American Land a Bruce Springsteen song

First of all it must be noted that the notion "spaces and exchanges" deals with the geographical and symbolic areas that all societies occupy and the interactions between men and different societies. I have therefore chosen this song called "American Land" by American singer-songwriter and committed poet, Bruce Springsteen (aka The Boss), to illustrate the notion which we will tackle by analyzing the movement of people and more specifically, immigration. Springsteen often addresses working class Americans, like he was himself, in his socially conscious lyrics which make his songs more genuine. 

 

In the light of what has been said, the song starts off with an Irish folkloric beat then comes in a hurdy gurdy, a fiddle and a penny whistle which are then accentuated by a mandolin and a guitar, giving the traditional feel from the Irish populations who came to America and brought with them their northern-eastern customs in which music played an important role. Here is an example of an Irish folkloric song called "The Rocky Road To Dublin", it is no surprise that the instruments are the same as in "American Land":

What is this land America, so many travel there
I'm going now while I'm still young, my darling meet me there
Wish me luck my lovely, I'll send for you when I can
And we'll make our home in the American land
Over there all the women wear silk and satin to their knees
And children, dear, the sweets, I hear, are growing on the trees
Gold comes rushing out the rivers straight into your hands
When you make your home in the American land 

We can see that the first two verses depict the will of a migrant to go to America which is seen as idyllic as women wear expensive fabrics and are free to show their knees, children can eat sweets that grow from the trees and gold is found in the rivers instead of water, showing through the lyrics a very abundant and wealthy America full of opportunities. This picture installed by the lyrics illustrates the expression "from rags to riches" which refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth.

There's diamonds in the sidewalk, the gutters lined in song
Dear, I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long
There's treasure for the taking, for any hard working man
Who'll make his home in the American land

What follows from the verses is the chorus that emphasizes  the rich  side of the country and illustrates "the American Land" as a land of opportunity for the ones who wish to make a home there.  The image of America that is strongly shown is one close to the mythical land of El Dorado, where gold is so easily found that it's value has decreased for it's inhabitants.

I docked at Ellis Island in the city of light and spire
I wandered to the valley of red-hot steel and fire
We made the steel that built the cities with the sweat of our two hands 

We made our home in the American land

This verse clearly shows the place where the immigrants arrived by boat which is Ellis Island. There they would be checked for any illnesses and their identity and criminal history  would be judged upon. If they got in the country they would have to get to work and build the sky scrappers and buildings we know today as big cities like New York had to get built to be able to welcome these new-comers.

The McNicholas, the Posalskis, the Smiths, Zerillis too
The Blacks, the Irish, Italians, the Germans and the Jews
They come across the water a thousand miles from home
With nothing in their bellies but the fire down below

This next verse illustrates very well the different communities and cultures living in America at the time as they were all migrants. The first sentence lists typical surnames for migrants coming from Europe and Bruce Springsteen has even left an Easter Egg as the surname "Zerilli" is his mothers surname, from Italian origin.  He then states that these migrants do not have anything as they are extremely poor but they have the will to start a new life in this land of equal opportunity for all as they've got nothing to loose and all to gain.

 They died building the railroads, they worked to bones and skin
They died in the fields and factories, names scattered in the wind
They died to get here a hundred years ago, they're still dying now
Their hands that built the country we're always trying to keep out

Finally, this verse tells us that these handy-workers often died building the country without any kind of recognition. It also states that these people who build America are often kept out of the country all because they are migrants which makes no sense as these people are America in the first place.

We can relate this song to the notion of Spaces and Exchanges as it shows the movement between different spaces, migrations from a country to another, and it also highlights the exchanges made between European and African cultures in America. These migrants have also created a new space as they have worked and sacrificed their lives for America.