Bruce Springsteen names Alex Pretti and Renee Good in new song dedicated to Minneapolis

Bruce Springsteen has named Alex Pretti and Renee Good in a new song dedicated to Minneapolis. 

On 24 January, Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was fatally shot by a federal officer. His death followed that of Renee Good, also 37, who was fatally shot on 7 January. Their deaths in Minneapolis were met with global outcry. 

The “Born in the USA” singer released the new song, which recalls the tragic events, on Wednesday (28 January). 

Titled “Streets of Minneapolis”, the protest song pays tribute to Pretti and Good, while denouncing “King Trump’s private army”, who have “guns belted to their coats” and who “trample on our rights”. 

The lyrics partly read: “Citizens stood for justice /Their voices ringing through the night /And there were bloody footprints /Where mercy should have stood /And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets /Alex Pretti and Renee Good.” 

“We’ll remember the names of those who died,” Springsteen sings later in the song, which also condemns Trump’s “federal thugs” for the deaths of Pretti and Good. 

The singer further calls out White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and homeland security secretary Kristi Noem for spreading “dirty lies”. 

“Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice / Crying through the bloody mist,” the song continues. 

The moving track captures the devastation sparked by the deaths and the fear instilled in Americans, while also paying tribute to the protests: “In chants of ICE out now / Our city’s heart and soul persists.” 

‘We hear you’

The song has already garnered nearly three million views already, with YouTube comments from people around the world uniting in support for Minneapolis. 

One person commented: “Just two weeks ago I cried because it felt like we were living in an isolated bubble here in the Twin Cities. Now, everywhere I look people are talking about what is happening here. To everyone sending their love and support, thank you for hearing us. We hear you.” 

Someone else, who claimed to have known Pretti, wrote: “This song, and the comments I’m reading, make me feel like this little midwestern mill-town just got so much bigger, and in the best of ways. Thank you Bruce! And thank you to everyone who stands in solidarity with us around the globe! Bruce is absolutely right… this is ‘our Minneapolis!’”

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