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.
I was born in the U.S.A.
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.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
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
He said "son don't you understand now"
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 gas fires of 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.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a long gone daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking daddy in the U.S.A.
Reflection:
There are may opinions on what American behavior is and what it means to be born in the USA. Jack Kerouac once said "This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do" and that quote has hidden meaning about certain actions and behavior that one born in America is supposed to, which connects to Bruce Springsteen's song "Born in the USA" about the Vietnam war. In the 1960's, when the Vietnam war broke out, so did the draft system when thousands and thousands of men eighteen and over were sent to fight. One of the quotes in this song that can be connected to the Kerouac quote is "got a little hometown jam so they put a rifle in my hand, sent me off to a foreign land to go kill the yellow man." Americans were told to go to Vietnam and the idea at that time was that if you are an American, then you are supposed to want to go fight, without complaint, as it is your duty to your country.
There are may opinions on what American behavior is and what it means to be born in the USA. Jack Kerouac once said "This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do" and that quote has hidden meaning about certain actions and behavior that one born in America is supposed to, which connects to Bruce Springsteen's song "Born in the USA" about the Vietnam war. In the 1960's, when the Vietnam war broke out, so did the draft system when thousands and thousands of men eighteen and over were sent to fight. One of the quotes in this song that can be connected to the Kerouac quote is "got a little hometown jam so they put a rifle in my hand, sent me off to a foreign land to go kill the yellow man." Americans were told to go to Vietnam and the idea at that time was that if you are an American, then you are supposed to want to go fight, without complaint, as it is your duty to your country.