Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA …album

When this came out in 1984 it was some exciting times. Michael Jackson and Prince had released two massive albums. I didn’t really relate to Thriller but I loved Purple Rain. When this album dropped I bought it without buying the lead single which I did for some reason at times. Unlike The River or Nebraska, this one was in your face. The record company knew what they had here…they had a blockbuster album.

After this album, Springsteen wasn’t just a cult-following guy anymore. Just like I mentioned about Bob Seger with Against the Wind…some Springsteen fans loved it and some refused to listen. It was a massive hit and that is one of the reasons given by Springsteen fans I knew at the time. He wasn’t just their secret anymore. The album served as a bridge for people who had heard of him but didn’t really know him. Now the serious ones were going through his catalog.

Bruce toyed with not releasing it. He recorded a lot of it in 1982…2 years before it was released. He knew it was going to be a hit…and because of that, he hesitated. It probably got larger than he ever imagined. From 1984 to 1986 I never stopped listening to this album and neither did radio listeners. I still do from time to time and it holds up well.

My immediate reaction was the sound! Let’s forget the songs for a second. Listen to the clarity of the album. It was the clearest production I’d ever heard and stands as probably the cleanest-sounding rock album I’ve heard to this day. Bob Clearmountain mixed it and that made a huge difference. It sounded so good over your 1980s car stereo at the time…you could hear everything so clearly. Grab some headphones and listen to the album today.

The first big hit off the album wasn’t my favorite. That song was Dancing In The Dark and I liked it but not like the others. When I got the album, the songs to really hook me were Darlington County, No Surrender, Bobby Jean, and the huge title track. This was never my favorite Springsteen album but it broke him into the mainstream with a huge blast.

I thought I would highlight the songs that got me into the album. Most of these were not worn out by radio except maybe the title track. Believe me…if you listened to the radio in the mid-80s…you know the rest! If not I have the album on Spotify at the bottom.

Darlington County – When I think of this album this is the song I think about. This is one of the very few on the album that wasn’t a hit…but it’s just as good as many of the others. Bruce originally wrote this for his 1978 album Darkness On The Edge Of Town, but it didn’t make the cut. The riff in the song reminds me of Cadillac Ranch which was on The River album.

The song resolves itself in the end with the narrator’s buddy in trouble. I have a friend named Paul who I thought of when he mentioned Wayne.

Driving out of Darlington County
My eyes seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
Driving out of Darlington County
Seen Wayne handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper’s Ford

Surrender – When you are 17 years old and waiting for your life to start… then hear the lyrics Well, we busted out of class, Had to get away from those fools, We learned more from a three-minute record, than we ever learned in school… it gets your attention.

I think every song on the album could have been released as a single. This one did not chart but remains a strong song. Steven Van Zandt convinced Springsteen to include this song on the album because Bruce was going to leave it off.

Born In The USA – It’s probably the most misunderstood Springsteen song out there. Springsteen wrote this about the problems Vietnam veterans encountered when they returned to America. Vietnam was the first war the US didn’t win, and while veterans of other wars received a hero’s welcome, those who fought in Vietnam were mostly ignored when they returned to their homeland.

What a demented-sounding vocal…I LOVE it! I haven’t heard anything like this since Twist and Shout by the Beatles. I remember back in the 80s Chrysler offered Springsteen $12 million to use this in an ad campaign with Bruce… Springsteen turned them down so they used “The Pride Is Back” by Kenny Rogers instead. Springsteen had never let his music be used to sell products. He also turned Ronald Reagan down who wanted to use it for his re-election against Walter Mondale. Walter Mondale then said “I share the same American Dream” as Bruce. Bruce disagreed and said so. I’m happy that he turned both of them down.

Goin’ Down -Bruce makes it abundantly clear that he is not going to town, nor around, or in any way… up…nope he is going down, down, down, etc… He repeats “down” over eighty times in this song…My word count is 90 in the song. I don’t care…its a good song and as Bruce always does he sings it with conviction. It’s a very likable rock/pop song.

The reason I like this song is the overall sound that Bruce got on the guitar and the echo in his voice… it’s just perfect. I can hear the Sun Records’ influence in this one.

Bobby Jean -This one I really think would have been a hit if they had released it as a single…but that can be said about a few other ones also. This song was really poignant when I heard it because I was about to graduate and I was starting to say goodbye to a lot of classmates that I knew I’d never see again.

This was written as a farewell message to guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who left the E Street Band during the recording of Born In The U.S.A. to pursue other projects. Van Zandt returned to the band years later.

Here is the complete tracklist and the Spotify if you want to indulge yourself today.

1. Born in the U.S.A.
2. Cover Me
3. Darlington County
4. Working on the Highway
5. Downbound Train
6. I’m On Fire
7. No Surrender
8. Bobby Jean
9. I’m Goin’ Down
10. Glory Days
11. Dancing in the Dark
12. My Hometown

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

48 thoughts on “Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA …album”

  1. I listen to this on vinyl all the time at my apartment… love your insights. The vocals of Born do sound like Twist and Shout! And Bruce turning down Chrysler and both presidential candidates… really inspiring. This one’s for the vets. For America without the bullshit. Go Bruce!

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    1. Yes I agree it’s for the vets. Now bands now would not turn it down but I’m glad he did and stayed out of the political races.

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      2. Oh yes…it’s worth a lot more…even 12 million wouldn’t be bad. The landscape has changed in that regard.

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  3. This tour was the first time I saw Bruce live in concert. So right there you get an unforgettable experience. I certainly didn’t mind the more pop oriented songs because as you pointed out, lots of classic Bruce to be had. I rarely just listen to albums cover to cover anymore. Today is a good Bruce day I think !

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      2. I had a friend that went to it…he still rubs it in my face lol. I finally saw him in the 90s on an acoustic tour and in 2000 with the E-Street Band.

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  4. It was, and still is, a brilliant album, easily one of the 3 or 4 best ‘rock’ albums of the ’80s. Not a bad track there. I think when I play it now, ‘My Hometown’, ‘Bobby Jean’ and ‘Darlington Co.’ are the three I’m most drawn to, probably because I don’t hear them a lot. The title track is very good too, and very intelligent as a statement…sadly, too intelligent for half the population to comprehend.

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    1. Yea the title track…people just heard the chorus and took it from there. Darlington County reminds me a bit of Cadillac Ranch.
      The songs were great but Clearmountain did a hell of a job mixing tihs…as he did with a lot of albums but this one because of the simple arrangements worked well with his style.

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  6. I was a hardcore Bruce guy before this album. This record didn’t change that. I was happy for the guy to hit the big time. He did it and kept his artistic integrity. Great record, chock full of great music. ‘Going Down’ is another of his Elvis vibe songs to me. Clarence cuts in with some ripping sax. Love it. Good stuff Max.

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    1. That is the way I felt CB…I felt…It’s about time other people were catching on…there is always more room for more.
      The Dead had this happen to them as well…to me it was great.

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  8. Great lyrics all through this album, and Hell, it fair pounds along. I like or rather accept the fact it ends up with the sobering but inevitable reflection of ‘My Hometown.’ Somewhere along the road we start to look in the rear vision mirror as well as a ways down the road.

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    1. I do think that was a nice touch at the end…it makes the circle complete with that. Sometimes I get a little choked up on that one thinking about mine.

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  9. You had a lot of audacity writing about this record complete (a leap of faith – to use the Boss’s words). But a great article and left me wanting more. I felt the same way as you with ‘No Surrender’ – like he was speaking into my ear at school. The whole album in fact felt that way to me. Easily in my top 10 rock album ever. I also cannot figure Springsteen fans not liking in it and the title track misappropriation etc.

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    1. With this album I could have went over every song but yea…I want to leave people wanting more.
      I feel the same as you about some of his fans not liking it pretty much because it was commercial.

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  10. Flipping through my vinyl the other day, I ran across this album I guess I bought it back in the 80s. I am not a huge fan, but did like some of his songs, and as you say, the album is as clear as a bell. Good producing and mixing.

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      2. I agree with you Phil on that one. I got to see Bruce with Clarence in 2000…he could flat out play that sax

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  11. “Born in the U.S.A.” for me was exactly how you put it, Max: “a bridge for people who had heard of him but didn’t really know him.” The only Springsteen song I had known as written by Springsteen prior to “Born in the U.S.A.” was “The River,” which I loved right away. At the time, my favorites from “Born in the U.S.A” were the title cut, “Cover Me”, “I’m On Fire” and “Dancing in the Dark.”

    I agree the album holds up pretty well. Nowadays, I could probably do without the title track, and I’ve also gotten a bit lukewarm about “Dancing in the Dark.” My favorites off that album now are probably “Bobby Jean” and “No Surrender.”

    “Born in the U.S.A.” made me get the 1986 “Live 1975–85” box set, which opened the door to Springsteen’s ’70s albums. It finally led me to “Born to Run” and “Darkness On the Edge of Town,” which together with “The River”, “Born in the U.S.A.” and “The Rising” are my favorite Springsteen albums.

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    1. With Springsteen…I really like or love all the albums up to Tunnel of Love. After that they have been hit and miss but don’t get me wrong…I still like them.
      After Tunnel of Love he changed a little bit when him and the E Street band parted for a while.
      I still love this album…not as well as Greetings and Born To Run, and The River but I love it. I also got the 86 live set because of this…what a great package that was.

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      3. Yep, with the E Street Band featuring Nils Lofgren. At that time, Little Steven had left.

        I went together with my longtime German music buddy Gerd. The concert was held at a huge soccer stadium in Frankfurt.

        One thing I still remember is Springsteen kept going, playing encores. In fact, I actually found the gig’s setlist on Setlist.fm. Check it out – so many gems here!

        https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bruce-springsteen/1988/waldstadion-frankfurt-germany-63d7b28b.html

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      4. Thats right! Right after this tour is when they split up for a while.
        Taht is a great setlist as most of his are!

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  12. Pingback: Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA …album – MobsterTiger

  13. While I don’t dislike this LP one bit, the live versions in the 2000’s of these song are much better IMHO than the recorded vesrions. The best example of this is “No Surrender” which live just goes to another level.

    Big Boss fan since 1975! He’s my #1.

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    1. I think for him it was an important album because it made people aware of him more…but it’s not my favorite. I do like a lot of the live versions I’ve heard.

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  14. It’s a good’n and you’re right, it is probably the song/album that put Bruce on the map for me. I never looked back. His music is the essence of American spirit, the real working class who are the backbone of the nation.

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  15. Bob Clearmountain made amazing productions, I remember he revamped Free’s Wishing Well and many other rock classics and gave them a feeling of space. I’ve actually never heard the whole album, I think I overdosed on the singles a bit: I bought Dancing In The Dark in 84 when it was his first proper UK minor top 40 hit (having bought Born To Run when nobody else did, and Hungry Heart when a few did) – and then it went top 5 in 1985 and ignited the album and Springsteen mania!

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    1. Yes you could not avoid the singles over here…it was much like Thriller and Purple Rain…for almost two years the singles just kept coming.

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  16. I’m with you on “I’m Going Down” as those verses are brilliant and don’t get me started on “Downbound Train” which is perhaps my favourite on this album… lyrically, musically Bruce nails it out of the park!

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