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"Born in the U.S.A." is a 1984 song about the effects of the Vietnam War, written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. The title track of the album Born in the U.S.A., it is one of Springsteen's best-known songs.
Recording history
The song was initially written in 1981, with the title line inspired by a film that Paul Schrader was considering making. Casual home demos were made in late 1981 following the completion of The River Tour.
A more formal solo acoustic guitar demo was then made on January 3, 1982 at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, New Jersey as part of the long session that would constitute most of the Nebraska album released later that year. However, Springsteen manager/producer Jon Landau and others felt that the song did not have the right melody or music to match the lyrics, and also did not fit in well with the rest of the nascent Nebraska material. Thus, it was shelved. (This version would surface in the late 1990s on the Tracks and 18 Tracks outtake collections.)
In May 1982, Springsteen revived the song with a different melody line and musical structure. A full E Street Band version was recorded, with much of the arrangement made up on the spot, including Roy Bittan's clarion opening synthesizer riff and Max Weinberg's chaotic drums continuation through the false ending and restart. This is the version that would appear on the Born in the U.S.A. album, a full two years later.
Themes
The song was in part a tribute to Springsteen's buddies that had experienced the Vietnam War, some of whom did not come back; it protests the hardships Vietnam veterans faced upon their return from the war.
The song's narrative traces the protagonist's lower-status origins, induction into the armed forces, and disaffected return back to the States. An anguished lyrical interlude is even more jolting, describing the fate of the protagonist's (literal or figurative) brother:
- I had a brother at Khe Sanh
- Fighting 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
The Battle of Khe Sanh had been one of the most visibly televised American struggles in the war in early 1968, as American forces at an outpost were besieged by the North Vietnamese Army (not Viet Cong). Eventually the Americans prevailed and broke the siege, only to withdraw from the outpost a couple of months later. Khe Sanh thus became one of the symbols of the futility of the whole (and eventually lost) American war effort.
Political reaction
In late August 1984, the Born in the U.S.A. album was selling very well, its songs were all over the radio, and the associated tour was drawing considerable press. Springsteen shows at the Capital Center outside of Washington, D.C. thus attracted even more media attention, in particular from CBS Evening News correspondent Bernard Goldberg, who saw Springsteen as a modern-day Horatio Alger story, and then more notably from the widely-read, bow-tied conservative columnist George Will, who after attending a show, published on September 13, 1984 a piece entitled "A Yankee Doodle Springsteen" in which he praised Springsteen as an exemplar of classic American values. He wrote: "I have not got a clue about Springsteen's politics, if any, but flags get waved at his concerts while he sings songs about hard times. He is no whiner, and the recitation of closed factories and other problems always seems punctuated by a grand, cheerful affirmation: 'Born in the U.S.A.!'" *
The 1984 presidential campaign was in full stride at the time, and Will had connections to President Ronald Reagan's re-election organization. Will thought that Springsteen might endorse Reagan, and got the notion pushed up to high-level Reagan advisor Michael Deaver's office. Those staffers made inquiries to Springsteen's management, which were politely rebuffed.
Nevertheless, on September 19, 1984, at a campaign stop in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan added the following to his usual stump speech:
- "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts; it rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about."
The campaign press immediately expressed skepticism that Reagan knew anything about Springsteen, and asked what his favorite Springsteen song was; "Born to Run" was the tardy response from staffers. Johnny Carson then joked on The Tonight Show, "If you believe that, I've got a couple of tickets to the Mondale-Ferraro inaugural ball I'd like to sell you."
During a September 22 concert in Pittsburgh, Springsteen responded negatively by introducing his song "Johnny 99", a song about an unemployed auto worker who turns to murder, "The President was mentioning my name the other day, and I kinda got to wondering what his favorite album musta been. I don't think it was the Nebraska album. I don't think he's been listening to this one."
A few days after that, presidential challenger Walter Mondale said, "Bruce Springsteen may have been born to run but he wasn't born yesterday," and then claimed to have been endorsed by Springsteen. Springsteen manager Jon Landau denied any such endorsement and the Mondale campaign issued a correction.
Urban legend
Considerable urban legend exists about the role of "Born in the U.S.A." in the 1984 presidential campaign beyond what is described above. In particular it is thought or claimed that Reagan specifically mentioned the song, clearly misinterpreted the song, explicitly misappropriated the song, or that the song was played at Reagan campaign rallies. It is also claimed that Mondale tried to appropriate the song in some way. None of these claims are true. Indeed, after the Hammonton speech, Springsteen was never again mentioned in the Reagan campaign. * Nor did Mondale's campaign, en route to a landslide defeat, make any further references to Springsteen of note.
George Will did, at least partly, misinterpret "Born in the U.S.A.", which may have led Reagan or those in his staff to do so. On the other hand, it is quite possible Reagan had never heard of this song or any other Springsteen song, and in the Hammonton speech may have just been attempting to ride the popularity of a local star, hardly an uncommon political practice.
General reaction
Beyond the 1984 campaign, it is claimed that "Born in the U.S.A." was widely mis-interpreted as purely nationalistic by those who heard the anthemic chorus but not the bitter verses. This no doubt did happen, but the extent to which it did is uncertain. Springsteen's diction in the verses is clear and the words are, for the most part, not difficult to understand.
Some people may have adopted the song for good reason. Boxers, for instance, began using it as their entrance music, but then lines such as, "You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much" may well have held great (and appropriate) relevance to them.
Springsteen fans themselves may have contributed to any possible misinterpretation of the song, for tens of thousands of them would raise their fists en masse during the choruses when it opened concerts.
Springsteen refused Chrysler Corporation CEO Lee Iacocca's request to use "Born in the U.S.A." in commercials for Chrysler cars, turning down an offer that would have been worth several million dollars. This would certainly seem to be a case of misinterpretation had it happened. Instead, the company used the Kenny Rogers-Nikki Ryder song, "The Pride is Back".
During the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, many counterdemonstrators played the song opposite anti-war protesters, which demonstrates continued misinterpretation of the song years after its initial recording.
Music video
The music video for "Born in the U.S.A." consisted of video concert footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band performing the song, poorly synchronized with audio from the studio recording (supposedly there had not been enough time to mix the audio from the concert).
This footage was intermixed with compelling mid-1980s scenes of working-class America, emphasizing images that had some connection with song, including Vietnam veterans, Amerasian children, assembly lines, oil refineries, cemeteries, and the like, finishing with a grizzled Springsteen posing in front of an American flag.
Remixes
In 1984 Arthur Baker created the 12-inch "Freedom Mix" of "Born in the U.S.A." It was a fairly radical remixing, even more so than those Baker had done for the album's previous singles "Dancing in the Dark" and "Cover Me". The mix removed any (possibly misleading) anthemic elements and pushing the song's mournfulness to the front. Synthesizer, glockenspiel, and drums were chopped up and isolated against Springsteen vocal fragments saying "Oh my God, no," and "U.S.A.—U.S.—U.S.—U.S.A."
Track listing
- Born in the U.S.A. 4:39
- Shut Out the Light 3:45
The B-side of the single, "Shut Out the Light", was another Vietnam veterans tale.
Live performances and subsequent versions
On Springsteen's 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour, "Born in the U.S.A." almost always opened the concerts, in a dramatic, crowd rousing fashion. One such version is included on the Live/1975-85 album.
On the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express Tour, "Born in the U.S.A." generally closed the first set, and on the 1992-1993 World Tour, it appeared frequently at the end of the second set. These were both full band versions, although the latter stressed guitar parts more than the familiar synthesizer line.
Beginning with the 1995-1997 solo acoustic Ghost of Tom Joad Tour and associated promotional media appearances, Springsteen radically recast "Born in the U.S.A." once again, playing an acoustic guitar version that was unlike both the original Nebraska and full band performances. This was a stinging, snarling rendition that only included the title phrase twice. This was both in connection with the Tom Joad Tour's wan moods as well as Springsteen's attempt to make clear the song's original and only purpose; in his introduction to the song in this shows he said he still wasn't convinced the song had been misinterpreted, but now as the songwriter he was "going to get the last say." Fan reaction was divided, with some greatly liking the new arrangement and others thinking the song's musical ironies had been lost.
During the 1999-2000 Reunion Tour, "Born in the U.S.A." was not always played, and when it was, it was the stinging solo acoustic version, now on 12-string slide guitar. Such a performance is included on the DVD and CD Live In New York City. Not until 2002's The Rising Tour and 2004's unsuccessful Vote for Change tour did the full band "Born in the U.S.A." make a regular comeback, and only in the U.S.; foreign audiences still got the acoustic one.
But then towards the end of Springsteen's solo Devils & Dust Tour in 2005, the most challenging "Born in the U.S.A." yet was unveiled, when he performed it using an amplified "stomping board" and an ultra-distorting vocal "bullet microphone", two devices designed to render any song utterly incomprehensible to all but the sharpest of ears. This slot was normally reserved for the dourest of Nebraska material, and "Born in the U.S.A."'s appearance in it solidified the impression that its origins in those sessions had not been an accident after all.
Cover versions
In 2001 the German industrial music outfit Haujobb apparently covered the song, retitling it "Released in the U.S.A."
As of the spring of 2006, singer-songwriter Richard Shindell has been covering the song in concerts, performing solo and playing bazouki. He has announced plans to include the song on a forthcoming album. *
References
- Marsh, Dave. Glory Days: Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s. Pantheon Books, 1987. ISBN 0394546687.
- * Brucebase
Bruce Springsteen songs | 1984 singles | Anti-war songs | Urban legends
"Born in the U.S.A. (song)"