After a violin break, The Boss, 72, leans into the second verse with an urgent series of questions about what it’s all about. “How much sorrow is there left to climb?/ How many promises are worth the time?/ And who on Earth is worth our time?/ Is there a heart here that I can call mine?” he sings. Though the two American singer-songwriter icons have shared stages before, this is the first time they’ve hit the studio together.
At Clive Davis’ Grammy Museum benefit event earlier this year, Mellencamp – whose Americana sound was frequently compared to The Boss’ early in his career — told Billboard that “Bruce is singing on the new record and is playing guitar.” Springsteen confirmed the news in an interview on Sirius XM’s E Street Radio in June, during which he said he had spent time in Indiana with Mellencamp working on new music.
“I worked on three songs on John’s album and I spent some time in Indiana with him,” Springsteen said; at press time the name and release date of Mellencamp’s next album — the follow-up to 2017’s Sad Clowns & Hillbillies — have not yet been announced. “I love John a lot. He’s a great songwriter and I have become very close [with him] and had a lot of fun with him. I sang a little bit on his record.”
The song’s official video is slate to drop at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Listen to “Wasted Days” below.
