Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA

Released in 1987, “Born In The USA” was the title track and opening song from Bruce Springsteen’s seventh studio album. Written by Springsteen and produced with Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin and Steven Van Zandt, the recording featured the full power of the E Street Band, combining huge drums, synthesiser textures and driving rock instrumentation to create one of the most recognisable sounds of the decade.

Despite its triumphant, anthemic music, the song tells a much darker story. Springsteen portrays a working-class Vietnam veteran who returns home to hardship, unemployment and a sense of abandonment. The repeated title becomes deliberately ironic, contrasting the enormous, celebratory sound with the character’s bitter experiences and disappointment. It is this tension between the music and the subject matter that gives the recording much of its extraordinary power.

Springsteen’s passionate vocal performance is matched by Max Weinberg’s pounding drums, Roy Bittan’s keyboards and the driving guitars of Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt. The arrangement builds the song into a stadium-sized anthem while retaining the seriousness of its underlying message.

“Born In The USA” remains one of Springsteen’s defining recordings and one of the most misunderstood songs in popular music. Its powerful combination of rock energy, social commentary and emotional storytelling demonstrates Springsteen’s ability to turn the struggles of ordinary people into music of enormous scale and lasting impact. The song was released as a AA single with the song, “I’m On Fire”.

The song peaked at No. 05 in the UK charts on 13th July 1985.