Why was Bruce Springsteen wearing a bandana on ‘Born in the USA’?
Bruce Springsteen has epitomised the sound of American music for years. Although artists like Bob Dylan might be bigger cultural icons hailing from the US, ‘The Boss’ is the trademark image of what everyone thinks of when considering the concept of the American dream. Despite already being an icon by the late 1970s, Born in the USA introduced him to the 1980s with a bandana around his neck and a big American flag to wrap everything around.
But there’s a lot more than meets the eye outside of just the album cover. Despite looking like the record is going to be nothing more than empty platitudes about patriotism, the fact that Springsteen was on the cover ass-first is a far more mean-spirited jab at what he was really trying to say.
He was looking to rebel against the traditional patriots of America, and despite populating every single barbecue since 1986, Springsteen had a lot to unpack on many of his songs on the record, from the title track to the bleak sounds of ‘My Hometown’. Whenever he had that bandana around his neck, though, something more was happening than a simple fashion statement.
While the traditional red neckwear was used throughout almost every one of his live shows from that time, his replacement of it with a baseball cap did as much to endear him to American audiences. After all, it was America’s favourite pastime, but by wearing that bandana, he said much more about the everyman than most people thought.
So why was Springsteen wearing a bandana during Born in the USA?
Springsteen was no stranger to people from the wrong side of the tracks. As much as he dreamed of escaping from the nowhere towns that he grew up in, he knew that not everyone was going to be quite as lucky as he got when writing songs. So once he decided to shed the leather jacket or a denim ensemble during Born in the USA, he was practically meeting his audience at the ground level all over again.
Some of the greatest tunes on Born in the USA have to deal with people trying to find themselves in America, and listening to Springsteen talk about their lives while dressed like one of them only endeared him to the rest of the world. Although it’s hard to look at one of the most identifiable rockstars in the world as truly relatable, it’s easier to see Springsteen as the same greaser working on cars and playing baseball in the videos for ‘I’m On Fire’ and ‘Glory Days’ than it is trying to see someone like Steven Tyler or Paul Stanley trying to do the same thing.
But what is the song ‘Born in the USA’ actually about?
Although being clad in that kind of clothing normally implies that Springsteen is proud of his country, the title track tells a bit of a different story. Despite being an American more than willing to fly the flag for their country, ‘Born in the USA’ is about people who feel that their country has stepped on them more than a few times. Chronicling the life of a marine as he tries to work through life after Vietnam, Springsteen paints a vivid picture of what life is like for people who never got a fair life in this country.
The rest of the album doesn’t hold back much, either, including the tales of heartache on ‘Bobby Jean’ or being stranded in America and feeling like you’re never truly at home on ‘Downbound Train’. America has been praised as one of the greatest countries on Earth by countless artists, but Springsteen was here to remind everyone that some dark corners couldn’t be ignored, either.
