Born in the U.S.A. – English Lyrics

• By: Bruce Springsteen

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

(crowd cheering)

(upbeat lively music)

♪ 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 to cover it up now ♪

♪ Born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ I was born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ I was born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ Born in the U.S.A., now ♪

♪ 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 ♪

♪ Born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ I was born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ I was born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ I was born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ Come back home to the refinery ♪

♪ Hiring man says, Son, if it was up to me ♪

♪ Went down to see my V.A. man ♪

♪ He said, Son, don't you understand now ♪

(upbeat lively music continues)

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

♪ Oh, come on ♪

♪ Come on, now ♪

♪ I had a brother at Khe Sahn ♪

♪ Fighting off them Viet Cong ♪

♪ They're still there, he's all gone ♪

(upbeat lively music continues)

♪ He had a woman he loved in Saigon ♪

♪ I got a picture of him in her arms now ♪

♪ Down in the shadow of the penitentiary ♪

♪ Out by the gas fires of the refinery ♪

♪ I'm 10 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., now ♪

♪ Born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ I'm a long gone daddy in the U.S.A., now ♪

♪ Born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ Born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ Born in the U.S.A. ♪

♪ I'm a cool, rockin' daddy in the U.S.A., now ♪

(upbeat lively music continues)

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

♪ Come on, now ♪

♪ Oh no, no ♪

♪ No, no, no, no ♪

♪ Whoa ♪

♪ Whoa, no, no, no ♪

♪ Whoo ♪

(Bruce vocalizing)

(upbeat lively music continues)

♪ Yeah, I was ♪

(crowd cheering and clapping)

(upbeat lively music continues)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
born /bɔːrn/ B1	verb - to be brought into existence adjective - having been brought into existence (e.g., born in the U.S.A.)
dead /dɛd/ A2	adjective - no longer alive
town /taʊn/ A1	noun - a small urban area
ground /ɡraʊnd/ A2	noun - the solid surface of the earth verb - to place something on the ground
dog /dɒɡ/ A1	noun - a domesticated canine animal
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the existence of living beings
foreign /ˈfɒrən/ B1	adjective - coming from another country
land /lænd/ A2	noun - the solid part of the earth; a country or region verb - to come ashore; to arrive on land
kill /kɪl/ B2	verb - to cause the death of a living thing
rifle /ˈraɪfəl/ B2	noun - a long-barreled firearm designed for precise shooting
refinery /rɪˈfaɪnəri/ C1	noun - an industrial plant where crude oil is processed into usable products
Viet /viːˈɛt/ C2	noun - a person from Vietnam; short for Vietnamese
Cong /kɒŋ/ C2	noun - member of the Viet Cong, a communist guerrilla force in Vietnam
Saigon /saɪˈɡɒn/ C2	noun - the former name of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
penitentiary /ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃəri/ C2	noun - a prison for people convicted of serious crimes
shadow /ˈʃædoʊ/ B2	noun - dark shape produced when an object blocks light verb - to cast a shadow over something
gas /ɡæs/ A2	noun - a substance in a gaseous state; often used as fuel
run /rʌn/ A1	verb - to move quickly on foot noun - a short trip or a period of activity
brother /ˈbrʌðər/ A1	noun - a male sibling
woman /ˈwʊmən/ A1	noun - an adult female human