For the month of November, I’ll be selecting songs in conjunction with the music Twitter challenge: #WelcomeToTheOccupation.

In today’s cess pool of slick, over-produced albums, Nebraska stands as a beacon of all that’s good. The purity of the songwriting. The rawness of the performance. That’s it. I can appreciate a good synth flourish or extra guitar part like the next guy. But sometimes I just want to hear a great song, unencumbered and untangled. That’s the entire Nebraska album, including the brooding “State Trooper”.

Recorded in his house on a 4-track, “State Trooper” has the sound of genius emanating on the fly. Springsteen’s gift of songwriting lies in his ability to step inside someone else’s shoes and tell their story. Tell their story is what he does on “State Trooper”. It feels authentic and just the right amount of tension and anxiety to make you believe every word. It’s just his words and two chords on his guitar.

“Hey, somebody out there, listen to my last prayer. Hi ho silver-o, deliver me from nowhere.”