Born In The U.S.A.

"Born in the U.S.A." is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. Taken from the album of the same name, it is one of his best-known singles. Rolling Stone ranked the song 275th on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2001, the RIAA's Songs of the Century placed the song 59th (out of 365). Lyrically, the song deals with the effects of the Vietnam War on Americans, although it is widely misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem. According to the Born In The U.S.A. Songfacts, the original title was "Vietnam." Director Paul Schrader sent Springsteen a script for a movie called Born In The U.S.A., about a Rock band struggling with life and religion. This gave Bruce the idea for the new title. Unfortunately for Schrader, when he was finally ready to make the movie in 1985, the title "Born In The U.S.A." was too associated with the song. Springsteen helped him out however, providing the song "Light Of Day," which became the new title for Schrader's movie and the feature song in the film.

[Verse 1] 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 'Til you spend half your life just coverin' up [Chorus] Born in the U.S.A I was born in the U.S.A I was born in the U.S.A Born in the U.S.A [Verse 2] 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 [Chorus] Born in the U.S.A I was born in the U.S.A I was born in the U.S.A I was born in the U.S.A [Verse 3] Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says, "Son if it was up to me" Went down to see my V.A. man He said, "Son, don't you understand" [Verse 4] I had a brother at Khe Sanh 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 [Verse 5] Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I'm ten years burning down the road Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go [Chorus] Born in the U.S.A I was born in the U.S.A. now Born in the U.S.A I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. now Born in the U.S.A Born in the U.S.A Born in the U.S.A I'm a cool rockin' Daddy in the U.S.A. now