Letter #4: Education and Taylor Swift!

Dear Bruce
I remember when I first heard 'No Surrender', it was the day of release of the 'Born In The U.S.A. album, a very misunderstood title track and if I recall even the album cover came in for criticism because some people assumed you were urinating on the American flag! I guess that's another discussion for another day...
...Where was I? Oh yeah, hearing No Surrender for the first time. "We learned more from a three-minute record Baby, than we ever learned in school" that was like a thunderbolt from the skies because I knew that to be true from my own experience.

It is another of those lines from your songs though that comes in for a bit of stick because people assume that you were taking a swing at Teachers and their ability to educate kids. Both you and I know that was and is not the case at all.

I was a bit like you in that I hated school. I was one of those impossible kids who just didn't want to learn. There were a couple of lessons that interested me a little but my mind was full of music. I read the music papers every week, devouring their pages every Thursday morning on the way to school, which made me late because I was caught up in an interview with Joe Strummer (or one the latest Punk Bands) or working out from the Singles Reviews what I was going to spend my paper round money on at the weekend.

Singles, EPs and Albums were my "text books", my "Teachers" were the songwriters and bands and the practical application of this knowledge was played out at gigs in all manner of venues. You had singles like 'It's My Life' by The Animals and I had 'Do Anything You Wanna Do', 'I Wanna Be Me', 'In The City' and 'White Riot' to name but a few.

It was not the failure of the Teacher to educate me but an unwillingness on my part to be taught by them. I found a few of them to be caring enough to want to stick at it despite my reluctance to learn from them. I was convinced that I could and would learn elsewhere.

"Where does Taylor Swift enter into this conversation?", I hear you ask. I know your daughter Jessica likes Miss Swift and being the good Dad that you are you have even gone to a Taylor show with her. Anyway, I was Googling the other day and stumbled on a number of websites that have all manner of quotes and this one in particular jumped out at me...

She was born five years after 'Born In The U.S.A.' came out so maybe she has quoted the lyric as a favourite line or has even covered the song (though after extensive research I cannot confirm that). You should maybe ask #Denise Salcedo as she is one of the biggest Taylor Swift fans I know of and I am sure she'll be able to make you aware of the context in which she quoted this.

Until next time
Doug

Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer
I think he might've been our only decent teacher
(Constructive Summer by The Hold Steady)

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