never needed to have written it at all.<\/p>\n

Closing out Bruce’s similarly under-the-radar 2005 album\u00a0Devils & Dust,<\/em> “Matamoros Banks” played a similar role nightly on Bruce’s solo acoustic tour that year, closing the main set every night.<\/p>\n

Yet despite its prominent placement and Bruce’s nightly PSA-by-way-of-explanation, “Matamoros Banks” has all but disappeared from discussion while its relevancy has sadly peaked.<\/p>\n

It’s unclear when Bruce wrote “Matamoros Banks,” but good money would stake out a bet on The Ghost of Tom Joad<\/em> era from the mid-nineties. Certainly, “Matamoros Banks” serves as a tragic sequel to Bruce’s gorgeous, hopeful “Across the Border<\/a>” from his 1995 album.<\/p>\n

“Across the Border” is a dream of soon-to-be-reunited love, sung by a Mexican migrant on the evening before his attempted border crossing; “Matamoros Banks” tells the story of the crossing itself, as the dream gives way to a nightmarish reality. Or perhaps more accurately, the reverse.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a listen–and if you can, use headphones so that you can appreciate the delicate, subtle orchestration and ornamentation that elevates the song above its heart-breaking lyrics.<\/p>\n