As Springsteen once told NPR's Terry Gross, "In my songs, the spiritual part, the hope part, is in the choruses. The blues and your daily realities are in the details of the verses." While "We Take Care of Our Own" does reference hard times in the U.S. of A. circa the early 20-teens (none of which have gotten any easier over the past eight years), it is obvious from the context –- Biden's message of hope and unity in his subsequent speech –- that he never intended the song to convey even a hint of the "exclusivist, menacing and even racist tinge" that The New York Times seemed to impart to it back in 2016. It is clear from every word Biden says that "our own" doesn't mean Biden voters alone, but each and every one of us.
In fact, it seemed as if Biden's entire speech was meant as an answer to the question the song's lyrics (via Genius) are asking. Springsteen: "Where's the promise from sea to the shining sea wherever this flag is flown?" Joe Biden: "I got your promise right here! We take care of our own!"
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