Many of the songs on Born in the USA—My Hometown, Glory Days, Downbound Train, and Im Going Down, in addition to the title track—captured with great poignancy the misery of life in struggling small-town communities where the American Dream no longer seemed attainable. A record associated by many—or even most—listeners with simple flag-waving patriotism actually represented Springsteens attempt to offer a moving and powerful critique of what he saw as the iniquities of American society in the 1980s. Those who sought to cast Bruce Springsteen in the role of Ronald Reagan in tight blue jeans and a leather jacket only missed one small thing: Born in the USA was a protest record. Its patriotic chorus—the only lyrics most fans ever learned—stood as a bitterly ironic counterpoint to the songs verses, which told the heartbreaking story of a hopeless Vietnam vet. In Springsteens own words I think people have a need to feel good about the country they live in, he said, but whats happening, I think, is that that need—which is a good thing—is getting manipulated and exploited -From shmoop
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 00:20:01 +0000