Collections › Bruce Springsteen Songs

Bruce Springsteen Songs

13 songs · chronological · A–Z by artist
Annotations and notes by Justin A. Brummer
Entries are numbered (#1, #2 …) for reference on this page; the numbers shift when entries are added or split.
A collection of Vietnam War songs by Bruce Springsteen
This forms part of the larger Vietnam War Song Project, an interpretive examination of over 6,500 Vietnam War songs identified, revealing how the war's significance is represented through music. The project also collects spoken-word recordings about the conflict. This unique collection of voices advances scholarship by providing insights into people’s views about the war over time as represented in music, looking at diverse communities and vibrant music scenes. It is crucial in developing our knowledge of the war and the humanities, through the use of a digital research platform.
Note: The VWSP has identified, to date, 13 songs by Bruce Springsteen about or referencing the war.
Citation: Justin A. Brummer, Vietnam War Song Project (VWSP) — Bruce Springsteen Songs, vietnamwarsongproject.com/list/bruce-springsteen-songs, accessed 12 November 2026

About Bruce Springsteen

The songs in this collection most often deal with: Vet, Anti-War, K.I.A., Saigon.
Bruce Springsteen, born on 23 September 1949, in Long Branch, New Jersey, nicknamed the "Boss", is an Americana and heartland rock artist, known for his socially conscious lyrics, including many songs that reference Vietnam or feature a Vietnam veteran as the protagonist.

Songs that are Vietnam War related include: "Lost in the Flood" on his debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973); "Highway Patrolman" on Nebraska (1982); a double-sided Vietnam single, "Born in the U.S.A." and "Shut Out the Light" (1984); a cover of Edwin Starr's "War" (1986); "Youngstown" & "Galveston Bay", both on The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995); "The Wall" on High Hopes (2014); two songs on Tracks (1998), a compilation of rare material, called "Brothers Under the Bridges '83" and "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"; in 2006 he released a version of Pete Seeger's anti-Vietnam song "Bring Them Home" on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions [American Land Edition].

He also discussed the Vietnam War on the album Springsteen on Broadway (2018), especially with regards to the acoustic rendition of "Born in the U.S.A.". Additionally, his song "Freedom Cadence" dealt with both the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, featuring in the closing credits of the 2017 film Thank You for Your Service.

Time Period & Criteria

  • Pre-Gulf of Tonkin: 1960-1964
    While many of these early US songs may have been intending to refer to US troops in Germany, or Korea, or representing general Cold War fears, they were released in the run-up to the "Vietnam era" and the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964), which led to a major escalation of US involvement in the conflict, and thus included in this list, as cultural perspectives. The criteria is the same as for the war years - the songs included mention Vietnam, or the lyrics deal with war-related themes, such as combat, the US draft, weapons such as napalm, prisoners of war, demonstrations, references to soldiers and veterans, war & peace, and expressions of patriotism.

  • War Years: 1964-1975
    Released during the key war years, the songs included mention Vietnam, or the lyrics deal with war-related themes, such as combat, the US draft, weapons such as napalm, prisoners of war, demonstrations, references to soldiers and veterans, war & peace, and expressions of patriotism.

    While the war goes back to the 1954 Geneva conference, following the Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964), the US significantly expanded its presence in the region and its defence of South Vietnam, and thus using this date as the beginning of the core war years. These run to the collapse of South Vietnam (30 April 1975), in two periods: (a) 1964-1972, the years of major US combat involvement, up to the peace agreement; (b) 1973-1975, from the Paris Peace Accords (27 January 1973), which brought US troops and prisoners of war home, to the collapse of South Vietnam.

  • Post-War: 1976-present
    Themes especially found in the post-Vietnam War era are lyrics about post-traumatic stress disorder, prisoners of war and the missing in action, the plight and treatment of veterans, and agent orange, in the years after the collapse of South Vietnam and the unification of North and South Vietnam.

Bibliography

  • Springsteen Lyrics, springsteenlyrics.com — lyrics, recording dates and performance history of Bruce Springsteen's songs, including the unreleased "Where Was Jesus in Ohio" (1970).

1970

#1 Bruce Springsteen Where Was Jesus in Ohio 1970 · Unreleased · Unreleased (live, The String Factory, Richmond, VA, June 1970) · Not On Label # none · USA
Credited on the record as Bruce Springsteen (with Steel Mill).
Notes
Written in May or early June 1970 in response to the Kent State shootings of 4 May 1970. Sung solo on acoustic guitar during a Steel Mill set at The String Factory, Richmond, Virginia, most likely 19 or 20 June 1970 (exact date unconfirmed); never on a studio album. The only circulating recording is an audio clip of that show posted on YouTube on 10 November 2013. [springsteenlyrics.com]
Lyrics
English
Will the sun ever shine again
Will the moon ever smile again
Don't you ask me now 'cause I don't know how they can
And hurry, we'll be late for the show
And where was Jesus in Ohio?
Will we run through the fields again
Oh will the barbed wires cut our legs again
Don't you ask me now 'cause I don't know how we can
And hurry, we'll be late for the show
Where was Jesus in Ohio?
Genre: ♪ Rock

1973

#2 Bruce Springsteen Lost in the Flood 1973 · Album · Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. · Columbia # KC 31903 · USA
Annotation
The song "Lost in the Flood" on Springsteen's debut studio album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (Columbia Records # KC 31903), which successfully launched his career, was recorded mid-1972, as US involvement in the Vietnam War was winding down. It was released in January 1973, the same month that the Nixon administration signed a peace deal to end the conflict, although Vietnam remained divided into North and South until 1975. The song contained several references to the war and a veteran back in the US, a theme Springsteen would return to throughout his career: "gunner is returnin' home, like a hungry runaway, he walks through town all alone". Springsteen then asked "have you thrown your senses to the war, or did you lose them in the flood?".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia KC 31903, side A track 5, 5:14; released 5 January 1973; recorded 1972 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY. The "ragamuffin gunner" returning home. [From Discogs]
Lyrics
English
The ragamuffin gunner is returnin' home
Like a hungry runaway
He walks through town all alone
"He must be from the fort"
He hears the high school girls say
His countryside's burnin'
With wolfman fairies dressed in drag for homicide
The hit-and-run plead sanctuary
'Neath a holy stone they hide
They're breakin' beams and crosses
With a spastic's reelin' perfection
Nuns run bald through Vatican halls
Pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception
And everybody's wrecked on Main Street
From drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as Gunner breathes deep
His ankles caked in mud
And I said, "Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand
That's quicksand, that ain't mud
Have you thrown your senses to the war
Or did you lose them in the flood?
Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾
Theme: Vet

1982

#3 Bruce Springsteen Highway Patrolman 1982 · Album · Nebraska · Columbia # QC 38358 · USA
Annotation
The song "Highway Patrolman" featured on the Springsteen album Nebraska (Columbia Records # QC 38358), which told the story of two brothers, one a Vietnam veteran - it presented the perspective of a vet struggling back home. Although in this case, it suggested the vet had troubles before the war.1

It's narrated from the perspective of one brother, Joe Roberts, who became a law enforcement officer. He recalled that his brother was always getting into trouble: "Franky ain't no good" . However, he looked out for him, as it was family: "I catch him when he's strayin', like any brother would" . In 1965 he went to the Vietnam War: "Franky went in the army, back in 1965" , while the narrator got "a farm deferment, settled down, took Maria for my wife" . When Frank returned, he got into trouble, including shooting a man. The brother chased him up to the Canadian border, and then let him safely cross the line: "sign said Canadian border five miles from here, I pulled over the side of the highway and watched his tail lights disappear" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
My name is Joe Roberts
I work for the state
I'm a sergeant out of Perrineville
Barracks number 8
I always done an honest job
As honest as I could
I got a brother named Franky
And Franky ain't no good
Now ever since we was young kids
It's been the same come down
I get a call on the short-wave
Franky's in trouble downtown
Well if it was any other man /I'd put him straight away
But when it's your brother
Sometimes you look the other way
Me and Franky laughin' and drinkin'
Nothin' feels better than blood on blood
Takin' turns dancin' with Maria
As the band played "Night of the Johnstown Flood"
I catch him when he's strayin'
Like any brother would
Man turns his back on his family
Well he just ain't no good
Well Franky went in the army, back in 1965
I got a farm deferment
Settled down, took Maria for my wife
But them wheat prices kept on droppin'
'Til it was like we were gettin' robbed
Franky came home in '68
And me, I took this job
Well the night was like any other
I got a call 'bout quarter to nine
There was trouble in a roadhouse
Out on the Michigan line
There was a kid lyin' on the floor lookin' bad
Bleedin' hard from his head
There was a girl cryin' at a table
And it was Frank, they said
Well I went out and I jumped in my car
And I hit the lights
Well I must of done a hundred and ten
Through Michigan county that night
It was out at the crossroads
Down round Willow bank
Seen a Buick with Ohio plates
Behind the wheel was Frank
Well I chased him through them county roads
'Til a sign said Canadian border five miles from here
I pulled over the side of the highway
And watched his tail lights disappear
Show full lyrics (51 lines) ▾
Theme: Vet

1984

#4 Bruce Springsteen Born In The U.S.A. 1984 · Single · Columbia # 38-04680 · USA
Annotation
Springsteen continued the 1980s trend of reflecting on Vietnam with his blockbuster single "Born in the U.S.A." (Columbia Records # 38-04680), probably his most well-known song, making it into the pop charts in over 10 countries - peaking at # 1 in Ireland, # 2 in Australia, and # 5 in the UK. It reached # 9 in the US Billboard Hot 100. Featured on the album with the same name - Born in the U.S.A. (Columbia # QC 38653) - it reached # 1 in the US albums chart, and thus one of the most successful of the post-Vietnam War songs.

Springsteen said on 2018 album Springsteen on Broadway that he was inspired to write the song after meeting Ron Kovic, who wrote the book Born on the Fourth of July. Kovic served in Vietnam, and then worked as a peace activist back in the US, for the Vietnam Veteran's Against the War (VVAW), eventually speaking at the 1976 Democratic National Convention about the poor treatment of veterans.1 Other cultural output, inspired by Kovic, included Oliver Stone's 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July, and Tom Paxton's Born on the Fourth of July.

Despite its large distribution and radio play, this song often faced misinterpretation. As discussed above, the 1980s Reagan-era saw a trend of nationalism, or attempt to overcome the "Vietnam Syndrome" - the perception that domestic controversies over the war led to the US taking a less interventionist position in US foreign affairs. This term also applied to veterans, who may have felt guilt or shame about the war, influenced by the domestic climate they returned to in the US.2Ronald Reagan spoke about this on 18 August 1980: "for too long, we have lived with the Vietnam Syndrome...We dishonor the memory of 50,000 young Americans who died...They deserve our gratitude, our respect, and our continuing concern".3 Many war films of the period fitted into this climate of trying to overcome the Vietnam Syndrome, such First Blood [Rambo] (1982), Uncommon Valor (1983), and Missing in Action (1984).

Based on a limited reading of the anthemic chorus, the song sounded like a patriotic, nationalistic, flag-waving number. But the verses contained critical, bitter lyrics about America's role in Vietnam and the treatment of veterans. Narrated in the first person, a Vietnam veteran told about growing up in a "little hometown" when the government "put a rifle" in his hand to "kill the yellow man" . On returning home, he is unable to find employment: "ten years burning down the road, nowhere to run" . The veteran also noted that during the war he had a "brother at Khe Sahn" who had fought the Viet Cong, but while "they're still there, he's all gone" i.e. the US soldier died and they lost the war.

Also on Tracks (Columbia Records # CXK 69475) - a compilation of archival, mainly never released songs, recorded during album sessions- this is the original demo recording of "Born in the U.S.A." , apparently recorded in late December 1981 or early January 1982 at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Colts Neck, New Jersey - it's solo, acoustic, and originally intended for the Nebraska (1982) album. It has a completely different atmosphere to the later studio album version - with a darker tone and strong protest feel to it. Springsteen said:
Quote
"the original version of Born in the U.S.A. that should have probably went on Nebraska, maybe, I don't know, you know... I didn't think it was finished and it was uh, it was one of my first songs about Vietnam and I was trying to - I think I wanted to make sure I had it right and, and uh I wasn't quite sure that I finished it. Listening back it was - it came out pretty good really and I think now if I was making that decision today I would have put it on".


On this album Springsteen on Broadway (Columbia Records # 19075904362) Springsteen provided an alternative rendition of "Born in the U.S.A." - as discussed above, one of the most successful of the post-Vietnam War songs, which contained critical, bitter lyrics about America's role in Vietnam and the treatment of Vietnam veterans.

Springsteen said on the introductory section that he was inspired to write the song after meeting Ron Kovic, who wrote the book Born on the Fourth of July. Kovic served in Vietnam, and then worked as a peace activist back in the US, for the Vietnam Veteran's Against the War (VVAW), eventually speaking at the 1976 Democratic National Convention about the poor treatment of veterans.1 Other cultural output, inspired by Kovic, included Oliver Stone's 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July, and Tom Paxton's Born on the Fourth of July.

Springsteen recalled Kovic taking him to a veteran's facility: "we were at the center... there was homelessness and drug problems and post-traumatic stress, and young guys my age dealing with life-changing physical injuries". He then recalled a friend from New Jersey who died in the Vietnam War - which was one of the inspirations for the song "The Wall" above.
Quote
I been seein' a young guy with shoulder-length hair sittin' in a wheelchair by the pool for several days. So uh, one afternoon, he rolled up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Ron Kovic. I wrote a book called 'Born on the Fourth of July'". I said, "Jesus, I just, I just read it, and when it, it destroyed me", and, he spent the afternoon talkin' to me about many returned soldiers who were struggling with a wide variety of problems and he wanted to know if I'd take a drive with him to the vet center in Venice, meet some of the southern California veterans. So I said sure, next day we headed out there and I'm usually pretty easy with people, but once we were at the center, I didn't know how to respond to what I was seein'. Uh, talkin' about my own life to these guys seemed frivolous. There was homelessness and drug problems and post-traumatic stress, and young guys my age dealing with life-changing physical injuries.
Quote
And it made me think about my own friends from back home. Walter Cichon was the greatest rock 'n' roll frontman on the Jersey shore in the bar band 60's. He was in a group called The Motifs, and he was the first real rockstar that I ever laid my eyes on....
Quote
So it's, it's 1980, I'm 30 years old, I'm on another cross country trip with a buddy of mine, and we stop outside of Phoenix to gas up, go into a small town drugstore, I'm riflin' through a rack of paperback books, I come across a book called "Born on the Fourth of July" by a Vietnam veteran named Ron Kovic. Now this book was a testimony of the experience he'd had as a combat infantry man in southeast Asia. Week or two later, I'm bunked in at the fabulous Sunset Marquis Motel in Los Angeles.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia 38-04680 (ZSS 173067), 45 RPM, stereo, ℗ 1984 Bruce Springsteen; "Born In The U.S.A." (B. Springsteen), 4:39, "Taken from the Columbia Lp: 'Born In The U.S.A.' QC 38653"; produced by Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin and Steve Van Zandt, recorded by Toby Scott, mixed by Bob Clearmountain.

The picture sleeve front shows Springsteen leaping with a guitar against a full-frame American flag.

The back prints the full lyrics of "Born In The U.S.A." (words and music by Bruce Springsteen, ASCAP), including the lines "Had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong" and "He had a woman he loved in Saigon", and announces the B side "Shut Out the Light" (words and music by Bruce Springsteen) with the note "This song does not appear on the Born In The U.S.A. album". Manufactured by Columbia Records, CBS Inc., 51 W. 52 St., New York; art direction and design by Andrea Klein, cover photo by Annie Leibovitz. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
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
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Got in 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
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says 'Son if it was up to me'
Went down to see my V.A. man...
Had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there he's all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms
Now down in the shadow of penitentiary, out by the...refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run
Ain't got nowhere to go
Born in the U.S.A.
Show full lyrics (22 lines) ▾
#5 Bruce Springsteen Shut Out the Light 1984 · Single · Born in the U.S.A. / Shut Out the Light · Columbia # 38-04680 · USA
Annotation
The B-side song "Shut Out the Light" is also about the Vietnam War, but often overlooked, sitting next to the famous A-side. This track tells the story of a Vietnam veteran, who had just returned home: "on his porch they stretched a banner that said Johnny Welcome Home" . But he suffered from PTSD.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia 38-04680, B-side of "Born in the U.S.A.", 3:45, written by B. Springsteen; released October 1984; not on the Born in the U.S.A. album. [From Discogs]

Picture sleeve: cover photo Annie Leibovitz; art direction and design Andrea Klein. The back prints the lyrics of "Born in the U.S.A." and notes that "Shut Out the Light" does not appear on the Born in the U.S.A. album. A-side label: Stereo 4:39, taken from the Columbia LP QC 38653; produced by Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin and Steve Van Zandt; recorded by Toby Scott; mixed by Bob Clearmountain. [From the record sleeve and label]
Lyrics
English
The runway rushed up at him as he felt the wheels touch down
He stood out on the blacktop and took a taxi into town
He got out down on main street and went into a local bar
He bought a drink and found a seat in a corner in the dark
Well she called up her mama to make sure the kids were out of the house
She checked herself out in the dining room mirror
And undid an extra button on her blouse
He felt her lying next to him, the clock said four a.m.
He was staring at the ceiling
He couldn't move his hands
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Well on his porch they stretched a banner that said "Johnny welcome home"
Bobby pulled his Ford out of the garage and they polished up the chrome
His mama said "Johnny oh Johnny, I'm so glad to have you back with me"
His pa said he was sure they'd give him his job back down at the factory
Mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Well deep in a dark forest, a forest filled with rain
Beyond a stretch of Maryland pines there's a river without a name
In the cold black water now Johnson Leneir stands
He stares across the lights of the city and dreams of where he's been
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Show full lyrics (32 lines) ▾
Themes: Vet PTSD
Also in: ▤ PTSD Songs

1986

#6 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band War 1986 · Single · War / Merry Christmas Baby · Columbia # 38-06432 · USA
Annotation
Springsteen took an anti-war stance towards US involvement in Central America in the 1980s, and drew comparisons to the Vietnam War experience, through the release of the cover song "War" (Columbia Records # 38-06432). Composed by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong of the soul group The Temptations (and released on their 1970 album Psychedelic Shack), Edwin Starr made it famous with his 1970 cover (discussed in the anti-war section). His version reached # 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100, depicting the anger of the anti-Vietnam War movement, and probably the first blatant anti-war song to top the charts.

Springsteen recorded this live on 30 September 1985 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and subsequently released it as a single in 1986. The single reached # 8 in the US Billboard Hot 100 on 27 December 1986.1 It also reached # 4 in the US rock tracks chart.2 Released on the album Live / 1975-85 (Columbia # C5X 40558). The promotional video for the song started with the image of a father and son watching a news report about the Vietnam conflict on TV. Then it displayed a montage of shots from Nicaragua - where the Ronald Reagan administration provided financial and military support to the Contra rebel groups, involved in the Nicaraguan Revolution. Springsteen then embarked on a spoken-word introduction, followed by the song, in which he recalled the impact of Vietnam on young people in the 1960s, and warned the youth of 1985: "blind faith in your leaders...will get you killed" . Thus, with this single, Springsteen used Vietnam as way to comment on contemporary issues.3
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia 38-06432 (ZSS 175513), stereo, 45 RPM; "War" (B. Strong - N. Whitfield), 5:10; ℗ 1986 Bruce Springsteen; from the album C5X 40558.

Picture sleeve front: photograph of Springsteen with a Telecaster and "War" in red brush lettering; back lists "Merry Christmas Baby", "Taken from the Columbia LP 'Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live/1975-85' 40558", produced by Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and Chuck Plotkin; design Sandra Choron, photo Watt M. Casey. [From the record sleeve and labels]
Lyrics
English
If you grew up in the sixties, you grew up with war on TV every night
A war that your friends were involved in, and I want to do this song for all the young people out there, if you're in your teens, cause I remember a lot of my friends were seventeen or eighteen, we didn't have much of a chance to think about how we felt about a lot things, and next time there gonna be looking at you
And you're gonna need a lot of information to know what you want to do
Cause in 1985 blind faith in your leaders or anything will get you killed
What I'm talking about here is war, what is it good for, absolutely nothing

1995

#7 Bruce Springsteen Youngstown 1995 · Album · The Ghost of Tom Joad · Columbia # CK 67484 · USA
Annotation
The song "Youngstown" on the Springsteen album The Ghost of Tom Joad (Columbia Records # 481650 2) told the story of the growth of Youngstown, Ohio on the back of its mining industry, and the subsequent economic decline of the town. It's narrated by a Vietnam War veteran, whose father fought in World War Two - like many songs during the Vietnam War and in the post-war era, it sought to draw a connection between generations fighting wars for the U.S.A.1

It noted that the industry helped created the weapons of war, including the Civil War: "they made the cannon balls that helped the union win the war" , as well as World War Two. The narrator noted "my daddy... come home from World War Two" , and "these mills they built the tanks and bombs that won this country’s wars" . This continued with more contemporary conflict: "we sent our sons to Korea and Vietnam" - but these, they "we’re wondering what they were dyin’ for" . However, the industry died out and the economy of the town was abandoned: "now the yards just scrap and rubble" , and so they "did what Hitler couldn’t do" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
Here in north east Ohio
Back in eighteen-o-three
James and Danny Heaton
Found the ore that was linin’ yellow creek
They built a blast furnace
Here along the shore
And they made the cannon balls
That helped the union win the war
Here in Youngstown
Here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny, I’m sinkin’ down
Here darlin’ in Youngstown
Well my daddy worked the furnaces
Kept ’em hotter than hell
I come home from ‘Nam worked my way to scarfer
A job that’d suit the devil as well
Taconite, coke and limestone
Fed my children and made my pay
Then smokestacks reachin’ like the arms of god
Into a beautiful sky of soot and clay
Here in Youngstown
Here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny, I’m sinkin’ down
Here darlin’ in Youngstown
Well my daddy come on the Ohio works
When he come home from World War Two
Now the yards just scrap and rubble
He said, “Them big boys did what Hitler couldn’t do”
These mills they built the tanks and bombs
That won this country’s wars
We sent our sons to Korea and Vietnam
Now we’re wondering what they were dyin’ for
Here in Youngstown
Here in Youngstown
My sweet Jenny, I’m sinkin’ down
Here darlin’ in Youngstown
From the Monongaleh valley
To the Mesabi iron range
To the coal mines of Appalacchia
The story’s always the same
Seven-hundred tons of metal a day
Now sir you tell me the world’s changed
Once I made you rich enough
Rich enough to forget my name
In Youngstown
In Youngstown
My sweet Jenny, I’m sinkin’ down /Here darlin’ in Youngstown
When I die I don’t want no part of heaven
I would not do heavens work well
I pray the devil comes and takes me
To stand in the fiery furnaces of hell
Show full lyrics (52 lines) ▾
#8 Bruce Springsteen Galveston Bay 1995 · Album · The Ghost of Tom Joad · Columbia # C 67484 · USA
Annotation
Also on the album The Ghost of Tom Joad, was the song "Galveston Bay" (Columbia Records # 481650 2) in which Springsteen again returned to the Vietnam veteran theme - however, this time, the main focus was on a 1981 dispute between the KKK and Vietnamese shrimpers - who had arrived in the US as refugees, known as the "Vietnamese boat people", or "boat people", referencing Vietnamese refugees who fled the country following the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975, a migration and humanitarian crisis in the late 70s. 800,000 people are thought to have made it to other countries, via boat, while the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, estimates that between 200,000 and 400,000 boat people died at sea.123 This track provides a unique perspective in US songs, with a focus on a South Vietnamese veteran in the US, differing from the typical American-centric view, and containing commentary on the growth of anti-immigration, racist, and an America-first movement.

The lyrics focused on a South Vietnamese veteran, Le Bin Son, who fought "side by side with the American in... Vietnam". Following the collapse of Saigon, he fled to Texas, where he became a shrimper. It then switched to the perspective of a US born soldier, Billy Sutter, who was "wounded in the battle of Chu Lai" in 1968. He watched the collapse on TV in 1975, as the "communists rolled into Saigon" and "as the refugees came". However, there was "talk of America for Americans" and someone "brought in the Texas Klan". It led to a confrontation, in which Le killed two people. He was put on trial where he was acquitted, for self-defense. Stutter decided to take vigilante action and go after Le, but at the last minutes decided not to, and the next morning he "cast his nets into the water of Galveston Bay".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia CK 67484, track 11, 5:04; released 21 November 1995. Le Bin Son, a South Vietnamese veteran turned Texas shrimper, and Billy Sutter, a US veteran, on Galveston Bay. [From Discogs]
Lyrics
English
For fifteen years Le Bin Son fought side by side with the Americans
In the mountains and deltas of Vietnam
In '75 Saigon fell and he left his command
And brought his family to the promised land
Seabrook, Texas and the small towns in the Gulf of Mexico
It was delta country and reminded him of home
He worked as a machinist, put his money away and bought a shrimp boat with his cousin
And together they harvested Galveston Bay
In the morning 'fore the sun come up he'd kiss his sleeping daughter
Steer out through the channel and cast his nets into the water
Billy Sutter fought with Charlie Company in the highlands of Quang Tri
He was wounded in the battle of Chu Lai, shipped home in '68
There he married and worked the gulf fishing grounds in a boat that'd been his father's
In the morning he'd kiss his sleeping son and cast his nets into the water
Billy sat in front of his TV as the South fell and the communists rolled into Saigon
He and his friends watched as the refugees came, settled on the same streets and worked the coast they'd grew up on
Soon in the bars around the harbor was talk of America for Americans
Someone said "You want 'em out, you got to burn 'em out." and brought in the Texas Klan
One humid Texas night there were three shadows on the harbor come to burn the Vietnamese boats into the sea
In the fire's light shots rang out, two Texans lay dead on the ground, Le stood with a pistol in his hand
A jury acquitted him in self-defense as before the judge he did stand
But as Le walked down the courthouse steps, Billy said, "My friend you're a dead man."
One late summer night Le stood watch along the waterside
Billy stood in the shadows, his K-bar knife in his hand and the moon slipped behind the clouds
Le lit a cigarette, the bay was still as glass
As he walked by Billy stuck his knife into his pocket, took a breath and let him pass
In the early darkness Billy rose up, went into the kitchen for a drink of water
Kissed his sleeping wife, headed into the channel and cast his nets into the water of Galveston Bay
Show full lyrics (29 lines) ▾

1998

#9 Bruce Springsteen A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh) 1998 · Archival · Tracks · Columbia # CXK 69475 · USA
Annotation
The song "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)" featured on Tracks (Columbia Records # CXK 69475) - a compilation of archival, mainly never released songs, recorded during album sessions. The song told the story of widow, whose husband was killed in action (K.I.A.) in Vietnam: "it's raining in Saigon... she remembers how the world was the day he left and now how that world is dead". This was originally supposed to be on the album Born in the U.S.A. - and the inspiration for this was the same as that famous song - he discussed in Mojo Magazine in January 1999 - the description is almost identical to 2018's "Born in the U.S.A. (Introduction)" released on Springsteen on Broadway (discussed below):
Quote
"The late '70s and early '80s was the first time when literature and films began to be made about Vietnam. There was a subtext on a few earlier things... It began with a strange experience when I was driving across the country and I stopped in Arizona at a chug store and I bought a book called 'Born On The Fourth Of July'. I drove on to Los Angeles, and was at this little motel sitting at the pool and a fella came up, started talking and introduced himself: Ron Kovic... So Ron took me down to Venice to the Vet Centre... One thing lead to another and it just began to surface in some of my music. There was a song Pittsburgh, which was actually written for Born In The U.S.A."1
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia CXK 69475 (4-CD box "Tracks", 1998), disc 2 track 2, 3:18; an outtake written for Born in the U.S.A. [From Discogs]
Lyrics
English
It's cloudy out in Pittsburgh, it's raining in Saigon
Snow's fallin' all across the Michigan line
Well she sits by the lights of her Christmas tree
With the radio softly on
Thinkin' how a good man is so hard to find
Well once she had a fella
Once she was somebody's girl
And she gave all she had that one last time
Now there's a little girl asleep in the back room
She's gonna have to tell about the meanness in this world
And how a good man is so hard to find
Well there's pictures on the table by her bed
Him in his dress greens and her in her wedding white
She remembers how the world was the day he left
And now how that world is dead
And a good man is so hard to find
She ain't got no time now for Casanovas
Yeah those days are gone
She don't want that anymore, she's made up her mind
Just somebody to hold her as the night gets on
When a good man is so hard to find
Well she shuts off the TV and without a word
And into bed she climbs
Well she thinks how it was all so wasted
And how expendable their dreams all were
When a good man was so hard to find
Well it's cloudy out in Pittsburgh
Show full lyrics (28 lines) ▾
#10 Bruce Springsteen Brothers Under the Bridge 1998 · Archival · Tracks · Columbia # CXK 69475 · USA
Annotation
The song "Brothers Under the Bridge" , as above, was also featured on Tracks (Columbia Records # CXK 69475) - a compilation of archival, mainly never released songs, recorded during album sessions. Note: this is different from the song "Brothers Under the Bridges '83", which also featured on this compilation. This again looked at the plight of the Vietnam veteran: "Saigon, it was all gone... I come home in '72". The narrator recalled his friend's death, and its impact on his family: "come Veterans Day, I held your mother's hand when they passed with the red, white and blue".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia CXK 69475 (4-CD box "Tracks", 1998), disc 4 track 14, 5:03; recorded during the Ghost of Tom Joad sessions. Not the same song as "Brothers Under the Bridges '83" (disc 3). [From Discogs]
Lyrics
English
Saigon, it was all gone
The same Coke machines as the streets I grew on
Down a mesquite canyon we come walking along the ridge
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Campsite's an hour's walk from the nearest road to town
Up here there's too much brush and canyon for the CHP choppers to touch down
Ain't looking for nothing, just wanna live
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Come the Santa Ana's, man, that dry brush'll light
Billy Devon got burned up in his own campfire one winter night
We buried his body in a white stone high up along the ridge
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Had enough of town and the street life
Over nothing you end up on the wrong end of someone's knife
Now I don't want no trouble and I ain't got none to give
Me and the brothers under the bridge
I come home in '72
You were just a beautiful light in your mom's dark eyes of blue
I stood down on the tarmac, I was just a kid
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Come Veterans Day, sat in the stands in my dress blues
I held your mother's hand when they passed with the red, white and blue
One minute you're right there and something slips
Show full lyrics (24 lines) ▾

2006

#11 Bruce Springsteen Bring 'Em Home 2006 · Album · We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (American Land Edition) · Columbia # 88697 00916 2 · USA
Annotation
On this record, Springsteen recorded an abridged version of the Pete Seeger protest song "Bring 'em Home" (Columbia Records # 82876834391). As with the original, the lyrics took an anti-Vietnam stance, opposed to government policy (rather than general anti-war): "it will make the politicians sad...they wanna tangle with their foe" , thus presenting the government and military as war-mongers. Yet, it also displayed a degree of patriotism (for the United States) and support for the soldiers fighting: "if you love this land of the free, bring ’em home" .
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English
If you love this land of the free
Bring ’em home, bring ’em home
Bring them back from overseas...
It will make the politicians sad, I know
Bring ’em home, bring ’em home
They wanna tangle with their foe...
They wanna test their grand theories...
With the blood of you and me...
Now we’ll give no more brave young lives...
For the gleam in someone’s eyes...
The men will cheer and the boys will shout...
Yeah and we will all turn out...
The church bells will ring with joy...
To welcome our darlin’ girls and boys...
We willl lift their voice and sound...
Yeah, when Johnny comes marching home
Bring ’em home, bring ’em home
Show full lyrics (18 lines) ▾
Theme: Anti-War

2014

#12 Bruce Springsteen The Wall 2014 · Album · High Hopes · Columbia # 88843015461 · USA
Annotation
Springsteen wrote the song "The Wall" (Columbia Records # 88843015462) following a visit to the memorial, to see the names of two of his friends who were K.I.A. in Vietnam, both members of New Jersey rock & roll bands - Bart Haynes, the drummer in The Castiles, a group that Springsteen was a member of, and Walter Cichon, lead singer of The Motifs - Springsteen later recalled the story of Cichon on the intro track to "Born in the U.S.A." on the album Springsteen on Broadway discussed below.1 The song noted that the former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara (under both JFK and LBJ) had said he was sorry for his part in the war. The narrated said "apology and forgiveness got no place here at all".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Columbia 88843015462, track 11, 4:20. Written after a visit to the Memorial, for Walter Cichon (The Motifs) and Bart Haynes (The Castiles), both killed in Vietnam. [From Discogs; the RYM annotation]
Lyrics
English
Cigarettes and a bottle of beer, this poem that I wrote for you
This black stone and these hard tears are all I got left now of you
I remember you in your Marine uniform laughing, laughing at your ship out party
I read Robert McNamara says he's sorry
Your high boots and striped t-shirt, ah, Billy you looked so bad
Yeah you and your rock and roll band, you were the best thing this shit town ever had
Now the men that put you here eat with their families in rich dining halls
And apology and forgiveness got no place here at all, here at the wall
Well I'm sorry I missed you last year, I couldn't find no one to drive me
If your eyes could cut through that black stone, tell me would they recognize me
For the living time it must be served as the day goes on
Cigarettes and a bottle of beer, skin on black stone
On the ground dog tags and wreaths of flowers, with the ribbons red as the blood
Red as the blood you spilled in the Central Highlands mud
Limousines rush down Pennsylvania Avenue, rustling the leaves as they fall
And apology and forgiveness got no place here at all, here at the wall
Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

2017

#13 Bruce Springsteen Freedom Cadence 2017 · Unreleased · Thank You for Your Service (film, 2017) · Not On Label # none · USA
Annotation
The song "Freedom Cadence" written by Springsteen for the 2017 film Thank You for Your Service - about Iraq War veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - frequently referenced in post-war 1980s songs about US veterans, often connected in songs to stress, shell shock, flashbacks, nostalgia, and feelings and dreams related to an event. It's apparently an adaptation of a marching cadence called "Some Say Freedom is Free", credited to Private First Class Roger L. Southard.1 It played over the film's closing credits. It presented a patriotic perspective, with the narrator arguing that "freedom is won through the barrel of a gun". It noted that he "had a brother in Iraq, he didn't come back... daddy died in Vietnam, he was killed at Khe Sahn" - another example of Vietnam being used as the key reference point for comparison in contemporary songs about war.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Written for the film "Thank You for Your Service" (2017), played over the closing credits; adapted from the marching cadence "Some Say Freedom Is Free". No record release found on Discogs.
Lyrics
English
Some say freedom is free, but I tend to disagree
I say freedom is won through the barrel of a gun
Had a brother in Iraq, he didn't come back
I ask why oh why do soldiers gotta die
Some say freedom is free, but I tend to disagree
I say freedom is won through the blood of someone's son
Some say freedom is free, but I tend to disagree
I say freedom is won through the barrel of a gun
Daddy died in Vietnam, he was killed at Khe Sahn
I ask why oh why do soldiers gotta die
Some say freedom is free, but I tend to disagree
I say freedom is won through the blood of someone's son
Some say freedom is free, but I tend to disagree
I say freedom is won through the barrel of a gun
Had a brother in Iraq, he didn't come back
I ask why oh why do soldiers gotta die
Show full lyrics (17 lines) ▾

Lyric theme data

Lyric content themes tagged on the songs in this collection — parent themes with their sub-themes (number of records). Click a theme for its definition and all records carrying it.

Show all 16 themes ▾

Key stats

13 songs · 12 releases · 2 artists · 1 labels · 1970–2017

Time period
  • 1984, 1995 and 1998 share the peak, with two songs each.
  • 2 were released during the war years (to 1975); eleven came after.
Artists
  • 2 artists for 13 songs. The most represented is Bruce Springsteen, with twelve.
Songwriters
  • Songwriter gender is recorded for 11 of the 13 songs: eleven by men.
  • By performer: 13 men (recorded for 13).
  • 4 named songwriters. The most often credited is Bruce Springsteen, with nine.
Labels
  • 0 of the 1 labels appear exactly once; Columbia has the most, with eleven.
  • Eleven sit on a major or well-known imprint — Columbia. The other 2 are on independent, regional or private labels.
  • Two are private pressings with no label at all.
Locations
  • All 13 are American.
Themes
  • By perspective: eleven post-war; one home front or soldier's perspective; one peace, protest and anti-war.
  • 25 distinct sub-themes across 13 songs.
  • Vet is the single biggest subject — 6 songs, nearly one in three.
  • Next come Anti-War (3), K.I.A. (3) and Saigon (2).