AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS)^©

Live 01 Jul 2000 version

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
[spoken:] We need some quiet

41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, cut through the night
You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

41 shots, Lena gets her son ready for school
She says "On these streets, Charles
You've got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you, promise me you'll always be polite
And that you'll never ever run away
Promise Mama you'll keep your hands in sight"

Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)
(41 shots)

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it in your heart, is it in your eyes
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

41 shots, and we'll take that ride
'Cross this bloody river to the other side
41 shots, got my boots caked in this mud
We're baptized in these waters (baptized in these waters)
And in each other's blood (and in each other's blood)

Is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in
(41 shots)
You can get killed just for living in [fades out]

Page last updated: 30 Aug 2009

Intro

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) is a scathing comment on the New York City police fatal shooting (with 41 shots) of the unarmed Bronx resident Amadou Diallo in Feb 1999. The song debuted in concert in Atlanta on 04 June 2000, the final concert before the tour's final 10-show run at New York City's Madison Square Garden, where it was also featured on all ten. The live 01 Jul 2000 version (to which the above lyrics correspond) was released on Live In New York City, both the album and the DVD, while a studio recording of the song was never available commercially, only appearing on a radio promotional CD-R single (check out the studio version for more details).

The Story behind the Song

AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) was inspired from the incident that took place on 04 Feb 1999, when four white New York City plainclothes police officers, (Richard Murphy, Kenneth Boss, Sean Carroll, and Edward McMellon), shot dead Amadou Diallo, a 22 year old black West African immigrant. The four men suspected Diallo to match the profile of a rapist that had committed crimes in the area then (Bronx), and when he tried to pull out what they later found out was to be his wallet (which they presumed to be a gun), they opened fire, "41 shots", 19 of which hit the target. The officers were later tried for murder, but were found innocent by the jury. The verdict was not welcomed by many groups which created an atmosphere of tension in the city.

Debut and Controversy

Bruce Springsteen unveiled AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) on 04 Jun of the following year when he performed it live at Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA. He wrote it during The Reunion Tour and after thorough checking with the band, he premiered in Atlanta. It was promptly posted on file-sharing Internet sites, with the media picking up on it as well. The song pushed "a lot of buttons in America," as Bruce commented. It sparked a wave of controversy, and it was even accused by some of being written in support of Hillary Clinton's race for mayor against Giuliani.

Police Reactions

The first comeback against it was made by Patrick Lynch, the president of the 27,000-member Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA) in New York City, who sarcastically hadn't even heard the song. He posted a letter on the PBA's website on 08 Jun accusing Springsteen of "trying to fatten his wallet by reopening the wounds of this tragic case". He also encouraged officers to neither attend nor work as moonlighting security guards at Springsteen's upcoming ten-show stand at Madison Square Garden. Howard Safir, New York City Police commissioner, told the New York Daily News that he personally didn't care for Bruce Springsteen's song or music, while Bob Lucente, president of the New York State Fraternal Order of Police, called Springsteen a "fucking dirtbag" and declared that he goes on the boycott list.

Not all police fractions were "out to kill"; some spoke in his defense. On 10 Jun, Rev. Al Sharpton praised The Boss and ripped into the PBA for urging a boycott of the concerts. "We were all born in the USA," "No one can tell us we can't stand for what is right," Sharpton said. He added that the Jersey rocker "can come up here anytime," and that he's invited "to march with us to Washington where we all will stand up against police brutality."

Lt. Eric Adams, spokesman for a group called 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement, told the Association Press that they "commend Bruce Springsteen, and we believe that he is courageous in the position that he is taking." Police lieutenant Michael J. Gorman wrote a letter to the New York Times noting, "trying to muzzle those who refer to this tragedy is wrong. Mr. Springsteen has generally been a supporter of police officers, giving generously to police charities. Attacks on him are not only unfair but also counterproductive." A notable incident was when a New York patrolman at one of Bruce's shows in the city show brought along a sign that said "Here sits a NYC policeman who still loves Bruce!!" Springsteen, spotting it from the stage, said "Now there's a sign I like!"

Reception

The song was described as "astonishing" by the New York Post's Jack Newfield. Jon Pareles of New York Times praised the song as "a resonant elegy and a reflection on how fear can become deadly." Elysa Gardner of USA Today pointed out in her review of Springsteen's performance, "Those who would cast 'Skin' as an anti-police diatribe were off the mark. The song is more elegiac than angry in tone, expressing sorrow for all parties involved in the incident and, on a larger scale, asking what we can do to overcome the lack of communication that leads to such tragedies."

Bruce played the haunting song, without comment, on the last 11 shows of The Reunion Tour (the last show in Atlanta and each of the ten New York City shows) and he even included it on his Live In New York City album and DVD in 2001. After the first New York show, on June 12, he met with Diallo's parents who expressed their appreciation for the song. It seems that the boycott on Bruce Springsteen's New York shows went unnoticed; each of the ten Madison Square Garden shows was a sold-out, and scalpers were able to sell tickets at multiples of the face value.

Springsteen's Comments

"Because a lot had been written about the case in magazines and newspapers," Springsteen explained later, "I was just setting out to basically continue writing about things that I'd written about for a long period of time, which is, who we are? What's it mean to be an American? What's going on in this country we live in? It was asking some questions that were hanging very heavy in the air... And it was an extension of just a lot of my other work." He added, however, "I think it dealt very directly with race, and that's a subject that pushes a lot of buttons in America." For his part, Springsteen said he was "surprised... there were so many people willing to comment so quickly about something they've never heard. That was just somewhat puzzling to me, because we'd only played the song once, in Atlanta, and there was no recorded version of it... There was a lot of misinterpretation and comment about something that I don't thing a lot of people had heard, and the song wound up being misrepresented by quite a few people."

Springsteen writes about AMERICAN SKIN in the new edition of his book Songs, "Though the song was critical, it was not 'anti-police' as some thought." As he also points out, the first verse is from the point of view of a police officer, "kneeling over his body in the vestibule, praying for his life." Rather than being an indictment of police, if the song points a finger at anyone, Springsteen suggests that it points at all US citizens, the singer included. "The idea was here," he writes: "Here is what systemic racial injustice, fear, and paranoia do to our children, our loved ones, ourselves. Here is the price in blood."

The Live In New York City DVD included a bonus 15-minute documentary titled New York City Serenade that contains footage of some other songs not included on the DVD in addition to segments of an interview by HBO's Bob Costas with Springsteen and the members of The E Street Band. Costas asks, "'American Skin', the story of Amadou Diallo, the West-African immigrant who was slain by police fire. What is about you do you think that makes you go in that direction?" Bruce replies, "Sort of writing about what's in the air. I didn't think that song's particularly different from things I'd written in the past. It was just a part of the continuing work that I've done. It's sort of trying to figure out who am I, and who are we as Americans, what is Americaness. I think that my point of view with the song is that the Diallo's case ended of being a metaphor for a lot of people about feeling they don't have full citizenship..." He adds, "That was the essence of the title."

During The Rising Tour Springsteen opened his 12 Nov 2002 show at U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH, with AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS). He preceded the song with the an introduction addressing racial tensions in the city:

Thanks. Before we uh, before we start the show tonight, I'd just like to say, you know, I don't know if you've read about it in the newspapers at all out here but we've uh, been contacted by several organizations here in the city who are trying to combat... They're trying to combat the segregation and the economic apartheid and the racism that exists not just here in Cincinnati but everywhere in our country. As a young man, as a young man, I saw it up close in my own hometown, and while there've been many improvements since then, the core fact of racism continues to this day at all levels of our society. Well, I wrote a song a couple years ago about what happens when we stop communicating with one another, and how that non-communication becomes systematic, when injustice becomes ingrained in institution... The consequences, the violence, the human cost, and life cut short, that comes with it. So I wanna open our show here tonight with a song uh, not just for Cincinnati but for the country we'd like to see our children brought up in... And we're gonna send it out tonight to the people, and the organizations here in the city that are working for a just Cincinnati and a just America. Thank you.

The Live 01 Jul 2000 Version

The Reunion Tour wrapped up with a 10-nights stand at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY, between 12 Jun and 01 Jul 2000. Footage from the last three nights (27 Jun, 29 Jun, and 01 Jul 2000) was used in early 2001 for HBO's Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City TV special. Running 90 minutes, the film consisted of a 14-songs selection from the last two nights (29 Jun and 01 Jul 2000). It first aired on 07 Apr 2001 and was the first ever major televised Bruce Springsteen concert.

In 2001, HBO received six Emmy Award nominations and won two for their acclaimed film.

• Nominee for "Outstanding Directing for a Variety or Music Program"
• Winner of "Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multicamera) for VMC Programming"
• Nominee for "Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special"
• Nominee for "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special"
• Winner of "Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special"
• Nominee for "Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special"

The full HBO broadcast was released on Live In New York City, both the album (released on 03 Apr 2001) and the DVD (released on 06 Nov 2001). Note that the album includes 6 bonus tracks (20 in all), and the DVD includes an additional 5 plus one audio track that plays over the end credits (26 in all). These bonus tracks are taken from the three filmed nights (27 Jun, 29 Jun, and 01 Jul 2000). Click here to display/hide detailed track listing with dates.

The 01 Jul 2000 version of AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) was the closer of the HBO special. Subsequently, it was included on Live In New York City, both the CD and DVD releases. The above lyrics are for that live 01 Jul 2000 performance at Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY.

• An audio snippet of this version pays over the DVD disc 1 end credits.
• Some footage of the song is also included on the New York City Serenade bonus documentary.

Studio Recording

AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) was recorded at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY, on 02 Mar 2001, but was never available commercially and only appeared on a radio promotional CD-R single in 2001. Check out the studio version for more details.

Releases

The studio recording of AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) was only released on the above promotional CD-R (check out the studio version for more details), while the live 01 Jul 2000 version was included on the Live In New York City album and DVD in addition to some other releases.

The live 01 Jul 2000 version of AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) appeared on three promotional singles in 2001:

• "AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) [live 01 Jul 2000 - edit]"
  Canadian 1-track promotional CD-R with a 5:09 edited version of the song with the introduction shortened and features a premature fade-out during Clarence's sax solo. No catalogue number.
  
  
   
• "AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) [live 01 Jul 2000 - edit] - AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) [live 01 Jul 2000]"
  US-only promotional CD-R that includes the same edit as on the Canadian issue. No catalogue number.
  
  
   
• "Live In New York City Album Sampler -- AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) [live 01 Jul 2000 - edit] - LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS [live 01 Jul 2000] - BORN TO RUN [live 01 Jul 2000] - THE RIVER [live 01 Jul 2000]"
  Austrian promotion-only EP; catalogue # COL SAMPCM 9988.
  
  

That same live version was also included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen which was released on 11 Nov 2003.

Live History

AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) debuted on 04 Jun 2000 at Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA, during The Reunion Tour, and was then played during each show till the end of the tour (the 10 nights stand in New York):

• 04 Jun 2000 at Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• 12 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 15 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 17 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY (check out the live 17 Jun 2000 version)
• 20 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 22 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 23 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 26 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 27 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 29 Jun 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 01 Jul 2000 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY

Note that the was reported to be sound-checked a couple of times during The Reunion Tour before it debuted:

• 22 Apr 2000 at the Entertainment And Sports Arena, Raleigh, NC
• 29 May 2000 at Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
• 04 Jun 2000 at Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA

AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) was played during three rehearsal shows for The Rising Tour. It was the performed on 12 of the tour's regular dates, including the first 6 consecutive shows of the tour:

• 26 Jul 2002 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ
• 30 Jul 2002 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ (check out the live 30 Jul 2002 version)
• 05 Aug 2002 at the Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

• 07 Aug 2002 at the Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
• 10 Aug 2002 at MCI Center, Washington, DC
• 12 Aug 2002 at Madison Square Gardens, New York City, NY
• 14 Aug 2002 at Gund Arena, Cleveland, OH
• 15 Aug 2002 at The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI
• 18 Aug 2002 at Thomas And Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
• 24 Aug 2002 at The Forum, Los Angeles, CA
• 27 Aug 2002 at Compaq Center, San Jose, CA
• 12 Nov 2002 at the U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH
• 14 Sep 2003 at Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
• 16 Sep 2003 at Rentschler Field, Hartford, CT
• 01 Oct 2003 at Shea Stadium, New York City, NY

The song was reported to be rehearsed for the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, on 11 Apr 2005 at the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ.

AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) reappeared during the Magic Tour. By the time this page was last updated, it had made 7 appearances:

• 12 July 2009 at RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland
• 19 July 2009 at Stadio Olimpico, Roma, Italy
• 21 July 2009 at Stadio Olimpico, Torino, Italy
• 23 July 2009 at Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy
• 28 July 2009 at Estadio de la Cartuja, Sevilla, Spain
• 01 Aug 2009 at Estadio Jose Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain
• 19 Aug 2009 at Comcast Theatre, Hartford, CT

Available Versions

List of available versions of AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS) on this website:

• Live 01 Jul 2000 version
• Studio version
• Live 17 Jun 2000 version (minor lyrical differences)
• Live 30 Jul 2002 version

Credits / References

Some of the info about the studio recording and the live performances are taken from Brucebase. Scans and info for some of the above releases are taken from the Lost In The Flood website.