Read the Lyrics! Bruce Springsteen didn’t write “Born in the U.S.A.” to protest Islamic centers

August 22, 2010 by  

Over at Alan Colmes Liberaland, I was reading about protests near the Islamic Center two blocks away from Ground Zero, when this struck me:

Opponents chanted “No mosque, no way!” and carried signs reading, “9-11-01: Never Forget,” as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” blared over loudspeakers.

I’m well aware that the more patriotic someone is, the more they’re able to overlook the fact that Springsteen’s hit is not in fact a patriotic homage to America, but instead a song dedicated to the lower middle-class being used as fodder for war and their experiences upon returning.

But it’s really, really silly. Here are the lyrics, and you tell me if Springsteen’s aim was to tell Muslims they couldn’t build a mosque:

Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.

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 covering up

[chorus:]
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

I got in a little hometown jam
And so they put a rifle in my hands
Sent me off to Vietnam
To go and kill the yellow man

[chorus]

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says “Son if it was up to me”
I go down to see the V.A. man
He said “Son don’t you understand”

[chorus]

I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
He had a little girl in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go

I’m a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I’m a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

Seriously, people, I’m sure some country singer has penned a song that glorifies all things America. But Springsteen didn’t. And you just look like idiots when you try and pretend otherwise.

-WKW

Comments

4 Responses to “Read the Lyrics! Bruce Springsteen didn’t write “Born in the U.S.A.” to protest Islamic centers”

  1. dgun on August 22nd, 2010 6:27 pm

    I always thought it was mostly a protest of the Vietnam war and how working class Americans were shipped off to ‘kill the yellow man’ and then came back to be treated like shit.

    Hiring man says “Son if it was up to me”
    I go down to see the V.A. man
    He said “Son don’t you understand”

    Apparently we don’t understand. Apparently we’ll never learn.

  2. William K. Wolfrum on August 23rd, 2010 2:44 am

    Yeah, it was my bad for ranting before bed. I made a change.

  3. Anti-Muslim conservatives protest Liberal woman living in Hell’s Kitchen « Equal Rights For All « William K. Wolfrum Chronicles on August 23rd, 2010 3:28 am

    [...] Opponents chanted “No mosque, no way!” and carried signs reading, “9-11-01: Never Forget,” as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” blared over loudspeakers. [...]

  4. dgun on August 23rd, 2010 5:00 am

    > ranting before bed

    You got let that rant out though. You can’t just jump into bed with a rant in you. I’m pretty sure that could mess up a marriage.

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