Bruce Springsteen releases new song

Bruce Springsteen sounds like he wants to shape election-year discourse as much as pop culture on "We Take Care of Our Own," the new single he unveiled Thursday.

The song -- which immediately catapulted his upcoming album "Wrecking Ball" to No. 2 on the iTunes sales chart, even though it won't be available until March 6 -- plays more like a statement of purpose for the album than an actual rock anthem. The clunky chorus rhyme of "We take care of our own, wherever this flag's flown" is a bit too forced, especially after verses that name-check Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans and show how that hasn't been true lately. The disconnect is even more evident when it's surrounded by the usual Springsteenian rock grandeur.

"Bruce has dug down as deep as he can to come up with this vision of modern life," Springsteen's manager Jon Landau, who was also an executive producer on the album, said in a statement. "The lyrics tell a story you can't hear anywhere else, and the music is his most innovative in recent years. The writing is some of the best of his career and both veteran fans and those who are new to Bruce will find much to love on 'Wrecking Ball.' "

"Wrecking Ball" is Springsteen's 17th album, and the first since the death of his longtime saxophonist Clarence Clemons. He and The E Street Band plan to spend much of the year on tour, though no dates have been announced.

Springsteen is set to deliver the keynote address at the South by Southwest Music Conference in March, and many expect the American leg of the tour to start shortly after that.