Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A. (Official Video)
Inspiration Behind Born in the USA:
The context of Born in the USA is written from the perspective of a soldier who served in the Vietnam War. Upon arriving home safely, unlike many of his fellow soldiers, he was met with economic hardship. Despite the overwhelming popularity of Born in the USA, Bruce attacks the American government as it failed to help veterans reintegrate back into the work force. The lyrics also warns Americans that being born in this country doesn’t guarantee success in realizing the American Dream. Since the Vietnam War was the first to have nearly unlimited media access like the film Good Morning Vietnam, journalists back in America began to label Vietnam vets as baby killers. Films like Rambo depict how Bruce Springsteen felt about how the government let Vietnam vets down.
Biblical Application:
A time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace, Ecclesiastes 3:7-8.
Exegesis of Born in the USA:
Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
End up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just to cover it up now
This individual came back from war to return to a dying town. This was like a gut punch to this soldier. Human beings can only take so much before they crack. The transition from soldier to worker took half of his life.
Born in the USA
I was born in the USA
I was born in the USA
Born in the USA, now
This soldier was born in the USA, but his life was far from the American dream.
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hands
Send me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
This man turned to the military for direction in life. He was trained to shoot and kill the enemy in the Vietnam War.
Born in the USA
I was born in the USA
Born in the USA
I was born in the USA
This was the dilemma for this soldier born in America,
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said, “Son, if it was up to me”
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said, “Son, don’t you understand, now?”
This journey led to working at a refinery. However, the hiring manager referred him to the VA to see what other military options were available. No one is being straight with this soldier.
Oh, yeah
No, no
No, no, no
This is the frustration of this veteran.
I had a brother at Khe Sanh
Fightin’ off them Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now
Perhaps this song is about Bruce’s brother. The people he was fighting are still alive, but he died. This soldier left behind a woman that he loved.
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years burnin’ down the road
Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go
Bruce feels for the former veterans who have lost their way. Down on their luck with nowhere to turn.
Born in the USA
I was born in the USA, oh
Born in the USA
I’m a long-gone daddy in the USA, now
This is the sad story of a forgotten US veteran.
Born in the USA
Born in the USA
Born in the USA
I’m a cool rocking daddy in the USA, now
Bruce ends with a positive spin.
Final Thoughts:
Mixing politics with music usually doesn’t have a positive ending. The lyrics remind me of the Rambo series of movies based upon the John Rambo character who is the lone survivor of an elite squadron. Those who didn’t die in Vietnam died or cancer from the chemicals of war they were exposed to. While Born in the USA remains a popular song today, the lyrics reveal a sad story about the casualties of war.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 