Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A. Review

Misunderstood efforts from Bruce Springsteen are still adapted by those with a few screws loose. Those who see Born in the U.S.A. as a championing of the self-named “greatest country in the world.” Have some grace. Listen in to those blue-collar writings from Springsteen again, made in the lead-up to this collaboration with the E Street Band, and think again. Disgust reigns supreme on Born in the U.S.A., an album which marries the tones of nationalism with personal pride. The latter is used as a tactic of ignorance of the troubles of a country which, while loved by many, is harming those who get off on being dedicated to the banner. This applies not just to the United States, but dig deep enough and you can find the shameful indoctrination in most nations. Springsteen is, again, a flare of counter-culture.  

Nebraska hinted at the shame and violence of a country priding itself on being the land of the free. Those intimate acoustics did well to present the distance Springsteen was now putting between his values as a working-class Catholic and the state of a country which, thanks to the upbeat and buoyant skill of the E Street band, sounded like everything was smooth. Ronald Reagan misread the moment and used Born in the U.S.A. for his campaign. All the more reason to dig deeper into the likes of Cover Me, the PTSD-aware song which links itself to that post-Vietnam War protest America. A call for more to be done for veterans, for the unity and desire for love after the scintillating title track burns through the same tones of disillusionment with a generation returning from war. America as peacemakers turned from patriotic notion to filthy lie, and Springsteen is one of the few artists to capture this.  

Born in the U.S.A. is keen to show that, in times of loss and disillusionment, the country loved by so many would abandon those same people. Darlington County expresses a love for the open road which, forty years on, is now lost. The liberation and freedom, what little of it America had left, is now rubble. Working on the Highway and heartbreaker Downbound Train consider the reality of a hopeful, preceding track. Reality bites. But Born in the U.S.A. is not just a rightful putdown of patriotism and all the weak ties it maintains to a country no longer identifiable through any scope bar nostalgia. It has moments of love within, songs of tribute to close friends who not only share this adept read of the world but are relied on as the flag once was.  

Friends are what we can rely on in times of struggle. From a bailout to a bond built on love, a country can never give you what those in your close circle can. Born in the U.S.A. is not just a fiery putdown of patriotism but a roaring nod to those who were there for Springsteen in times of self-doubt. Those moments are documented well on Dancing in the Dark, a masterclass of a song where the punchiness and machoism of the times hide a tender, sweet reality which now burns brighter than the iconic album cover. No Surrender and I’m on Fire overtake the traditional hits like Glory Days, but the consistencies found within, of seeking out meaning and reason where it has not yet revealed itself, is powerful stuff. By far the best Springsteen album out there, not because of its popularity at the time but because of its scintillating commentaries which still stand tall and firm today.