Is This ‘Boston Strong’ Song the City’s New Anthem?
If Boston had an official mixtape, for better or worse, it’d likely include the Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner,” the Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping Up to Boston,” the Standells’ “Dirty Water,” and the Kingston Trio’s “Charlie on the MTA,” for an old-timey flair. Maybe it’d include tracks from Roxbury’s Bobby Brown or Dorchester’s Donna Summer, or even Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” recorded in the band’s Allston hovel.
Do we have a new addition to the canon in “STRONG: A Boston Anthem”?
Now there’s a song about Boston Strong or something pic.twitter.com/HmvKEKWYSI
— Kyle Scott Clauss (@KyleClauss) September 8, 2016
Charlie Farren, of the Joe Perry Project and Farrenheit, and Amanda Carr unveiled their new, original song at the grand opening of the Bruins’ new practice facility, Warrior Ice Arena, located at the New Balance-anchored Boston Landing complex in Brighton. Mayor Marty Walsh, Gov. Charlie Baker, and Speaker Bob DeLeo, as well as Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, president Cam Neely, and assorted members of the team had front-row seats on the ice for the show.
“It’s the bond we have between us / We take our fight to the arenas / Proud of the teams that make us first, with our heroes on our shirts / Our Home…is flesh and bone,” one verse goes.
Also event staffers are handing this out and I really don't know what to make of it pic.twitter.com/wIo7ClDaTk
— Gintautas Dumcius (@gintautasd) September 8, 2016
“‘Strong’ reflects on the past that has shaped us, highlights our successes in dealing with today’s challenges and underscores a future that is hopeful and exciting. ‘Strong’ celebrates our history and who we have become, both as individuals and as a community,” the artists explain on the song’s very own site, BostonAnthem.com.
Sure, songs have tried to lodge themselves in city lore in the past. Take, for example, Brian Evans’ “At Fenway,” a saccharine cross between Bill Murray’s lounge singer and a Dr. Charles fart, which appropriately coincided with the Bobby Valentine-led 100th season at Fenway Park. It did not stick.
But did it have a domain name like BostonAnthem.com? No sir.
