Born in the USA=one writer's process

NPR Morning Edition has been doing a series on anthems.Songs they consider American anthems, and today they took a look at Springsteen’s“Born in the USA”—which by all accounts is a protest song.

Yeah, says Chris Christie former Republican governor of New Jersey: it's a defiant song about , 'I was born in the U.S.A. and I deserve better than what I'm getting.' I think plenty of people didn't get what it was about, including the president of the United States."  

That would be Ronald Reagan. And later conservative George Will would praise the song. But it was a song begging for hope, pleading for justice.

“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.

….

End up like a dog that's been beat too much

Till you spend half your life just covering up”

Not too celebratory.

The song went through many iterations. Upbeat, dark, a prayer. Springsteen kept coming back to it—not so much changing the words but changing the tempo, the chorus, re-arranging verses. This reminded me of a story I’ve been working on for a couple of years. I keep thinking it’s done and sending it out and it gets rejected and I come back to the ending and reshuffle the word deck. I know it’s there, the right ending, the sock to the gut. –It’s just about getting it right.

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
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.
Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said "son if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said "son, don't you understand"

I 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 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

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.

Songwriters: Bruce Springsteen

Born In The U.S.A. (Remastered) lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management