Born in the U.S.A. (song)
| "Born in the U.S.A." | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Bruce Springsteen | |||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Born in the U.S.A. | |||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Shut Out the Light" | ||||||||||||||||||
| Released | October 30, 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7" single, 12" single, 3" CD single, Cassette | ||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | April 1, 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Studio | Power Station in New York City | ||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Heartland rock | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:38 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Bruce Springsteen | ||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bruce Springsteen singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 12 tracks |
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"Born in the U.S.A." is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and released on the album of the same name. One of Springsteen's best-known singles, Rolling Stone ranked the song 275th on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and in 2001, the RIAA's Songs of the Century placed the song 59th (out of 365). The song addresses the harmful effects of the Vietnam War on Americans and the treatment of Vietnam veterans upon their return home. It is an ironic retort to the indifference and hostility with which Vietnam veterans were met.
The song was written in 1981 as the title song for a film that Paul Schrader was contemplating making and that Springsteen was considering starring in (Light of Day starring Michael J. Fox). Springsteen thanks Schrader in the liner notes of the album "Born in the U.S.A.".
Casual home demos were made later that year, following the completion of The River Tour. A more formal solo acoustic guitar demo was made on January 3, 1982 at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, New Jersey during the long session that constituted most of the Nebraska album released later that year. Acoustic versions of several other songs that eventually appeared on the Born in the U.S.A. album were also on this demo, including "Working on the Highway" and "Downbound Train". However, Springsteen manager/producer Jon Landau and others felt that the song did not have the right melody or music to match the lyrics, and also did not fit in well with the rest of the nascent Nebraska material. As a result, the song was shelved. (This version surfaced in the late 1990s on the Tracks and 18 Tracks outtake collections.)
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