"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 think every American is familiar with these iconic Bruce Springsteen lyrics. When I hear this song, my first thoughts are related to the Fourth Of July, fireworks, and over all pride to be an American. It has become a type of anthem for our country, but I don't think Americans necessarily pay close attention to the entirety of the song and its meaning. It is very easy to be distracted by the rest of the song lyrics because of the such catchy and pride filled "Born In the USA" chant present through the song. The song has a very catchy beat and repetitive verse that I think makes it stick with listeners. But when we really look deep into the lyrics that are often mumbled by fans, we see that this "patriotic" anthem might not really be so patriotic at all.
In the third verse of the song, Brusteen sings "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". These lyrics are describing the struggles veterans have to find suitable jobs once returning home from their duties. He is calling out the government in a way saying veterans need better help once coming back from war and how the whole thing was an unorganized mess that should not have been started.
Similar to the third verse, the fourth verse calls out the mistake of sending our troops out to Vietnam. "I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet CongThey're still there, he's all gone". Springsteen directly calls out the mistake of sending the troops to Vietnam and how they did not win this war. He is stating that your troops are all gone, defeated by the Viet Cong army and they were inferior, winning the battle and still remain where they always were.
After learning the true meaning to this song in class I can definelty say I was shocked. It was so true to hear that people only pay attention to the main chorus and mumble the rest of the song because that is exactly what I have done. I think its amazing that a song that is so commonly sung and recognizable such as this really the opposite of patriotic, and is going against the actions of the country to say we made a mistake. I still enjoy this song and think Bruce Springsteen is a very intelligent artist for making this song so popular without the direct knowing of its meaning.
I agree that learning this was very shocking.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that soldiers being so well respected throughout the country, would have been taken better care of from returning from such harrowing experiences. I'm glad Bruce brought this to light, even if it was to only a few.
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