New: Watch a Video for “Wasted Days,” the First-Ever Duet Between John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen

Together, John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen have accomplished quite a lot across the course of their respective careers in music — but they hadn’t yet teamed up on a duet, until now.

Premiered on Wednesday, “Wasted Days” is a preview of the new studio album from Mellencamp, which is slated to be released in 2022.

John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen team up for the brand new single #WastedDays, available now for streaming everywhere. Get the single now and don’t miss their new video, which premieres this morning at 10am ET https://t.co/fjZFet2hWe

— John Mellencamp (@johnmellencamp) September 29, 2021

A steady acoustic guitar-driven country/rock with a reflective tone and steady vocals from both Mellencamp and Springsteen, the song and video are as resonant as you’d hope for their very first collaboration:

How many days are lost in vain
Who’s counting down these last remaining years?
How many minutes do we have left?

More on the upcoming album, per Mellencamp’s recently revamped website:

Rumors of Mellencamp and Springsteen working together have been running rampant for months. In April, Twitter was abuzz after the two men were spotted having lunch together in Bloomington, Ind. (where Mellencamp lives). A month later, Mellencamp officially confirmed the collaboration. “Bruce is singing on the new record and is playing guitar,” he told Billboard during Clive Davis’ virtual 2021 Grammy gala.

Mellencamp’s as-yet-untitled 2022 album will be the the 25th studio LP of his career, following 2018’s covers album Other’s People’s Stuff. Earlier this year, the rocker released a teaser for the release, featuring a new song titled “I Always Lie to Strangers.” At that time, Mellencamp also indicated that he was eyeing a return to touring in 2022.

Watch Mellencamp debut “I Always Lie to Strangers” at Farm Aid below, and stay tuned for more!