There are a lot of parallels between the careers of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp, and now, the two legends have come together for their first-ever collaboration, a new song called “Wasted Days” that’s set to appear on an upcoming Mellencamp album.
On the track, Mellencamp and Springsteen contemplate mortality and the nature of life, with Mellencamp opening the song, “How many summers still remain / How many days are lost in vain / Who’s counting out these last dramatic years / How many minutes do we have here?”
In June, Springsteen said of working with Mellencamp, “I worked on three songs on John’s album and I spent some time in Indiana with him. 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 previous month, Mellencamp confirmed the collaboration and revealed the song had just recently been completed: “Bruce is singing on the new record and is playing guitar. I finished the record a week ago today.” This all came after the pair was spotted together at a Bloomington, Indiana restaurant in April.
While this is the duo’s first time together on a studio recording, they previously performed together at the New York City’s Beacon Theater in 2019.
Listen to “Wasted Days” above.
