One of my absolute favorite times of the year is the Fourth of July. There’s something about celebrating this country, barbecues, and parades that brings a smile to my face. Some of us enjoy it for the social aspect and for celebrating the freedoms we have. Others celebrate and remember all of the men and women who fought, or continue to fight, for those freedoms. It truly is one of my favorite days.
One of my routines as we get closer to Independence Day is falling back on the many different patriotic songs that resurface that time of year. A couple of my favorites include Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue, Living in America, and many more. One of my all-time favorites is Bruce Springsteen’s powerful anthem, Born in the U.S.A. Growing up, this song was played constantly in July. The radio played it, TV commercials used it in the background—it was everywhere.
Even to this day, I associate this song with Independence Day. What could be more American and patriotic than this song? While in high school, we had the chance to pick one of our favorite songs and break it down. The goal was to really figure out why we enjoyed it. Was it the lyrics? Was it the feeling we had when the chorus hit? Or did we simply like it because everyone else liked it?
I thought I knew exactly why I enjoyed this song. It was because I loved America, and I loved the Fourth of July. I thought I had this assignment nailed down—that is, until I decided to look up the lyrics. Man, was I wrong. I couldn’t believe I had spent my life thinking this song was purely patriotic when it actually critiqued how America treated working-class Vietnam veterans. It highlights the struggles these veterans faced after the war, focusing on economic hardships and unemployment challenges.
After wrestling with that realization, I was left questioning myself about why I loved this song so much. Why did I like it? What drew me to it? Sellnow discusses the importance of being a critic and identifying the virtual experience (lyrics) and virtual time (music) of each song. After breaking down Born in the U.S.A., I quickly categorized it as an incongruent interaction, meaning that “the emotional meanings of the music and lyrics contradict one another, which tends to alter the meaning that would have been conveyed via either lyrics or music alone”(Sellnow, 176). The upbeat and catchy feel of the song disguises the true meaning behind the lyrics. All this time, what I thought was a feel-good, patriotic song fit for a fireworks display playlist turned out to be something completely different.
Why did Bruce Springsteen write the song in this way? Was it in hopes of being heard? Is it possible to argue that messages in songs with incongruent interaction become isolated simply because they are overlooked? Was Bruce writing this song in a satirical way, or was he afraid of the potential backlash he would receive?
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