ROCK STAR Bruce Springsteen endorsed Democratic Senator Barack Obama for president yesterday, saying "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years."

In a letter addressed to friends and fans posted on his website, Springsteen said he believes Obama is the best candidate to undo "the terrible damage done over the past eight years".

"He has the depth, the reflectiveness and the resilience to be our next president," the letter said. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years: a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where ' ... nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone'."

For the working class

The bard of New Jersey is known for his lyrics about the struggles of working-class Americans, particularly in the economically ravaged factory towns of the Northeast.

Springsteen and his E Street band were part of the Vote for Change tour, a coalition of musicians opposed to the re-election of President Bush in 2004. He wrote the anti-war ballad Devils and Dust about Iraq.