Bruce Springsteen

Released: November 4, 1986

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

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 covering up

(Chorus)
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

(Chorus)

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

Bruce Springsteen is a rock ‘n’ roll icon from the great state of New Jersey. Nicknamed “The Boss,” he’s known for spirited sax-powered anthems about working-class people making their way in the world. Backed by the trusty E Street Band, he’s sold more than 120 million records, won numerous awards (including 20 Grammys and an Oscar), sold out stadiums around the globe, and earned a place alongside his teenage heroes in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Although he’s a living legend who ranks among the most important artists in rock history, Springsteen wasn’t an overnight success. Around the time of his first album, 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., he was dismissed as just another “new Dylan"—some scruffy folk singer with a decent vocabulary looking to follow in Bob’s footsteps. In the decade that followed, Springsteen proved himself to be much more.

His breakthrough came with his third album, 1975’s Born to Run. The record hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and landed the singer-songwriter on the cover of both Time and Newsweek. Bruce nabbed his first chart-topping album five years later with The River, and in 1984, he went global with Born in the U.S.A., a critical and commercial smash that produced seven Top 10 singles.

more tracks from the album

Live/1975-85

From the album

Live/1975-85 (1986)

Bruce Springsteen popular songs

Born in the U.S.A. [Live 1975/85]Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Live/1975-85