Født i USA

Author:
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
End up like a dog that’s been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said “son if it was up to me”
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said “son, don’t you understand”
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the 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
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., I’m a long gone daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A., I’m a cool rocking daddy in the U.S.A.
Sangen er nok en af Bruce Springsteens bedst kendte. Og også en af de mest misforståede. Den bruges ofte officielt som en slags USA-hymne, men den er langt fra den America-first-selvhævdelse, der er en næsten obligatorisk del af det officielle USAs selviscenesættelse. Man hører omkvædet, men glemmer resten af sangen, hvis man da overhovedet har lyttet til den…
Sangen er snarere en af de sange, der er utænkelig uden en underklassehelt som Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger og andre “underdogs”, der fortalte om livet på bunden af Amerika.
Og den side af “Born in the USA” kommer måske allerbedst til udtryk på den nøgne udgave, som Springsteen leverer i sin optræden på Broadway. Her er vi milevidt fra det billede, vi fik på sangens oprindelige singlepladecover med en muskuløs, ung spradebasse med guitar foran stars and stripes. Væk er lyden af stort rockorkester. Der er skåret lige og helt ind til benet.

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