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
[Chorus]
Born in the USA
Born in the USA
Born in the USA
Born in the USA
I got in a little hometown jam
And so they put a rifle in my hands
"Son, you ever heard of Vietnam?
Well, go and k** the yellow man"
[Chorus]
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says “Son if it was up to me”
I go down to see the V.A. man
He says “Son don't you understand”
[Chorus]
I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone
He had a little girl in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go
I'm a long gone daddy in the USA
Born in the USA
I'm a cool rocking daddy in the USA
Born in the USA