Born in the U.S.A. (song)
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Born in the U. S. A. is a 1984 song by Bruce Springsteen, written by himself and co-produced with Steven Van Zandt, Jon Landau and Chuck Plotkin. In the United States the song reached the top ten, and in Ireland and New Zealand it reached number one on the charts. It is among the most played songs in Springsteen's concerts, such as the Born in the U. S. A. Tour, the Bruce Springsteen and the "Other Band" Tour and The Rising Tour. It consists of only two harmonies and uses the same melody for verses and chorus.
History
In 1981, US director Paul Schrader, who had written a screenplay script under the working title Born in the USA, asked Springsteen if he would like to contribute the title song. Springsteen composed an appropriate song, which he initially called Vietnam, but liked it so much that he used it himself for his new studio album, giving the song the original working title of the film. The song was released on June 4, 1984 on the album of the same name Born in the U.S.A. and on October 30, 1984 as a single release. When Schrader's script was finally filmed in 1987 under the title Light of Day - Im Lichte des Tages (with Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett), Springsteen wrote the title song of the same name as reparation.
In the song, Springsteen distanced himself from the Vietnam War and the behavior of the U.S. government at the time, especially on the treatment of Vietnam veterans:
"Down in the shadow of the penitentiaryOut
by the gas fires of the refineryI
'm ten years down the roadNowhere
to run, ain't got nowhere to go"
Whether down in the shadow of the penitentiary,
Or out by the gas fires of the refinery,
Ten years have passed for me.
No place I could run to. No place where I could
go
The music project 1,000 Days, 1,000 Songs published the track on its website in March 2017 as a protest against the policies of US President Donald Trump.
Storyline
Born in the U. S. A. is about a Vietnam veteran. Born in a desolate provincial Midwestern town ("dead man's town") and symbolically kicked from birth ("the first kick I took was when I hit the ground"), he grows up with his head constantly tucked in ("you spend half your life just covering up"). His only chance for respectability seemed to be his enlistment as a soldier in the Vietnam War. When he returns years later, society distances itself from him and makes it impossible to reconnect with his old life ("Come back home to the refinery, hiring man said 'son if it was up to me'"), so even after ten years ("I'm ten years down the road") he is still alone with his memories and the present without prospects ("nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go").
Cover versions
- 1985: Stanley Clarke
- 1985: Cheech and Chong (Born in the East L. A.)
- 1990: 2 Live Crew (Banned in the U. S. A.)
- 1995: J.B.O. (Diggin' The Nose (Here the Boss still drills himself))
- 2003: Ballboy
- 2007: Richard Shindell
