What Does Bruce Springsteen’s ’Born In The U.S.A.’ Really Mean? : NPR
▻https://www.npr.org/2019/03/26/706566556/bruce-springsteen-born-in-the-usa-american-anthem
If you’re listening closely, the lyrics of “Born in the U.S.A.” make its subject pretty clear: The 1984 hit by Bruce Springsteen describes a Vietnam War veteran who returns home to desperate circumstances and few options. Listen only to its surging refrain, though, and you could mistake it for an uncomplicated celebration of patriotism. You wouldn’t be the only one.
At other times, Springsteen dropped the upbeat chorus — singing only the verses, forcing his audience to hear the dark story of the veteran. When the U.S. invasion of Iraq loomed in 2003, he told his audience the song was a prayer for peace.
Onkey says the complexity of “Born in the U.S.A.” is why it endures: “It describes the ambiguities and challenges of the country that I have grown up in. And for me, it’s a rock-and-roll anthem: This singer, this scream, the sound of the guitar and the scale of the song suggest that rock and roll is big enough and important enough to tell that story.”
Maybe the meaning of “Born in the U.S.A.” is the distance between the grim verses and the joyous chorus. It’s the space between frustrating facts and fierce pride — the demand to push American reality a bit closer to our ideals.