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You've Misunderstood The Lyrics To Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The USA' This Whole Time

In hindsight, it's hard to miss the meaning behind Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." The song's lyrics — in spite of its upbeat-sounding chorus in which Springsteen rousingly croons, "I was born in the USA," to a danceable melody — are bleak. At one point, Springsteen paints a portrait of a Vietnam War veteran who lost job prospects after he was drafted, singing, "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.'" In another verse, he woefully sings, "I had a brother at Khe Sanh / Fighting off the Viet Cong / They're still there, he's all gone." In light of this, it's no wonder, per MentalFloss, that Springsteen called "Born in the USA" a "protest song" in his 2016 memoir "Born to Run."

The song's production is partially blame, MentalFloss opined, for the public's misattribution of patriotism. Opening to a galvanizing, bombastic drumbeat from E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, it sounds all but like a call to national pride. Per NPR, the song was originally titled "Vietnam," with Springsteen later scrubbing more pointed condemnations of the war and only adding the "Born in the USA" line late in the songwriting process. 

To be fair to the casual listeners, perhaps they first heard Springsteen's power anthem at a loud party or bar?

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