In 1981, Bruce Springsteen sat with his feet up on a coffee table at his home in Colts Neck, New Jersey, pondering a song inspired in part by a script sent to him by the writer Paul Schrader. Strumming his guitar, The Boss scanned his notebook for scribbled lines of a lyric-in-progress about the plight of veterans returned from the war in Vietnam. For the chorus, he used the working title of the screenplay by his side. It was called Born In The USA.
Bruce Springsteen onstage during the 17th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Benefit on November 06, 2023 in New York City. Getty Images for Bob Woodruff Foundation
