Born In The U.S.A.
1984 · Columbia 38-04680 · Freehold, New Jersey
- Artist
- Bruce Springsteen
- Title
- Born In The U.S.A.
- Release
- Born In The U.S.A.
- Year
- 1984
- Label
- Columbia # 38-04680
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Freehold, New Jersey, USA
- Songwriter
- Bruce Springsteen
- Genre
- Rock · Rock
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Bruce Springsteen, born on 23 September 1949, in Long Beach, 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. This includes "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." His debut album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) contained many war references, such as "Lost in the Flood". Additionally, his song "Freedom Cadence" dealt with both the Vietnam War and the Iraq War…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Bruce Springsteen Songs
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…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Born Freehold, New Jersey, USA (23 September 1949). Currently Rumson, New Jersey.