Bruce, Not War

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S number one song "Born in the USA" was widely misinterpreted by people who never listened past the chorus. They mistakenly believed that it was a blindly patriotic anthem, the Star Spangled Banner of rock.

Taking Note

Consequently, last Fourth of July, NBC featured a clip of Springsteen singing the chorus. Up With People sang it at the Superbowl halftime. Hulk Hogan played the song every time he entered the ring. And Chevrolet offered Springsteen $12 million to use the song for a commercial campaign.

Even worse, t-shirts and bumper stickers soon read "Springsteen: the Rambo of Rock." People compared Springsteen to Stallone, the Boss to Shambo. A look at the two superstars' beliefs about war--and specifically about Vietnam--reveals some of the stupidity of this assertion.

Stallone's Rambo movies--Rambo III is on the way--bring the "fun" back to war. Count the number of bodies Sly wracks up. In his movies and public statements, Stallone even suggests that the decision to enter Vietnam was correct but that the soldiers needed more firepower. While the second part might make a little bit of sense, the first bit is crazy.

The actual lyrics of "Born in the USA" make clear that Springsteen has a much saner view. He knows that the cause of the war was morally suspect. "They sent me off to some foreign land / To go and kill the yellow man." Springsteen, whose first drummer died in Vietnam, recognizes the senseless tragedy of the war. "I had a brother at Khe Sahn / Fighting off the Viet Cong / They're still there / He's all gone."

VIETNAM VETS have supported Springsteen and repudiated Stallone. A disabled vet told Rolling Stone, "Springsteen cares about what we've done. He doesn't shun us....'Born in the USA' really hit home." On the other hand, when Stallone visited Harvard last year, Vietnam vets protested. One vet complained that "Rambo represents an ugly mood in this country."

With the release of his new single "War," Springsteen tries again to get his message across. In a brief introduction, Bruce dedicates the song to teenagers and talks about the lack of information that he and his friends had about Vietnam. He warns them that "in 1985 blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed." The song describes war--"friend only to the undertaker"--as something less than "fun."

The disagreement between Springsteen and Stallone does not concern sophisticated historical arguments over the lessons of Vietnam. Instead, each has tried to influence what the mass of Americans think. With the release of his first live album, Springsteen has made sure that we hear the truth.