‘Born In The USA’: Bruce Springsteen’s ultimate protest song
Every artist has defining moments in their career that shape who they will become and what they will create. There are a number of important instances in Bruce Springsteen’s life that have shaped who he is; however, two of the biggest focal points were when he first heard The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Starting with The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen’s first time hearing the band was when their song ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ went to number one in America. This was many people’s first time hearing the band, and like many music lovers, it was a complete game changer across the music industry as suddenly everyone wanted to make good guitar music. Bruce Springsteen was no exception.
“The keeper was in 1964, ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ on South Street with my mother driving,” he said. “I immediately demanded that she let me out. I ran to the bowling alley, ran down a long neon-lit aisle, down the bowling alley into the bowling alley. Ran to the phone booth, got in the phone booth and immediately called my girl and asked, ‘Have you heard this band called The Beatles?’ After that, it was nothing but rock ‘n’ roll and guitars.”
While The Beatles influenced his music, the kind of lyrics he wanted to write were inspired by Bob Dylan. Never before had Springsteen heard the world so accurately described like it was in a Dylan song. Dylan successfully reflected everything he saw around him within his music, and it became clear to Springsteen that his music would stretch beyond simple pop songs and would instead tackle the bigger issues.
“I want people to get the same experience from listening to one of my records as I had when I listened to Highway 61 Revisited,” he said. “The idea that something was revealed to them that was fundamentally true and essential and gave you a view of your world, your country, your town, your neighbours, your family.”
When you have brutal honesty at the heart of your writing, it is only natural that protest music will follow shortly behind. Bruce Springsteen has never been shy about making his political opinions known, whether by attending rallies or writing about those views in his songs. He has created some great songs in the process, including ‘Johnny 99’, ‘My Hometown’ and ‘Seeds’; however, his ultimate protest song has to be the classic, ‘Born In The USA’.
One of the first reasons the song is such a staple is that it perfectly reflects the important aspects of Bruce Springsteen’s songwriting. It has the rock ‘n’ roll inspired by The Beatles, which gives it the catchy chorus everyone loves. However, it is also unwaveringly brutal in its lyricism, as Springsteen takes from his inner Bob Dylan. The combination is a song that perfectly personifies Bruce Springsteen.
The second reason it’s such a huge protest song is how widely misinterpreted it was. For a song that is supposed to highlight America’s ignorance as it speaks from the point of view of a Vietnam Veteran, the number of people who thought it was a patriotic number is truly astonishing. People thought Springsteen was saluting America, but instead, he was giving it the middle finger, saying the brash nature of the country is something to be ashamed of.
It’s truly an excellent protest song if it personifies what you should be protesting. One of the best examples of a misinterpretation was when Ronald Regan cited it during a speech. “America’s future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts,” he concluded. “It rests in the message of hope in songs so many Americans admire: New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen.”
