Born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

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 covering 
	up

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam so they put a 
	rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land yo go and kill 
	the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man said "son if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said "son don't you understand now"

Had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the 
	Viet Cong
They're still there he's all gone
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 ten 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.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.


Cover Me

The times are tough now
Just getting tougher
This old world is rough
It's just getting rougher
Cover me 
Come on baby cover me
Well I'm looking for a lover who will come 
	on in and cover me

Promise me baby you won't let them find 
	us
Hold me in your arms
Let's let our love blind us
Cover me
Shut the door and cover me
Well I'm looking for a lover who will come 
	on in and cover me

Outside's the rain, the driving snow
I can hear the wild wind blowing
Turn out the light
Bolt the door
I ain't going out there no more
This whole world is out there just trying to 
	score
I've seen enough I don't want to see any 
	more
Cover me
Come on and cover me
I'm looking for a lover who will come on in 
	and cover me
Looking for a lover who will come on in 
	and cover me


Darlington County

Driving in to Darlington County
Me and Wayne on the Fourth of July
Driving in to Darlington County
Lookin' for some work on the county line
We drove down from New York City 
	where the girls are pretty but they just 
	want to know your name

Driving into Darlington City
Got a union connection with an uncle of 
	Wayne's
We drove eight-hundred miles without 
	seeing a cop
We got rock'n'roll music blasting off the 
	t-top singing
          
CHORUS
Sha-la la
Sha la la la 
Sha-la la la la la la
REPEAT CHORUS
          
Hey little girl standing on the corner
Today's your lucky day for shure all right
Me and my buddy we're from New York 
	City
We got $200, we want to rock all night
Girl, you're looking at two big spenders
Why the world don't know what me and 
	Wayne might do
Our pa's each own one of the World 
	Trade Centers
For a kiss and a smile I'll give mine all to 
	you
Come on baby take a seat on my fender
It's a long night tell me what else 
	were you gonna do
Just me and you, we could sha la la

Little girl sitting in the window
Ain't seen my buddy in seven days
County man tells me the same thing
He don't work and he don't get paid
Little girl you're so young and pretty
Walk with me and you can have your way
And we'll leave this Darlington City for a 
	ride down that Dixie Highway

Driving out of Darlington County
My eyes seen the glory of the coming of 
	the Lord
Driving out of Darlington County seen 
	Wayne handcuffed to the bumper of a 
	state trooper's Ford

REPEAT CHORUS 3 TIMES


Working on the Highway

Friday night's pay night guys fresh out of 
	work
Talking about the weekend, scrubbing off 
	the dirt
Some heading home to their families, 
	some looking to get hurt
Some going down to Stovell wearing 
	trouble on their shirts

I work for the county out on 95
All day I hold a red flag and watch the 
	traffic pass me by
In my head I keep a picture of a pretty little 
	miss
Someday mister I'm gonna lead a better 
	life than this

Working on the highway laying down the 
	blacktop
Working on the highway all day long I 
	don't stop
Working on the highway blasting through 
	the bedrock
Working on the highway
Working on the highway

I met her at a dance down at the union 
	hall
She was standing with her brothers, back 
	up against the wall
Sometimes we'd go walking down the 
	union tracks
One day I looked straight at her and she 
	looked straight back

So I'm working on the highway laying 
	down the blacktop
Working on the highway all day long I 
	don't stop
Working on the highway blasting through 
	the bedrock
Working on the highway
Working on the highway

I saved up my money and I put it all away
I went to see her daddy but we didn't have 
	much to say
"Son, can't you see that she's just a little 
	girl she don't know nothing about this 
	cruel, cruel world"

We lit out down to Florida we got along 
	all right
One day her brother came and got her 
	and they took me in a black and white
The prosecutor kept the promise that he 
	made on that day
And the judge got mad and he put me 
	straight away
I wake up every morning to the work bell 
	clang
Me and the warden go swinging on the 
	Charlotte County road gang

I'm working on the highway laying down 
	the blacktop
Working on the highway all day long I 
	don't stop
Working on the highway blasting through 
	the bedrock
Working on the highway
Working on the highway

Working on the highway laying down the 
	blacktop
Working on the highway all day long I 
	don't stop
Working on the highway blasting through 
	the bedrock
Working on the highway
Working on the highway


Downbound Train

I had a job, I had a girl
I had something going mister in this world
I got laid off down at the lumber yard
Our love went bad, times got hard
Now I work down at the carwash, where 
	all it ever does is rain
Don't you feel like you're a rider on a 
	downbound train

She just said "Joe I gotta go, we had it 
	once we ain't got it any more"
She packed her bags left me behind
She bought a ticket on the Central Line
Nights as I sleep, I hear that whistle 
	whining
I feel her kiss in the misty rain
And I feel like I'm a rider on a 
Downbound train

Last night I heard your voice
You were crying, crying
You were so alone
You said your love had never died
You were waiting for me at home
Put on my jacket, I ran through the woods
I ran till I thought my chest would explode
There in the clearing, beyond the 
	highway, in the moonlight, our wedding 
	house shone
I rushed through the yard
I burst through the front door
My head pounding hard

Up the stairs I climbed, the room was 
	dark, our bed was empty
Then I heard that long whistle whine and I 
	dropped to my knees, hung my head 
	and cried

Now I swing a sledge hammer on a 
	railroad gang knocking down them 
	cross ties; working in the rain
Now don't it feel like you're a rider on a 
	downbound train.


I'm on Fire

Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
I'm on fire
Tell me now baby is he good to you
Can he do to you the things that I do
I can take you higher
I'm on fire
Sometimes it's like someone tooh a knife 
	baby edgy and dull and cut a six-inch 
	valley through the middle of my soul
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking 
	wet and a freight train running through 
	the middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire
I'm on fire


No Surrender

We busted out of class had to get away 
	from those fools
We learned more from a three minute 
	record than we ever learned in school
Tonight I heart the neighborhood 
	drummer sound
I can feel my heart begin to pound you 
	say you're tired and you just want to 
	close your eyes and follow your dreams 
	down

CHORUS
We made a promise we swore we'd 
	always remember
No retreat no surrender
Like soldiers in the winter's night with a 
	vow to defend, no retreat no surrender

Now young faces grow sad and old and 
	hearts of fire grow cold, we swore blood 
	brothers against the wind. I'm ready to 
	grow young again and hear your sister's 
	voice calling us home across the open 
	yards well maybe we could cut 
	someplace of our own with these drums 
	and these guitars

CHORUS
Blood brothers in the stormy night with a 
	vow to defend no retreat no surrender

Now on the street tonight the lights grow 
	dim the walls of my room are closing in
There's a war outside still raging 
You say it ain't ours anymore to win
I want to sleep beneath paecaful skies in 
	my lover's bed with a wide open country 
	in my eyes an these romantic dreams 
	in my head 


Bobby Jean

Well I came by your house the other day
Your mother said you went away
She said there was nothing that I could 
	have done
There was nothing nobody could say
Me and you we've known each other ever 
	since we were sixsteen
I wished I would have known 
I wished I could have called you
Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean
  
Now you hung with me when all the 
	others turned away, turned up their 
	noise
We liked the same music, we liked the 
	same bands, we liked the same clothes
We told each other that we were the 
	wildest
The wildest things we'd ever seen
Now I wished you would have told me 
I wished I could have talked to you
Just to say goodbye Bobby Jean
   
Now we went walking in the rain talking 
	about the pain from the world we hid
Now there ain't nobody, nowherer nohow 
	gonna ever understand me the way you 
	did
Maybe you'll be out there on that road 
	somewhere, in some bus or train 
	traveling along, in some motel room 
	there'll be a radio playing and you'll hear 
	me sing this song
Well, if you do, you'll know I'm thinking of 
	you and all the miles in between and 
I'm just calling one last time 
Not to change your mind, but just to say I 
	miss you baby, good luck, goodbye 
	Bobby Jean
   
   
I'm Goin' Down
   
We sit in the car outside your house
I can feel the heat coming 'round
I go to put my arm around you and you 
Give me a look like I'm way out of bounds,
	you let out one of your bored sighs
Well lately, when I look into your eyes I'm 
	goin down
        
We get dressed up and we go out baby 	
	for the night
We come home early burning, burning,
	burning in some fire fight
I'm sick and tired of you setting me up,
	setting me up just to knock-a, knock-a,
	knock-a me down
        
I pull you close but when we kiss I can feel 
	a doubt
I remember back when we started, my 
	kisses used to turn you inside out
I used to drive you to work in the morning
Friday night I'd drive you all around
You used to love to drive me wild
But lately girl you get your kicks from just 
	driving me down


Glory Days

I had a friend was a big baseball player
	back in highschool
He could throw that speedball by yu
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside 
	bar I was walking in he was walking 
	out
We went back inside sat down, had a few 
	drinks but all we kept talking about was

CHORUS
Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days

There's this girl that lives up the block back 
	in school she could turn all the boys 
	heads
Sometimes on Friday I'll stop by and 
	have a few drinks after she put her kids 
    to bed
Her and her husband Bobby well they 
	split up
I guess it's two years gone by
We just sit around talking about the old 
	times, she says when she feels like
    crying she starts laughing thinking 
	about

CHORUS

Think I'm going down to the well tonight 
	and I'm gonna drink till I get my fill
And I hope when I get old I don't sit 
	around thinking about it but I probably
    will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture 
	a little of the glory of, but time slips away 
	and leaves you with nothing mister but 
	boring stories of glory days
CHORUS


Dancing in the Dark

I get up in the evening
And I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the moring
I go to bed feeling the same way
I ain't nothing but tired
Man, I'm tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby I could use just a little 
	help
        
You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire 
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
        
Message keeps getting clearer
Radio's on and I'm moving round the place
I check my look in the mirror 
I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
Man, I ain't getting nowhere just living in a 
	dump like this
There's something happening 
	somewhere 
Baby I just know that there is
        
You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire 
Even if we're just dancing in the dark
        
You sit around getting older 
There's a joke here somewhere and it's 
	on me
I'll shake this world off my shoulders 
Come baby the laugh's on me
Stay on the streets of this town 
And they'll be carving you up alright
They say you got to stay hungry 
Hey baby I'm just about starving tonight

I'm dying for some action 
I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to 
	write this book
I need a love reaction 
Come on now baby give me just one look
        
You can't start a fire sitting 'round crying
	over a broken heart
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancing in the dark    
You can't start a fire worrying about your
	little world falling apart
This gun's for hire


My Hometown

I was eight years old and running with a 
	dime in my hand
Into the busstop 
To pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and 
	steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a 
	good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown

In `65 tension was running high, at my 
	high-school
There was a lot of fights between the 
	black and white
There was nothing you could do
Two cars at a light on a Saturday night, in 
	the back seat there was a gun
Words were passed, in a shotgun blast
Troubled times had come, to my 
	hometown
My hometown 
My hometown 
My hometown

Now Main Street's whitewashed 
	windows 
And vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody 
Wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill 
	across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys 
	and they ain't coming back to your 
	hometown
Your hometown 
Your hometown
Your hometown

Last night me and Kate we laid in bed 
	talking about getting out
Packing up our bags maybe heading 
	south 
I'm 35, 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
 

NOTES

Roy Bittan: synthesizer, piano, background vocals
Clarence Clemons. saxophone, percussion, background vocals
Danny Federici: organ, glockenspiel, piano on "Born in the U.S.A."
Garry Tallent: bass, background vocals
Steve Van Zandt: acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmony vocals
Bruce Springsteen: lead vocals, guitar
Max Weinberg: drums, background vocals
Recorded by: Toby Scon
Mixed by: Bob Clearmountain
Recorded at the Power Station and The Hit Factory (thanks to Ed and Troy Germano)
Mixed at the Power Station
Assistant Engineers: John Davenport, Jeff Hendrickson, Bruce Lampcov,
Billy Straus, Zoč Yanakas
Mastered by: Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk
Art Direction & Design: Andrea Klein
Photography: Annie Leibovitz
Roadwork: Mike Batian and Doug Sutphin
Homework: Obie
Management: Jon Landau (Barbara Carr, Associate; Denise Sileci, Office Manager)
La Bamba: background vocals on 'Cover Me" and "No Surrender"
Ruth Jackson: background vocals on "My Hometown"
"Cover Me" track recorded by Bili Scheniman
Thanks to Paul Schrader
Thanks always to John Hammond Sr.
Buon viaggio, mio fratello, little Steven
Produced by Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Steve Van Zandt


PRODUCED BY
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, JON LANDAU, CHUCK PLOTKIN, STEVE VAN ZANDT
PERFORMED BY
THE E STREET BAND: ROY BITTAN, CLARENCE CLEMONS, DANNY FEDERICI,
GARRY TALLENT, STEVE VAN ZANDT, MAX WEINBERG
RECORDED BY: TOBY SCOTT/ MIXED BY: BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN
ART DIRECTION & DESIGN: ANDREA KLEIN / PHOTOGRAPHY: ANNIE LEIBOVITZ