The Cover Uncovered: The story behind Bruce Springsteen’s art for ‘Born in the USA’
As the 1970s wore on, Bruce Springsteen slowly worked his way into the hearts of rock fans across the globe. Despite getting off to a shaky start at the beginning of his career, The Boss worked his E Street Band down to the bone in order to craft songs like Born to Run, which became their glorified anthem about life on the wrong side of the tracks. Since Springsteen was one of the ordinary people at every one of his shows, he was not going to doll himself up during the MTV generation.
In the wake of MTV arriving in everyone’s homes, some of the biggest rock stars in the world were having second winds with music videos, with acts like David Bowie translating well to the larger-than-life format. After coming off confessional records like Nebraska and The River, the only way that Springsteen knew how to keep the train rolling was by being himself… and a nice pair of blue jeans.
When crafting the cover photo for Born in the USA, Springsteen hired Rolling Stone photographer Annie Leibowitz to helm the project, shooting him in front of a huge American flag backdrop. While many shots that day featured Springsteen with his trademark Fender Telecaster guitar, it wasn’t until he turned his back on the camera that he ended up getting the money shot.
To this day, Springsteen maintains that the only reason why they went with the ass shot was that he thought that it looked better than any other shot of his face. Despite the self-deprecating humour, there’s a lot more nuance that goes into making a cover like this. Looking at the dirty durag in his pocket, Springsteen is dressed like a typical blue-collar American worker, looking like he could have easily come off a manufacturing plant before shooting the cover. The same uniform would be used during the promotion cycle, where Springsteen is working at a car repair shop in the video for ‘I’m On Fire’.
Once fans heard the tunes within, there was much more going on than just standard rock and roll. The characters that lived in these tunes were beaten down by life, from the lost soul in ‘Downbound Train’ to the man who sees his old stomping grounds stripped of their innocence on ‘My Hometown’.
In essence, the cover then serves two roles. For any casual listener, this is a basic shot that depicts the average American worker who celebrates the ideals of what it’s like to live the American dream. Since the flag is covered up by Springsteen’s rear end, though, it could easily be an image of him turning his back on his country, just as some of his fellow citizens turned their back on the characters in the title track.
Even when writing pop-friendly material like ‘Dancing in the Dark’, Springsteen never let go of his persona, always putting the band at the forefront of the videos and making it feel like a performance than anything manufactured. The breadbasket of America may have found the next poster boy for their country, but Born in the USA is a crooked look at the American dream. The awe and wonder of the US might still be there, but this is from the perspective of a man who’s seen the dark alleys of the country as well.
