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View Full Version : In my opinion, this is the most misunderstood song of all time


Brian
08-16-2003, 10:11 PM
Bruce Springsteen has been known to come up with hit songs like "I'm on Fire" and other stuff. One of his biggest hits ever, "Born in the U.S.A.", appears to be a patriotic song about someone being proud to be born in the United States and it also appears to define America. If you pay attention to the lyrics, though, as our very own music expert, AKA, has pointed out several times, what you hear and see is a different story.


Born In The U.S.A.
(Bruce Springsteen)

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

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.

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

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.

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring 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."

Had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the 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

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Now here to run ain't got nowhere to go

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.

I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
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 after reading the lyrics, can you see what this song is all about now? It's about hardships in the U.S. It is not a rah-rah America song that many people often assume. Just because the song title reads, "Born in the U.S.A." does not necesarily mean it is patriotic.

Basically what I am saying is that this is, imo, the most misinterpreted and misunderstood song ever made. I didn't know what the song really was until AKA posted the lyrics several months back. Hopefully this thread will be a reminder or a first-time exposure to those who assume that the song is a rah-rah America song.

AKA
08-16-2003, 10:27 PM
Yep. Like you said, even you were even confused about it until you read the lyrics. I was, too, at first.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64338

ABlairican Pie
08-17-2003, 01:23 AM
It was especially misunderstood 19 years ago when Reagan tried to co-opt Bruce's song to sound cool and relevant, when in fact Bruce had major problems with Reagan's policies. It was cool to be patriotic in the year of Big Brother (while ignoring the real issues facing middle-class American families).

ap3ab
08-17-2003, 05:02 PM
I thought it was a patriotic American song too until my Dad showed me the lyrics and I thought it seemed more anti-war than patriotic.

¤I Love Clay Aiken¤
08-17-2003, 05:44 PM
Oh yeah... I remember AKA pointing that out. Altough, IMO, the most misunderstood song to me will always be: Luoie Louie.

Cactus Jack
08-17-2003, 07:46 PM
Originally posted by ?MsConanOBrien?
Oh yeah... I remember AKA pointing that out. Altough, IMO, the most misunderstood song to me will always be: Luoie Louie. Ditto LOL

Steve M.
12-05-2003, 04:00 PM
And don't forget Randy Newman's "Short People."

People heard that song back in 1978 and though Newman was really picking on short people, the song got banned all over the place, and people asked, "Doesn't Randy Newman know that it's stupid to hate people just because they're short?"

That was the point of the song! The point is/was that all bigotry - especially racial prejudice - is stupid. Remember the key lyrics of the bridge, which the Eagles sing along with Newman:

"Sort people are just the same as you and I / A fool such as I / All men are brothers until they the day they die / It's a wonderful world."

Except for Baltimore, where it's actually against the law to play "Short People" on the radio. :confused:

SBTB Geek
12-05-2003, 04:07 PM
I think that VH1's TrueSpin also went into detail about what this song means.

Janice
12-05-2003, 04:43 PM
Originally posted by SBTB Geek
I think that VH1's TrueSpin also went into detail about what this song means.
I saw that a few week's ago, and they said the song was a slam on the Vietnam War.

Dean Winchester
12-05-2003, 04:53 PM
Originally posted by Captain ABlairica
It was especially misunderstood 19 years ago when Reagan tried to co-opt Bruce's song to sound cool and relevant, when in fact Bruce had major problems with Reagan's policies. It was cool to be patriotic in the year of Big Brother (while ignoring the real issues facing middle-class American families).

wow, 1984 sounds a lot like 2003. People boycotted Dixie Chicks over Natalie Maines making comments that pre-9-11 would've been applauded, and some psychos even boycotted Springsteen for defending her. And Madonna's album also suffered by a lot of "Patriots" comdemning it as an anti-American album, when there's nothing about it at all.