Springsteen connection to Freehold still strong 40 years after 'My Hometown' release
Welcome to “My Hometown.”
On June 4, 1984, the Bruce Springsteen song “My Hometown” made its debut when it was released on Springsteen and the E Street Band’s “Born in the U.S.A.”
Forty years later, Springsteen’s connection to his hometown is stronger than ever.
It’s almost closing time on a recent weekday afternoon at Roberto’s Freehold Grill on East Main Street, but owner Roberto Diaz is happy to take a customer to the back of the diner where photos of Springsteen adorn a gallery wall.
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“It’s a blessing that Bruce stops here, and every time he comes here he’s smiling and happy,” Diaz said.
The Boss made Roberto’s a regular stop while he was recovering from a bout with peptic ulcer disease in late 2023. Diaz would not disclose what Springsteen eats at the diner beyond it being a light breakfast.
Springsteen fans from around the world have zeroed in on Roberto’s Freehold Grill.
“They do, especially people from Europe — they’re big fans,” said Diaz, a longtime Freehold fixture who formerly worked at Sweet Lew’s Cafe on East Main Street. “A group of fans from Spain come at least a couple of times a year. They love his concerts.”
The ambiguous ending
Springsteen ended "Born in the U.S.A.," his biggest-selling album, with “My Hometown,” a ballad that recounts actual events in Freehold during his lifetime and imbues them with a universality that’s resonated with fans around the world over the last 40 years.
The protagonist in “My Hometown” faces a decision of whether or not to leave his hometown for a better economic opportunity elsewhere in the ambiguous ending of the song.
“Was (the protagonist) doing that because he’s leaving and he wants his son to see it before they go, or is he doing it because you know what, we're going to stay and this is your hometown and you got to fight for it,” said Kevin Coyne, Freehold historian and writer who teaches journalism at Columbia University.
In Springsteen’s case, he stayed. The Boss lives 15 minutes away in Colts Neck, and he’s often seen around town when not on tour.
He popped into a barber’s chair at Joe’s Barber Shop on South Street late last year. The shop is referenced in his song, “Long Walk Home.”
“I think he appreciates this town a little bit more since he is older,” said Mike DiBenedetto, owner of Joe’s and a member of the borough council. “It’s funny, he asked if I went to Broadway to see his play and I said, 'Why would I spend $800 or $1,000 to go see you talk about a place I just came from. I’m only a barber, but that doesn’t make sense to me.”
DiBenedetto, a Freehold native, cracked a sly smile as he talked.
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'Where Bruce is from'
Much of “Springsteen on Broadway” centered on Springsteen’s childhood in Freehold, and “My Hometown” was performed. When the Boss performed on the 2018 Tony Awards broadcast, he performed the “My Hometown” segment.
“I have children who were raised in this town and I thought it was really important for my children to understand that Bruce was from here,” said Phil Saunders, 58, who is not a Freehold native. “The different places where he lived, where his mom worked, where his dad would have a few drinks after work. I thought it was interesting for my younger children to understand that so that when they went to college, people would say, ‘Oh, you’re from New Jersey. That’s where Bruce is from,’ and they could have a little bit more of an earthiness about where they’re from. The home ties.”
“My Hometown” is not a flattering portrayal of Freehold. While it tells of economic and racial strife, there is an understated pull of place, time and spirit that transcends the materially obvious.
Home may not be perfect, but it’s home.
“When the album came out the town embraced it,” Coyne said. “There were bumper stickers that said ‘My Hometown Freehold.’ What are we calling the Springsteen museum? We’re calling it the ‘My Hometown’ center because we’re proud of it. It was battered, but it was real and it was ours, and that's what that song says.”
'Everything changed'
The starkest part of “My Hometown” is the detailing of racial tension in the town, specifically a 1969 incident where a car of white youths fired a shotgun into a car of Black youths.
Dean Lewis, then 16, lost an eye in the incident.
“It was a cool town for kids, but what illuminated a lot of (blank) was when Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered, and a lot of stuff started coming out and a lot of bad energy was directed,” said David Blackwell, 73, a Freehold childhood friend of Springsteen’s. “There were white guys we never had an issue with, period. Then all of a sudden you got to be down, so things changed.
"These were my friends who I went to school with everyday. I’m not going to go to war with them but what happened, and it’s in that song, is everybody was demonstrating and there were civil rights people in town and the car pulled at a traffic light and these white kids pulled up with a shotgun and shot into the car — and that’s when we had a riot.
“Everything changed and Bruce picked up on it. He picked up everything.”
'Big night in Dublin'
“My Hometown,” produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin and Steven Van Zandt, was released as a single on Nov. 21, 1985, with “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” as the B-side. The song hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The My Hometown: The Bruce Springsteen Story Center, a multipurpose museum and event space, is planned for the firehouse, 49 W. Main St. The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University and Freehold are collaborating on the effort, which has an opening date of spring 2026. The plan for proposed redevelopment of downtown is called the “Hometown Redevelopment Area Plan.”
During the May 19 concert at Croke Park in Dublin, Springsteen dedicated “My Hometown” to his “homies” of Freehold and Rathangan, the Irish home of his ancestors. Leaders of Freehold and Rathangan are in the process of formalizing a twin city agreement between the two towns.
“Big night, big night in Dublin,” said Springsteen from the stage. “We got the mayor of Freehold, who’s here tonight. My hometown, I got relatives from Rathangan and they’re going to twin the two towns together. This is for my homies.”
'The center of my art and my life'
Springsteen has called the firehouse at 49 W. Main the “coolest building in town.”
“It’s the beginning of a lot of great things,” said Mayor Kevin Kane. “He’s 1,000 percent behind everything we’re doing, just loves the idea and like I told him, this is your story in your words supplemented by all the people, family and friends who grew up with you and around you and where we’re at now. People are going to come from around the world to find out more about our hometown. It’s tremendous.”
Springsteen, his family members and loved ones, and friends from town, attended the Freehold funeral for his mom, Adele Springsteen, at St. Rose of Lima Church, and the repast at Federici’s Family Restaurant on East Main Street. She passed away Jan. 31 at the age of 98.
“I come into town often. Very, very often,” said Springsteen at the My Hometown announcement in 2022. “We’ll be sitting in Federici’s or I’ll drive through on my own. I still do all the time. I’m watching you, I guess. It’s been wonderful having this town at the center of my art and my life, and I look forward to doing that till they put me in a box.”
The rhythm of Springsteen, Freehold and “My Hometown” is more vibrant than ever.
“It’s a pleasure to have him as our superstar,” DiBenedetto said. “I’m glad he can get out more and enjoy the town.”
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: My Hometown: Springsteen connection to Freehold is still strong
