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So many people casting rich men north of Richmond as right wing. I’m a punk rocker at heart and the first thing I thought when I heard it was wow, that’s pretty punk rock. And his statements since have borne that out. But you don’t have to look very far to find lyrics in songs many would consider left-wing in ethos that are totally analogous to parts or all of rich men north of Richmond.

But that being said, it reminds me most of springsteen. And people forget how misunderstood “born in the USA” repeatedly is. The recurring line is not patriotism, it’s deeply felt angst of being treated unjustly and of having your life taken from you in a number of different ways, a lot of which is perpetrated by rich men, either north of Richmond or elsewhere.

The protagonist is “born down in a dead man’s town” where the first kick he took is when he “hits the ground.” He describes ending up like “a dog that’s been beat too much” and spending half his life just to cover that feeling up. Sound familiar?

He gets sent to Vietnam to get out of sole trouble. He’s told to kill for his country. He comes home to look for a job and is told nothing is available. He notes he had a brother over there with him who’s long gone, despite the enemy he was there to fight still remaining. The futility of the war.

The song ends with one of Bruce’s most powerful closers:

“Down in the shadow of the penitentiary

Out by the gas fires of the refinery

10 years burning down the road

Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go…

Born in the USA.”

I also thought of Bruce’s “the River,” which also works a similar vein of disenchantment, resignation, and angst, particularly with the state of the inflationary economy of 1980:

“I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company

But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy

Now all them things that seemed so important, well mister they vanished right into the air

Now I just act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care..”

It’s interesting to me how much things have changed that the left can now reflexively refer to rich men north of Richmond as right wing. But it’s also interesting how incorrect it is for GOP candidates to cosplay as springsteenian protagonists, too.