Born in the U.S.A – a ranking
When it comes to Springsteen, I’m a confirmed Born to Run guy – it’s my favorite album, from anyone (unless you catch me in a Southeastern kinda mood). But I didn’t know much about The Boss until Born in the U.S.A. hit my 13-year-old ears. That cassette soundtracked many family road trips, sometimes shared with my parents and brother, but more often piped through my knockoff-Walkman headphones. Coming up on the (gulp) 40th anniversary of Springsteen’s most massive-selling record, it feels like a good opportunity to flash back to a time when that U.S.A. was virtually a monoculture, Springsteen dominated rock (and pop) radio for nearly a year and a half on the strength of one album, seven singles (but zero number ones!), and the best band on the planet. Here’s one man’s ranking of the songs on Born in the U.S.A.
12) “I’m Goin’ Down” – By the time this sixth single was released, more than a year after the album had come out, it seemed that most of the commercial juice had been squeezed. A blue balls lament, with some nifty 50s reverb, it was a pleasant enough song, but not one that springs to mind when ticking off the Boss’s best.
11) “Cover Me” – The album’s second single was originally intended for Donna Summer before Springsteen opted to keep it, and that odd mix – guitar solos banging up against synthy dance beats – made it hard for me to grab onto.
10) “Dancing In the Dark” – The first single off Born in the U.S.A. was actually recorded very late in the process, and it became what’s still his highest charting song. It embraced its dancy-ness (remember Courtney Cox?) more so than “Cover Me,” and a tune of dissatisfaction has since taken on a bouncy joy in live shows.
9) “I’m On Fire” – The record’s fourth single is (somewhat) subtle in its horniness and, even though the video’s setting echoes that of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” (an auto repair shop), the song’s sadness contributes to a more realistic conclusion for a working class guy (i.e. not ending up motorcycling off with Christie Brinkley).
8) “Working on the Highway” – This twangy tale of loving an underage girl probably wouldn’t fly in 2024. On the other hand, the narrator does end up working that highway in a DOC jumpsuit, so…
7) “Bobby Jean” – Pure and simple, a love letter to Steve Van Zandt after he left the band, in part to pursue a solo career. Whatever the damage was at the time, it’s good to see, 40 years later, this friendship endures.
6) “No Surrender” – “We learned more from a three-minute record, baby/Than we ever learned from school” was one of my favorite lyrics as a grumpy teen, and it’s still pretty damn good today.
5) “Darlington County” – Borderline silly, but overstuffed with fun (important note – I lived next door in Florence County, SC for three years – Darlington ain’t NEARLY this exciting).
4) “My Hometown” – The seventh and last single off the album, I actually had this lower ranked initially, but going back and revisiting the song reminded me how beautifully it’s written. A lot of the details from Springsteen’s part of New Jersey are real (e.g. the racial strife in the 1960s), but more striking is the passing of the steering wheel from one generation to the next, all written years before Springsteen himself became a father.
3) “Glory Days” – Stevie’s back! And he brought his mandolin! The fifth single off the album is (mostly) pure fun, layered over nostalgia and regret.
2) “Born in the U.S.A.” – Released as a single October 30, 1984, the album’s title track was originally recorded for 1982’s Nebraska as a spare, acoustic haunt. But for the big, fat rock album that was Born in the U.S.A., Bruce and Co. added synths, all the vocal energy The Boss could muster, and Max Weinberg pounding his drum kit through the floor. The sheer volume enhanced the patriotic lure that went right down to Sprinsgteen’s be-jeaned ass against the American flag and fooled more than a few not-too-bright listeners into thinking this tune was an American hagiography. Because of its boldness, in a time where you didn’t sass America – this was the song that made me a Springsteen fan…
1) “Downbound Train” – …and, forty years later, this is the kind of song that keeps me coming back to Bruce. Vivid images of failure, the kind that comes not from making large-writ Life Choices, but from just being not-quite-good-enough, are what populate the best Springsteen songs. We could all be the guy who had the job, the girl, something going in this world…before one bit of bad luck sends life slowly sliding off the rails. Most of us have been on that precipice at some point – more than a few have fallen. For a guy who admits he’s never had a “real” job, Springsteen lived on that edge growing up (and during mental health problems even in his most outwardly successful days). Writing “relatable” songs might be a cliche, but it’s also gut-punch magic when it actually happens.
Find the new vinyl reissue of the album a little later in the month here: https://brucespringsteen.lnk.to/BITUSA40
