How I understand the song “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
songtext of “Born in the USA“
the German translation “Geboren in den USA“
video of “Born of the USA” from YouTube
songtext:
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 to cover it 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.
I was 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”
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.The rock song “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen was released in October 1984 and you can also find it on the album of the same name.
The lyric deals with the effects and consequences of the Vietnam War on the Americans and was misinterpreted by President Ronald Regan because he thought the song was something like a patriotic declaration of love.
Springsteen`s song is a donation to his buddies who had experienced the Vietnam War, some of his buddies died and the song also protests the hardness Vietnam veterans faced by their return from the war.
For example the fate of the protagonist´s brother (sometimes replaced with buddy) is described in this way:
“I had a brother at Khe Sanh
Fighting off them 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”
Especially the antipode “they´re still here, he´s all gone” create a sad mood.
As I see it the song is interesting because the hardship of the Vietnam veterans is handled in it……
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