Born in the U.S.A.?

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I’m sure all of us have heard Bruce Springsteen’s song entitled “Born in the U.S.A.”. It’s often played at Fourth of July firework shows and any other patriotic event in which music would be appropriate.

I wonder how many people know more than just that iconic phrase “Born in the U.S.A.”. I also wonder, of those that do know the words to the song, how many actually know the meaning of what they are singing. Most everyone, myself included, cannot hear the meaning of the authors words, overshadowed by patriotic sounding music and voice. When presented with a printout of the lyrics and began to read them, I was shocked! I realized just how ironic it is that this song is constantly used to convay patriotism.

This song vilifies America in a seemingly deliberate guise of American patriotism. As I watched the video of his performance, I can’t say that I saw a lack of pride in Springsteen; his eyes remain closed as he raises his fist with the repetition of each “born”. Every video I shuffled through played this way but I was lucky enough to find one video in which the tone matched the sad somber words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8TwMqpBeL4&NR=1

The video above seems to be a much more recent one than the 1980’s one below and perhaps Bruce wanted to withhold his meaning until all could recognize his song.
I have heard this song and possibly even sung along to the chorus once or twice in the past. I will now do so with the satisfying feeling of knowing I am singing.

Lines nine through twelve read:
“Got 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”
This appears to be a reference to war, specifically Vietnam.
Line twenty-two;
“I had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong”,
led me to believe the references to war are specific to Vietnam.

These words are ignorantly sung with joy and pride when the words are so obviously gloomy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPudiBR15mk

The very last stanza, lines twenty-six through twenty nine, read:
“Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go “

This seems the broadest stanza in the song. Bruce Springsteen touches on what were the major crises at the time it was written, the failing prison system and exponentially rising crime rate as well as the pollution problems and oil crises. Overall, I’d have to say that if nothing else Bruce is proud to be on that stage singing that song, for what reason, only he may know, but he had a message and he would be heard. Several will hear and not listen and still others will listen and question; “what are these words that draw of so many conflicting emotions attempting to say to me?”