"Born in the U.S.A." is one of Bruce Springsteen's most popular and most understood songs, and hopefully he won't play it during halftime Sunday at the Super Bowl.
People unfamiliar with the lyrics consider it an anthem of pride of patriotism, when actually it's just the opposite. Here are the lyrics:
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
'Til you spend half your life just covering up
[chorus:]
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I got in a little hometown jam
And so they put a rifle in my hands
Sent me off to Vietnam
To go and kill the yellow man
[chorus]
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me"
I go down to see the V.A. man
He said "Son don't you understand"
[chorus]
I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone
He had a little girl in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go
I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Do you still think it's an anthem of patriotism? No. It's more of a war protest song and we're in a time of war, but people get confused by the chorus.
We'll see. I'm sure there will be pressure by powers that be for him to play it, because people love to sing the chorus. But hopefully the Boss will not bow to pressure. He knows what the song is about.
And he has a ton of others to choose from. But I'd be willing to bet at some point, maybe in a compilation, we'll hear that chorus.
Wow! I never knew the lyrics, just the chorus. He has that Dillon thing going where he sounds great, but you don't understand a word he is saying until the chorus!
Why shouldn't he play it?! Because it's misunderstood, or because of what the message actually is? The fact remains it's a great song, and probably the Boss' most popular ever. I hope he plays it, with the amps at 11.
This guy has 0 Talent. I have never like any of his songs. When I was a kid I would always tell my dad he sounds like he is grunting one out.
What a joke that he has soaked up the Pro-American sentiment and rode it all the way to the bank with this song and all the while it was a Anti-American.
Looks like the laughs on us.
This song made him rich and this country made him rich and he is a flipping ingrate.
Again, here is he being chosen for one of the most American traditions we have, almost an Americana Holiday.....and his supposid All-American image, that he has never once refuted, got picked to o sing it.
Go to Russia and sing for their whatever they do if you hate it here so much!
There are many songs that protested not only the Viet Nam War but also the tretment many of our troops endured when they returned. Born in The USA is just one of them. Does that make the artist unpatriotic? Isn't free speech one of the cornerstones of our nation? Is the song appropriate for the SB? No I don't think so. I've never been a Springsteen fan to start with but to say he is unpatriotic for a song that depicted how many vets felt after returning from Nam isn't right. John Prine a Chicago area product was quite famous in the late 60's and early 70's for his many songs protesting war. Probaly his most famous was Sam Stone and Flag Decal.
I'm as patriotic as anyone in this country and waited anxiously on 9/11 to hear from my youngest son who worked in tower 1 at the time only to find out around midnight that he wasn't in the city that morning and I don't like the way the whole situation has become in iraq. Hunting down Bin Laden became a secondary mission and he is still out there somewhere.
So while I'll defend Springsteens right to perform that song I would implore him not to do so at the SB.
Roman responds: I wasn't saying he's unpatriotic at all. I'm a big fan. I just laugh at how people think it celebrates our society, when it does just the opposite.
@bculz: Some might argue that there's a pretty substantial difference between a war protest song and and anti-American song.
Roman I did not take your post to mean Springsteen was unpatriotic, my little soap box speech was for my good blog buddy culzie. My appology for not having clearified that. Being a former karaoke DJ I'm well aware of how many people are surprized when lyrics to a song come up on the screen when the only part of the song they knew was the chorus.
How about this KK...
I am saying...this...
He HAS soaked up the PRO-AMERICAN LIMELIGHT...for a song that is obviously a critisicm of our country. I never said he wasnt allowed to protest or critisize, I am saying, DONT BASK IN THE SHAM limelight, when thats not what you meant.
Right?
I mean, it would be like me writting a song called I love Animals...and then the whole song was about me killing animals, and then PETA had me headline at their inagural ball.
Weird to me!
I never cared for his music myself but I do know what the song is about.
The words to his songs read better than they sound to me but that is just my opinion.
I would not say that he is Anti-American at all. Most of his songs are about America in one way or another and deal with his upbringing in New Jersey.
He is singing about his life.
Because you say what is on your mind and do not always agree with the way things are done does not make you Anti-American.
Just the opposite really.
The ones that go against popular opinion and risk alienation by speaking out against what is screwed up are the ones who really care about the country and that is a better way to demonstrate it than all the flag waving and hand over your heart symbolism any day.
Men who thought that way founded this country.
Better to have people hate you for speaking your mind then to love you for biting your tongue.
He probably will play it and here is a hint at why.... Many people don't know the original lyrics to "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie. It was originally written as a protest song, an anti-government song- it gained popularity, so the US Gov't basically paid Guthrie to change the lyrics so they could use it for their own propaganda as a PRO-US Gov't anthem. Guthrie hated doing it but needed to at the time. The Smithsonian has the original manuscript. The irony is that at Obama's inaugural celebration, SPRINGSTEEN and Pete Seeger did Guthrie's song " This Land is Your Land..... WITH the original anti-governmet lyrics, which speaks of Americans (his people) starving in bread lines and asks "Is this land made for you and me?". Pete Seeger would only perform the song with the original anti govt lyrics.. and they did just that.
Roman responds: Great anecdote. Thanks man. Btw, my sports editor bet me a Coke that we won't hear the chorus. I'm guessing we'll hear the chorus at some point.
I don't remember Spingsteen soaking up any pro American limelight over this song.
Ronald Reagan wanted to use it for his 1984 campaign and Spingsteen tried to tell every one then what the song was about.
How is it his fault that countless idiots miss interrupted the songs meaning just because they were intoxicated in a bar and only knew the chorus?
What was he supposed to do?
Pull the CDs off the shelves or stop playing it live because some people are clueless?
Here are the Woody Guthrie lyrics that banjoman referred to:
As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!
In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.
Woody didn't change the lyrics, though. The missing lyrics were just left out of a lot of subsequent versions of the song by other people. Big difference between Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen, though---Woody was good.
Playing in the Superbowl could be argued as Basking a bit...perhaps I should re-define my meaning to be "soaked up the free market/democratic green backs"
that war we fought in S.Asia was also just a proxy war against REd China...so dont be fooled by the anti-war crap, they were a menance.
BUT, the craziest thing we learned here Today...by far...was that Tim was once a karaoke DJ!!!
Thats awesome!
Going to the Phoenix Open...80's out today...
later gents!!!
B
After the miserable Dancing in the Dark, he became a teeny bopper band. It was his equivalent of "I want you to want me" from Cheap Trick. They were done after that song too...
For many years, he stared EVERY concert with "Prove it All Night" - if he starts with that song, I'll bet he sticks with songs from his first 4 albums. If not, maybe we see Courtney Cox dancing somewhere near the stage again.
Phil, Culzie, Banjoman - great posts. Let the artist have his say. But the NFL needs to know what he is planning on singing so that they don't offend the audience. Those who want to hear the protest song should purchase it.
Whats crazy is that its become a symbol for America and i'd bet you that most people are hoping he sings it. If I was him I would do a medley and keep the people happy.
BCultz:
So if he plays the Super Bowl he is "basking" in the pro American limelight created by this song?
Did we not just see The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney playing the same kind of venue? They are British right?
Did Tom Petty have the same agenda when he played at the Super Bowl?
I doubt that this guy wrote a song that was not so much anti-war but ranting about the treatment those guys got afterward but he wanted to disguise it as a flag-waving tune.
Then he could somehow cash in on it just so he could some day play it at the Super Bowl half time show 25 years later even though there is a real good chance that he may not even play the damn song.
Maybe he was trying to cover up his in involvement in the Kennedy assassinations.
You might want to rethink going to the Phoenix Open. It sounds like you may have had too much sun as it is.
Culzie you apparently didn't read my post in the "Red Kerr' thread. I mentioned my having DJ'ed in that thread also because "Red" had often mentioned to Stacy King about going out to a karaoke bar after the game. If there had been any Games played near Niagara Falls NY where I was DJing you can bet I would have sent "Red" an email inviting him to the bar.
Oscar Madison is correct, Woody never changed the lyrics.... but he allowed the Government to use the song in their own propaganda, without those lines, and was paid for it.
Bculz:
I love you man!!!
If I wasn't already married, I'd propose. (in a manly way .... of course)
Bruce has a voice that sounds like geese farts on a muggy day. How he ever became tha super star that he is, is beyond me, because he can't even carry a tune.
Thanks Mark...(although i think your watching too much Bromance on MTV;)
If we agree he is not the best singer in the world, then...it begs the question even louder and I think bolsters my argument that its not his TALENT that makes him popular, its his "image" of The Quintasential Pro-American Rocker.
when in reality, he is was a pro-tester.
He's a scumbag. As soon as I see his face or hear his voice I'll mute the tv. Just like I do when I see or hear Hank Williams Jr. during his pregame piece of crap segment.
Who is this idiot writer? Why would he NOT play this song, Modrowski, you moron.
*WE ARE IN A TIME OF WAR.
*IT IS AN ILLEGAL WAR.
*IT IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE NEED TO REALIZE (that it's a manufactured conflict.)
*THE SONG INCITES PATRIOTIC FEELINGS IN A TIME THAT THE COUNTRY COULD USE SOME GOOD FEELING.
@John Lee: I don't believe this writer, Modrowski, posted this entry for your opinion on his IQ. Obviously Roman was on to something when he surmised that the song wasn't going to be played. Furthermore, he is correct to want to educate the proletariat. Yes, people can't get past headlines let alone delve deeper to the true meaning of a song (never aware of any irony). Too many people walk around with their heads in the clouds. Now I am sure some of them were the 90 million Super Bowl watchers. The Super Bowl is a positive American past time. Why not keep it truly positive?
And by the way thank you for your laudry of your anti-war sentiments. Does it read with a tune?
An illegal war that liberated Millions of Iraqis from the single most oppressive and tyranical regighm in modern history and Johnny Lee Hookers dumbness would want us to resurrect Saddam and prop him back up in power I guess.
So he did not play the song after all.
He still bores me to tears.
Roman, did you see the controversy in NJ over the Tickemaster Sell out of the Boss's show?
I guess it sold out in seconds, and then when people logged into buy tickets, a pop up window from a scalper popped up with grossly marked up ticket prices??
http://blogs.courant.com/george_gombossy/2009/02/ticketmaster-blased-on-handlin.html