Five Things You Didn’t Know About Born in the U.S.A.

Forty years ago this month, Bruce Springsteen (with The E Street Band) dropped an album that would not only be Springsteen’s best-seller, but also one of the best-selling albums of all time. That LP is, of course, Born in the U.S.A., The Boss’s seventh album and home to seven Top Ten singles. Here’s a look at a few things you probably didn’t know about the record.

“Dancing in the Dark” (Uploaded to YouTube by Bruce Springsteen)

1. “Dancing in the Dark” was written out of spite.

The tune that would be the album’s first single was the last one written. Near the end of recording, Springsteen’s co-producer and manager Jon Landau thought that Springsteen should write another song for the album’s initial release. Springsteen, having written 70 songs in the lead up to the record, was unamused. Admittedly irritated by the suggestion, he wrote “Dancing in the Dark” overnight. Several of the lyrics reference his frustration at trying to grind out the song (such as “You can’t start a fire without a spark,” “Man, I’m just tired and bored with myself,” and “I’m sick of sittin’ ’round here tryin’ to write this book”). Of course, the song turned out great and was chosen as the launch single, eventually hitting #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1984 and staying there for four weeks.

“Born in the U.S.A. “ (Uploaded to YouTube by Bruce Springsteen)

2. “Born in the U.S.A.” is not about patriotism.

On the list of most misunderstood songs of all time, “Born in the U.S.A.” is a Hall of Famer. The song is written from the perspective of a Vietnam veteran who is filled with negative feelings after coming home. It was never meant as any kind of flag-waving accompaniment to fireworks displays, but rather a bitter critique, noting how many veterans struggled to find jobs or a place to belong after coming home. Over the years, Springsteen has repeatedly refused to allow politicians to use the song at rallies and has taken legal action against those who have done it anyway. The song has a spiritual cousin in Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” which itself was a bitter critique, but of the George H.W. Bush administration.

3.  Springsteen wrote “Cover Me” for someone else.

It’s not unusual for Springsteen’s songs to end up in other hands, such as how “Because the Night” became just as identified with Patti Smith as it is with him. However, he’s also wound up recording songs that he intended for other artists (as is the case with “Hungry Heart,” which he offered to The Ramones). “Cover Me” was originally intended for Donna Summer. Landau stepped in, not wanting this particular song to get away, so Springsteen wrote another song, “Protection,” for Summer. Landau had good instincts, as “Cover Me” was the album’s second single and reached #7 on the Hot 100.

“Glory Days” (Uploaded to YouTube by Bruce Springsteen)

4. Three of the music videos were directed by a future Oscar nominee.

Springsteen shot five music videos for the album, three of which (“I’m on Fire,” “Glory Days,” and the title track) were directed by John Sayles. The filmmaker has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay twice (Passion Fish and Lone Star) and for the National Book Award for his novel, Union Dues. Sayles wasn’t the only major talent recruited for the director’s chair; Brian De Palma (Carrie; Mission: Impossible) directed the “Dancing in the Dark” video.

5. That is indeed The Boss’s backside.

The album’s iconic cover shows Springsteen in front of an American flag, his back to the camera, with a red hat in his back pocket. Annie Leibovitz, the famous Rolling Stone photographer, took the shot. Bizarrely, some critics at the time tried to suggest that Springsteen’s pose hinted that he was urinating on the flag. He denied this in a Rolling Stone interview in December of 1984, stating that there was no hidden message in the picture.