Inside 40 years of Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the U.S.A.' with 'All Songs Considered'

To mark its 40th anniversary, NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast reanalyzed Bruce Springsteen ’s album, Born In The U.S.A . Turns out, we’ve been forgetting the most important part.

LISTEN NOW: All Songs Considered | 'Born In The U.S.A.' at 40

It’s no surprise that you’ll find the 1984 hit single ‘Born in The U.S.A.’ on every barbeque playlist this Fourth of July week. And while it’s easiest to scream-sing the title line and imitate Springsteen ’s classic raspiness, NPR writer and host Robin Hilton took to his All Songs Considered podcast to remind us what the song is really about. “The refrain makes it feel like a celebration of America,” he acknowledges, “Yet there's more to ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ than celebration. Listen to the lyrics and you hear a protest against the treatment of a Vietnam veteran.”

And it’s true -- the song’s verses follow the story of a young American man who was down on his luck before going off to war. Perhaps the most tragic section comes in verse 4: “I had a brother at Khe Sanh / Fightin' 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.”

While Springsteen is not a Vietnam veteran himself, he often surrounded himself with veterans. “He did a big benefit in the summer of 81 for Vietnam veterans in Los Angeles and met with vets,” says Lauren Anke of NPR Music. “And after that tour ends, there's a number of places where he's trying to write about the Vietnam veteran experience.” The song’s drafts included a story about veterans being left without jobs or connection to the very country they served. Thus, "Born in The U.S.A." was originally written as a song called "Vietnam."

But don’t feel bad if you didn’t know the song’s true meaning. Even with its chart-topping success, most people didn’t know about the song’s complexity back then either! “Plenty of people didn't get what it was about, including the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan ,” host Steve Inskeep recalled. In a 1984 speech while running for reelection, President Ronald Reagan referenced the song, and Springsteen, as a positive note on patriotism - something Springsteen has since distanced himself from . “By playing on the hope,” the podcast continued, “Reagan seemed to overlook the despair.”

The question then becomes: How can a rallying cry of pride in being "Born in the U.S.A." exist at the same time as the song’s solemn backstory? Inskeep then goes directly to the source for an answer -- Bruce. “In my songs, the spiritual part, the hope part, is in the choruses. The blues and your daily realities are in the details of the verses” Springsteen told NPR at the time.

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As the years have gone on, the native New Jerseyan has shifted some lyrics and meanings- but the overall message of reality versus hope has endured. In just one song, Springsteen manages to convey the seemingly opposing forces of patriotism and a call for change and betterment -- and it has yet to grow old.

To hear more about the entire album, including its controversial dance remixes, tune into the All Songs Considered podcast with Audacy above.