Springsteen rocks in the U.S.A

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cawat 12 SOCIALIST ACTION • Critics everywhere are praising Bruce Springsteen's new album Born in the U.S.A. Don't be fooled by the title. This album is anything but a patriotic rock statement. Springsteen's songs spell out the hardships and evils of life in this country. Springsteen does not try to make overt political statements, but with his talent to create a mood and an image, his music casts a critical eye at the "American dream"" With simple, streamlined lyrics, and Springsteen's intense vocals and driving rock beat, each song draws the listener into the dramas of ordinary people with their frustrations, disappointments, hopes, and dreams.

The title song Born in the U.S.A. offers a sampling of what Bruce Springsteen is all about.

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 ILY 1984 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 Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says "son If it was Went down to see my V.A. man He said "son don't you underst now"

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 no!

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.

I'm a long gone daddy in Born in the U.S.A....

I'm a cool rocking daddy In Cover Me, Springsteen turns a song about finding a lover into a social statement. "The times are tough now,, Springsteen sings, "this whole world is out there just trying to score." He's seen enough and just wants a lover who will "come on in and cover me."

One of my favorite songs, Glory Days, tells the story of some friends whose zenith in life was their high school days. But now they are in the working world, just getting by, and when they get together the talk always leads back to boring stories of the glory days of their youth.

Even though many of the songs seem despairing, the upbeat music gives us the unspoken feeling that somehow, in spite of the blows and crushed dreams of the people Springsteen sings about, they all carry on. His characters have dignity despite their suffering. This is what enables the listener to identify with them.

What makes Bruce Springsteen's music so exciting is that his songs are about real life. His music displays a social consciousness and sensitivity to the everyday concerns of working people that is quite a rarity on today's rock scene. What is more, I might add, there is not a line in this album that is derogatory toward women. And that is no small accomplishment in today's rock music. This is rock music at its best.

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