Born in the U.S.A.
Critical meets commercial success. Springsteen’s seventh studio album placed him firmly on the pop charts with seven Top Ten singles and turned him into a global superstar. The title track is self-described as one of his best songs. Reasonably regarded as the turning-point album in Bruce’s career.
| Released: | June 4, 1984 |
|---|---|
| Label: | Columbia Records |
| Produced By: | Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt |
Buy Album ↓
iTunes
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Buy Indie| 1 | Born in the U.S.A. | Buy |
|
Lyrics
Born down in a dead man's town The first kick I took was when I hit the ground You 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. I was born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says "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. Also Appears On Live 1975–85 Greatest Hits (1995) Tracks 18 Tracks Live in New York City Live in New York City (DVD) The Essential Bruce Springsteen Live in Barcelona Greatest Hits (2009) MusiCares Person Of The Year: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen Chapter and Verse |
||
| 2 | Cover Me | Buy |
|
Lyrics
The times are tough now, just getting tougher This old world is rough, it's just getting rougher Cover me, come on baby, cover me Well I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Promise me baby you won't let them find us Hold me in your arms, let's let our love blind us Cover me, shut the door and cover me Well I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Outside's the rain, the driving snow I can hear the wild wind blowing Turn out the light, bolt the door I ain't going out there no more This whole world is out there just trying to score I've seen enough I don't want to see any more, Cover me, come on and cover me I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me Also Appears On Live 1975–85 |
||
| 3 | Darlington County | Buy |
|
Lyrics
Driving in to Darlington County Me and Wayne on the Fourth of July Driving in to Darlington County Looking for some work on the county line We drove down from New York City Where the girls are pretty but they just want to know your name Driving in to Darlington City Got a union connection with an uncle of Wayne's We drove eight hundred miles without seeing a cop We got rock and roll music blasting off the T-top singing Sha la la la la la la la la, Sha la la la la la la Hey little girl standing on the corner Today's your lucky day for sure all right Me and my buddy we're from New York City We got two hundred dollars we want to rock all night Girl you're looking at two big spenders Why the world don't know what me and Wayne might do Our pa's each own one of the World Trade Centers For a kiss and a smile I'll give mine all to you Come on baby take a seat on my fender It's a long night and tell me what else were you gonna do Just me and you we could Sha la la... Little girl sitting in the window Ain't seen my buddy in seven days County man tells me the same thing He don't work and he don't get paid Little girl you're so young and pretty Walk with me and you can have your way And we'll leave this Darlington City For a ride down that Dixie Highway 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 Sha la la... Also Appears On Live 1975–85 |
||
| 4 | Working on the Highway | Buy |
|
Lyrics
Friday night's pay night guys fresh out of work Talking about the weekend scrubbing off the dirt Some heading home to their families some looking to get hurt Some going down to Stovell wearing trouble on their shirts I work for the county out on 95 All day I hold a red flag and watch the traffic pass me by In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little miss Someday mister I'm gonna lead a better life than this Working on the highway laying down the blacktop Working on the highway all day long I don't stop Working on the highway blasting through the bedrock Working on the highway, working on the highway I met her at a dance down at the union hall She was standing with her brothers back up against the wall Sometimes we'd go walking down the union tracks One day I looked straight at her and she looked straight back Working on the highway... I saved up my money and I put it all away I went to see her daddy but we didn't have much to say "Son can't you see that she's just a little girl She don't know nothing about this cruel cruel world" We lit out down to Florida we got along all right One day her brothers came and got her and they took me in a black and white The prosecutor kept the promise that he made on that day And the judge got mad and he put me straight away I wake up every morning to the work bell clang Me and the warden go swinging on the Charlotte County road gang Working on the highway... Also Appears On Live 1975–85 |
||
| 5 | Downbound Train | Buy |
|
Lyrics
I had a job, I had a girl I had something going mister in this world I got laid off down at the lumber yard Our love went bad, times got hard Now I work down at the carwash Where all it ever does is rain Don't you feel like you're a rider on a downbound train She just said "Joe I gotta go We had it once we ain't got it any more" She packed her bags left me behind She bought a ticket on the Central Line Nights as I sleep, I hear that whistle whining I feel her kiss in the misty rain And I feel like I'm a rider on a downbound train Last night I heard your voice You were crying, crying, you were so alone You said your love had never died You were waiting for me at home Put on my jacket, I ran through the woods I ran till I thought my chest would explode There in the clearing, beyond the highway In the moonlight, our wedding house shone I rushed through the yard, I burst through the front door My head pounding hard, up the stairs I climbed The room was dark, our bed was empty Then I heard that long whistle whine And I dropped to my knees, hung my head and cried Now I swing a sledge hammer on a railroad gang Knocking down them cross ties, working in the rain Now don't it feel like you're a rider on a downbound train |
||
| 6 | I'm On Fire | Buy |
|
Lyrics
Hey little girl is your daddy home Did he go away and leave you all alone I got a bad desire I'm on fire Tell me now baby is he good to you Can he do to you the things that I do I can take you higher I'm on fire Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley through the middle of my soul At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet and a freight train running through the middle of my head Only you can cool my desire I'm on fire Also Appears On Live 1975–85 MusiCares Person Of The Year: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen |
||
| 7 | No Surrender | Buy |
|
Lyrics
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 Tonight I hear the neighborhood drummer sound I can feel my heart begin to pound You say you're tired and you just want to close your eyes and follow your dreams down We made a promise we swore we'd always remember No retreat no surrender Like soldiers in the winter's night with a vow to defend No retreat no surrender Now young faces grow sad and old and hearts of fire grow cold We swore blood brothers against the wind I'm ready to grow young again And hear your sister's voice calling us home across the open yards Well maybe we could cut someplace of our own With these drums and these guitars Blood brothers in the stormy night with a vow to defend No retreat no surrender Now on the street tonight the lights grow dim The walls of my room are closing in There's a war outside still raging you say it ain't ours anymore to win I want to sleep beneath peaceful skies in my lover's bed with a wide open country in my eyes and these romantic dreams in my head Also Appears On Live 1975–85 London Calling: Live in Hyde Park |
||
| 8 | Bobby Jean | Buy |
|
Lyrics
Well I came by your house the other day, your mother said you went away She said there was nothing that I could have done There was nothing nobody could say Me and you we've known each other ever since we were sixteen I wished I would have known I wished I could have called you Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean Now you hung with me when all the others turned away turned up their nose We liked the same music we liked the same bands we liked the same clothes We told each other that we were the wildest, the wildest things we'd ever seen Now I wished you would have told me I wished I could have talked to you Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean Now we went walking in the rain talking about the pain from the world we hid Now there ain't nobody nowhere nohow gonna ever understand me the way you did Maybe you'll be out there on that road somewhere In some bus or train traveling along In some motel room there'll be a radio playing And you'll hear me sing this song Well if you do you'll know I'm thinking of you and all the miles in between And I'm just calling one last time not to change your mind But just to say I miss you baby, good luck goodbye, Bobby Jean Also Appears On Live 1975–85 London Calling: Live in Hyde Park |
||
| 9 | I'm Goin' Down | Buy |
|
Lyrics
We sit in the car outside your house I can feel the heat coming 'round I go to put my arm around you and you give me a look like I'm way out of bounds well you let out one of your bored sighs Well lately when I look into your eyes I'm goin down We get dressed up and we go out, baby, for the night We come home early burning, burning in some fire fight I'm sick and tired of you setting me up Setting me up just to knock-a knock-a knock-a me down I pull you close but when we kiss I can feel a doubt I remember back when we started My kisses used to turn you inside out I used to drive you to work in the morning Friday night I'd drive you all around You used to love to drive me wild But lately girl you get your kicks from just driving me down |
||
| 10 | Glory Days | Buy |
|
Lyrics
I had a friend was a big baseball player back in high school He could throw that speedball by you Make you look like a fool boy Saw him the other night at this roadside bar I was walking in, he was walking out We went back inside sat down had a few drinks but all he kept talking about was Chorus: Glory days well they'll pass you by Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye Glory days, glory days Well there's a girl that lives up the block back in school she could turn all the boy's heads Sometimes on a Friday I'll stop by and have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed Her and her husband Bobby well they split up I guess it's two years gone by now We just sit around talking about the old times, she says when she feels like crying she starts laughing thinking about Chorus Now I think I'm going down to the well tonight and I'm going to drink till I get my fill And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it but I probably will Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture a little of the glory of, well time slips away and leaves you with nothing mister but boring stories of glory days Chorus (repeat twice) Also Appears On In Concert - MTV Plugged Film Greatest Hits (1995) The Essential Bruce Springsteen London Calling: Live in Hyde Park Greatest Hits (2009) MusiCares Person Of The Year: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen |
||
| 11 | Dancing in the Dark | Buy |
|
Lyrics
I get up in the evening and I ain't got nothing to say I come home in the morning I go to bed feeling the same way I ain't nothing but tired Man I'm just tired and bored with myself Hey there baby, I could use just a little help You can't start a fire You can't start a fire without a spark This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark Message keeps getting clearer radio's on and I'm moving 'round the place I check my look in the mirror I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face Man I ain't getting nowhere I'm just living in a dump like this There's something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is You can't start a fire you can't start a fire without a spark This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark You sit around getting older there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me I'll shake this world off my shoulders come on baby this laugh's on me Stay on the streets of this town and they'll be carving you up alright They say you gotta stay hungry hey baby I'm just about starving tonight I'm dying for some action I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book I need a love reaction come on now baby gimme just one look You can't start a fire sitting 'round crying over a broken heart This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark Even if we're just dancing in the dark Even if we're just dancing in the dark Even if we're just dancing in the dark Hey baby Also Appears On Greatest Hits (1995) The Essential Bruce Springsteen London Calling: Live in Hyde Park Live in Barcelona Greatest Hits (2009) MusiCares Person Of The Year: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen |
||
| 12 | My Hometown | Buy |
|
Lyrics
I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown This is your hometown This is your hometown This is your hometown In '65 tension was running high at my high school There was a lot of fights between the black and white There was nothing you could do Two cars at a light on a Saturday night in the back seat there was a gun Words were passed in a shotgun blast Troubled times had come to my hometown My hometown My hometown My hometown Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown Your hometown Your hometown Your hometown Last night me and Kate we laid in bed talking about getting out Packing up our bags maybe heading south I'm thirty-five we got a boy of our own now Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around This is your hometown Also Appears On Live 1975–85 Greatest Hits (1995) Live in New York City (DVD) MusiCares Person Of The Year: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen |
||