We Take Care of Our Own

The song is an up-tempo rocker which resembles the sound of the younger bands Springsteen has recently taken under his wing, such as Arcade Fire and The Gaslight Anthem.

The lyrics express Springsteen's frustration that—after several years of economic hard times—people are less willing to help each other. The song begins:[7]

I've been stumblin' on good hearts turned to stone

The road of good intentions has gone dry as a bone.

The narrator asks where he can find merciful hearts or work to set his hands and soul free and makes references to Hurricane Katrina.[7] However, the refrain strikes a more optimistic (or ironic depending on listener interpretation) note that "Wherever this flag is flown/We take care of our own."[7][8] NPR's Ann Powers describes the song as "a bitter anthem" and states that on this song, as with "Born in the U.S.A.," "Glory Days", and 2008's "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," "Springsteen brings out big emotions and then demands we drop the delusions that often accompany them."[9] In the second official video, the first few repetitions of the lines, "Wherever this flag's flown," do not appear with an image of the American flag, but with an image of Springsteen standing with his right hand (the one with which he picks his guitar) raised, perhaps indicating that he is making a personal statement as well as a general one.

Springsteen was spotted in New Jersey on January 13, 2012, filming what was believed to be a new music video. On January 19, 2012, the date the single was released, Springsteen's official website released a music video for the song containing various black and white images of Springsteen interspersed with text of the song's lyrics.

On February 10, 2012, a second official music video premiered, this time featuring Bruce performing in abandoned buildings and on rooftops in an urban setting. Various images of working class Americans are shown as lyrics flash by. As Springsteen sings the song's emotional resolution ("Wherever this flag is flown/We take care of our own"), the image transforms from black and white to color, climaxing as Springsteen joins a crowd of everyday Americans walking together in daylight, in unison.

The video was filmed in and around Asbury Park, including the roof of the Savoy Theatre and inside of Frank's Deli.[10]

• Bruce Springsteen – lead vocal, guitars, banjo, piano, organ, drums, percussion, loops
• Patti Scialfa – backing vocals
• Ron Aniello – guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, drums, loops
• Lisa Lowell – backing vocals
• Soozie Tyrell – violin, backing vocals
• New York String Section[11]
  • Rob Mathes – orchestration
  • Sandy Park – string contractor
  • Lisa Kim – concertmaster
  • Myumju Lee – violin
  • Ann Lehmaan – violin
  • Lizz Lim – violin
  • Johanna Marher – violin
  • Annaliesa Place – violin
  • Fiona Simon – violin
  • Sharon Yamada – violin
  • Jung Sun Yu – violin
  • Karen Dreyfus – viola
  • Daniel Panner – viola
  • Robert Rinehart – viola
  • Mina Smith – cello
  • Alan Stepansky – cello

• Brucespringsteen.net