“No
matter where you step you feel you're never out of danger
So
the comfort that you keep's a gold-plated snub-nose thirty-two.”—Bruce
Springsteen, “Murder Incorporated,” from his Greatest Hits CD (1995)
The
news of the hit on reputed Gambino crime family boss Frank Cali brought to mind for me—and, I suspect, many other
people—memories of the last big rub-out of such a high-ranking chieftain, Paul
Castellano in 1985. It represented an eerie reminder of the continuing relevance
of Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, which
became a publishing sensation this month 50 years ago.
It
also brought to mind what remains, I think, one of the most ferociously
powerful songs in the entire catalogue of Bruce Springsteen. His concise lyrics
summon, quickly and effectively, the fear and loss of soul of the “made men”
who go mad in organized crime.
For a particularly blistering performance of
this classic, I urge you to view this YouTube clip of Springsteen on David Letterman back in 1995, when The Boss made the most of his first appearance
with The E Street Band in God knows how long.
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