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Bruce Springsteen made his feelings known about the verdict in the Trayvon Martin trial as he dedicated “American Skin (41 Shots)” to the slain teenager Tuesday night at a show in Limerick, Ireland.
Springsteen had glimpsed a sign requesting the song earlier in the evening and called out for it later in the show, according to a report in The Star Ledger.
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“He said, ‘Where is that sign?’ and grabbed it,” said a fan who attended the concert. “He then said, ‘I want to send this one out as a letter back home. For justice for Trayvon Martin.'”
Springsteen wrote the song after the shooting death of Amadou Diallo by police in New York City in 1999. He performed it the following year at Madison Square Garden for the final shows of the E Street Band Reunion Tour in 2000, recording it for the subsequent Live in New York City CD released in 2001.
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Martin was shot by George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012, while walking home in Sanford, Fla. Springsteen made his position known by performing the song several times on the Wrecking Ball tour. He played it on March 28, 2012, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, dramatically repeating the line, “You can get killed just for living in your American skin.”
Watch the performance from that show below.
Twitter: @MicheleAmabile
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