The 1980’s, while looked upon some 20 years later through nostalgic eyes, were a tough time for many Americans. The very economic structure of the U.S. went belly up as most of the mills and factories where hard working, blue collar Americans made their livings for decades shut down. Many, especially on the right, love to look back at Ronald Reagan as the “great communicator.” One of the supposedly greatest Presidents of all time, he stared down the Soviet Union and brought the country together after the deep breaks that occurred in the 60’s and 70’s due to Vietnam and Watergate. What they fail to look at is the deeper, more catistrophic fracture that occured during the Reagan administration in terms of class. According to Paul Lansing and Sascha Knoedgen in their article The Causes and Consequences of the Global Inflation of CEO Salaries, before 1980, the average CEO made 40 times the average worker.  Due to various favorable economic policies, the CEO’s salary spiraled out of control in the 80’s to today where the ratio is 450 to 1.

Aside from the great economic disparities that started in the 1980’s, this was also a time in which those on the right began to co-opt patriotic images and themes as their own. They claimed the American flag and Jesus as their own personal symbols. No longer was it possible for the left and right to come together under one flag as one nation, now that jingoism had replaced a quiet, dignified patriotism. This is what Born in the U.S.A. is about. Listening to it today, it is not only a time piece in subject matter, but in sound itself.

The general confusion for some, especially concerning the title track, still exists. “Born in the U.S.A.” has a gigantic, almost triumphant sound in the chorus. Springsteen has always been noted for his ability to write about desperate, dire subjects while placing them over an almost exhuberant sound. You need to look no further than this track to find a prime example. The chorus rings out with a triumphant, rebellous growl. “I was BORN IN THE U.S.A.” he shouts over the jingling synth line and steady snare drum crack, sounding swift and hard like a 21 gun salute. The song was and still is confused by those as being a patriotic hymnal. Somewhere in America, 24 years later, you can turn on a radio and hear this song played during a 4th of July fireworks display. Hell, even Ronald Reagan tried to make this his own, using it in his 1984 re-election campaign until Springsteen told him publicly to cease and decist. At its core, this song is about the disillusionment of Vietnam Veterans who came back from the war without their friends, lost their jobs, and were and are left behind by the government they risked their lives for. In the wake of the Walter Reed scandal last year, this song is eerily relevant in its subject matter and its anger.

The rest of the album is mostly typical Springsteen stuff. The desperation of every day Americans to get by, the loneliness, and harshness of a life spent squeaking by. “Glory Days,” one of Springsteen’s most famous songs, is another song that is catchy as all hell, but is pretty bleak. Same goes for “Dancing in the Dark.” These are the songs that made this record an absolute smash for Springsteen, sending him off into superstardom the likes of which he hadn’t seen before.

In its construction, the album employs the “bookend” method. While most of the tracks on this album are winners, the first and last songs are the real message pieces. Springsteen likes to do this. Think “Thunder Road” and “Jungleland,” off of Born to Run. “My Hometown,” is a companion piece to “Born in the U.S.A.” and it sums up the 80’s to that point better than any other song to come out of the decade before or after. This is the story of a man talking about the memories of his hometown, and how its been destroyed and relaying to his own offspring the same lessons he learned from his own father, driving through the streets. It’s about home, losing your home, how people all through the 80’s had to leave the places they were born to make ends meet.

“Now Main Street’s white washed windows and vacant stores, seems like there ain’t nobody wants to come down here no more. They’re closing up the textile mill across the railroad tracks. Foreman said those jobs are going, boys, and they ain’t comin’ back to your hometown.”

And then, to close off the record, Springsteen sings this last verse:

“Last night me and Kate laid in bed and talked about getting out. Packing up our bags and maybe heading south. I’m thirty-five we got a boy of our own now. Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around. This is your hometown.”

The genius author George Saunders said to me once that he felt that Springsteen lost his way when he introduced synthesizers to his music. I couldn’t disagree. The only thing that keeps this album from being an absolute classic is the overall sound. Now that the 80’s have been long gone, synth riffs sound offensive to the discerning rock n’ roll enthusiast. However, I remember that I replied that it was the 80’s and he could hardly be blamed. It is true that the sound of this record does not hold up, but its themes do. Even still, it works as a time piece, functioning in both the sound and feel of the 80’s.

Some would say that this album that sold bazillions of copies was the greatest record of the 80’s, and I would have to agree.