Politics & Entertainment Week

Bruce Springsteen released his 6th album "Born in the USA," in 1984 in what, at face value, appeared to be the most patriotic rock 'n' roll album of all time.

Standing before an American flag in his faded blue jeans, white t-shirt with a red baseball cap tucked in the back pocket, "The Boss" quipped Born in the USA. Remember, this was 1984, fabled by George Orwell as the great police state of the future, and here was a down-home, blue-collar (and a bit pumped up on steroids, comparatively speaking to his former self) kind of guy leading flag-waving concert audiences in a hysteria about American pride.

Or was it?

It was enough to inspire Ronald Reagan into praising the song in his 1984 bid for re-election. Despite a presidential aide not being able to identify Reagan's favorite Springsteen song, another aide claimed that Reagan listened to Springsteen's records all the time.

Fact is, Born in the USA tells the story of a disillusioned Vietnam veteran and the hardships faced after returning from the war.

Bruce did what he could to set the record straight by meeting with labor, environmental, and civil rights activists and mentioning them from the stage, but the crowds, with their American flags waving, kept coming.

This is all well and good, but I'm left to wonder why the last line of the song goes, "I'm a cool rocking daddy in the U.S.A."