'Born in the U.S.A." is a misunderstood protest song about Vietnam War veterans

A young Bruce Springsteen's wrote "Born in the USA" for mistreated Vietnam veterans.

OPINION

With just one song, Bruce Springsteen put a lump in my throat and made me a fan.

The recent release of the dramatic film about iconic rock 'n roller Bruce Springsteen brings to mind the song that made me appreciate the musician and the man behind the music.

It is more poignant today, on Veterans Day, the song serves as a powerful reminder of the struggles many veterans face, particularly regarding their reintegration into society and the support they receive, or may not receive, after their service ends.

Springsteen's song and album "Born in the U.S.A." are iconic, yet widely misunderstood pieces of American music history. The album, released on June 4, 1984, became a global blockbuster, but the title track is a powerful protest song about attitudes towards Asians, the mistreatment of Vietnam War veterans, often mistaken for a simple patriotic anthem.

Springsteen has called it "one of my greatest and most misunderstood pieces of music," intended as a "demand for a 'critical' patriotic voice" rather than an unthinking salute. Over the years, he has performed acoustic versions to emphasize the somber lyrics.

As they often do, conservative patriots just love the beat and sing along with the rousing chorus: "Born in the U.S.A." missing the song's message completely.

In actuality it is a 180-degrees opposite of a patriotic anthem. Read the lyrics below. It is a sarcastic indictment of US involvement in Vietnam, the war that changed America and the divisions that continue to linger and divide today.

The song is an explicitly anti-war protest song, highlighting the disillusionment and economic hardship faced by working-class Vietnam veterans who returned home to a country that offered them little support or welcome.

Springsteen was heavily inspired by Ron Kovic's memoir Born on the Fourth of July and met with Vietnam veterans, which informed several songs on the album. The lyrics describe a veteran unable to find work, visiting a dismissive VA office, and reflecting on the futility of the war, asking "Was it worth it?".

The powerful, fist-pumping chorus of "Born in the U.S.A.!" often leads casual listeners to misinterpret it as a jingoistic celebration of American pride. This confusion was famously leveraged by politicians, including Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign, which used the song at rallies, prompting Springsteen to speak out about the song's true, critical meaning. The song is still misused by conservative politicians to gin up the patriotic fervor of supporters as they walk onstage.

The lyrics taken by themselves are not profound, but the way the son has been misunderstood and twisted by so many, is a reflection of what so many in this country continue to do: they hear only what they want to hear.

The album and title song "Born In The U.S.A." is the Springsteen album for a certain generation of fans, and something else for those who came before or after. The controversy surrounding the song forced a national conversation that has expanded beyond Vietnam War veterans to include economic inequality, and the true meaning of American patriotism.

In essence, "Born in the U.S.A." became a powerful, albeit often misunderstood, cultural phenomenon that used the immense reach of pop music to inject a potent, critical social commentary into the heart of American political dialogue.

Driving my car, the song comes on the radio.  I can't help myself as my head begins to bob in time with the heavy beat and my hand begins tapping the steering wheel in time with the musicc. The chorus comes on I begin singing, "Bo-o-rn in the USA! ... they put a rifle in my hand / Sent me off to a foreign land / To go and kill the yellow man!" And then, I feel that familiar lump in my throat and tears begin to well up in my eyes.

'Born in the U.S.A.' lyrics

[Verse 1]

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 coverin' up, now

[Chorus]
Born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A. now

[Verse 2]
Got in a little hometown jam
So .

[Chorus]
Born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​

[Verse 3]
Come back home to the refinery
Hirin' man says, "Son, if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said, "Son, don't you understand now?"

[Interlude]
Oh, yeah
No, no
No, no, no

[Verse 4]
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

[Verse 5]
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

[Chorus]
Born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A. now
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. now
Born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A.​
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A. now

(Fade away)

Born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A.​

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