How Bruce Springsteen Fooled the World with 'Born in the U.S.A.'

Bruce Springsteen finally reveals how he fooled an entire nation: "Born in the U.S.A." was never a patriotic anthem—it was a protest song about abandoned Vietnam vets wrapped in the catchiest rock chorus imaginable. When Ronald Reagan tried using it for his 1984 campaign, Bruce fired back on stage in Pittsburgh. The story behind the song? A chance poolside meeting with paralyzed veteran Ron Kovic, a deliberate decision to make the music sound triumphant while the lyrics told a darker truth, and Reagan's team completely missing the point. Decades later, the joke's still going—even the 2023 film "Air" references how everyone got it wrong.