The old adage attests to not saying anything if you have nothing nice to say, but sometimes there’s wisdom in holding your tongue even if you mean well. “American Reckoning” was also written in quarantine, this time in response to George Floyd’s death. This is but one song, but it sets such a sour tone for the record that it’s difficult to recover, especially after Jennifer Nettles jumps on the reissue. The robust song hinges around the hook, “ When you can’t do what you do, you do what you can” – a tried-and-true American motto if there was one – and a repetitive guitar riff, while finding increasingly uncomfortable ways to slip in COVID buzzwords.įor example: “ Tonight they’re shutting down the borders // And they boarded up the schools” “ As we wave outside the window // Older loved ones stay inside” “ The chicken farm from Arkansas // Bought workers PPE // Not before 500 more // Had succumbed to this disease” and many, many, many more, referencing bills due, stimulus checks, the Central Park makeshift hospital, and the lights darkening on Broadway. “Do What You Can” was written in quarantine as a tribute to the working class doing what they do best – simply, what they can.
With all the subtlety of Cirque du Soleil show, Bon Jovi named their fifteenth studio LP 2020 and stuffed it with country rock anthems about barely getting by.Īnother album delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was pushed back enough for Bon Jovi to contribute additional songs to its track list.
Jon Bon Jovi’s actual idea of 2020, however, is a little more maddening and a lot less relevant. “Livin’ On A Prayer” was its own global mantra throughout 2020, its lyrics still bitingly relevant as income disparity grows and essential workers find themselves in the shoes of Tommy and Gina, showing up for work while dreaming of something different.
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