· 47 comments · Save ·
Questions & Help Mar 24, 2026 at 5:17 PM

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ to be used in ACLU birthright-citizenship video

Posted by Money-Philosophy9793

https://www.nj.com/news/2026/03/bruce-springsteens-born-in-the-usa-to-be-used-in-aclu-birthright-citizenship-video.html
🚩 Report this post

47 Comments

Sign in to comment — or just click the box below.
🔒 Your email is never shown publicly.
rmarkmatthews Mar 24, 2026 +124
Technically, Cheech Martin's "Born in East LA" would be the more appropriate pick.
124
Judson_Scott Mar 24, 2026 +16
Can't believe we haven't seen a remake of this in the past year. Missed opportunity.
16
HiRyzaFenix Mar 24, 2026 +62
I feel like they may not have actually listened to the song…..
62
futanari_kaisa Mar 24, 2026 +47
That's not what the song is about though
47
Icy-Whale-2253 Mar 24, 2026 +117
speaking of Bruce… he’s coming to my job in May and I don’t know any songs besides this one and Born to Run, I guess. What should I listen to to prepare? 😰
117
againsterik Mar 24, 2026 +66
Darkness at the Edge of Town is a phenomenal album
66
Bellsar_Ringing Mar 24, 2026 +11
If nothing else, I think it is the most poetic album title.
11
grumpyacorns Mar 24, 2026 +35
I'd start with his greatest hits album for most of his most popular songs. Depending on how you like it, I'd spend more time with the following, in order of my guess of likelihood he plays songs in a typical concert. \- Born to Run (whole album) \- Born in the USA (whole album) \- The River (Hungry Heart, The River, Out in the Street). \- The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (Rosalita, 4th of July Asbury Park, NYC Serenade) \- Darkness on the Edge of Town (Badlands, The Promised Land, Darkness) Nebraska is a great album but is a bit of a downer musically and lyrically, so it usually didn't get much play before the movie. The movie definitely brought it a lot more attention though, and it's definitely worth a listen if you're at all inclined. The vibes for your workplace are probably gonna be different than his usual shows so I'm not sure how that will impact things either.
35
pjmidd Mar 26, 2026 +1
Greetings from Asbury Park
1
Pingj77 Mar 24, 2026 +17
Born to Run and Darkness are the best albums for classic-era Bruce. Nebraska is good but very different from the E street stuff.
17
WaytoomanyUIDs Mar 25, 2026 +3
The River is damn good, YMMV
3
WaltMitty Mar 24, 2026 +30
Some say his seminal work is [Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcV8INh0d7g).
30
RalphMontego Mar 24, 2026 +27
The album Nebraska
27
NoKatyDidnt Mar 24, 2026 +8
Dancing in the Dark is a good one!
8
j_s_p_ Mar 24, 2026 +14
All of the Born to Run album, as well as all of Nebraska.
14
PresidentSuperDog Mar 24, 2026 +5
If you’re not a fan of his typical style try We Shall Overcome, the Pete Seeger sessions. It’s a fantastic Americana album, the arrangements are wonderful and passion on display is invigorating. https://open.spotify.com/album/2O3avtEIE8xX9F0zcIjIZI?si=ipmIH6Z-SVSqM00s2DmPSw
5
elebrin Mar 24, 2026 +6
I'm On Fire is a super chill song, and Human Touch is my Aunt's favorite (she's a big fan of his).
6
argella1300 Mar 24, 2026 +3
If you have Netflix, watch Springsteen on Broadway. It’s a one man show adaptation of one of his memoirs, so it gives a pretty good overview of his life and musical styles until that point
3
curtan Mar 25, 2026 +2
His solo album from the 90's The Ghost of Tom Joad is one of my favorites. The title track is a stone cold classic, but there are no bad songs on it, imo.
2
nanananananan_batman Mar 24, 2026 +2
The Rising
2
nathanaz Mar 25, 2026 +1
[This is a pretty great live show from 1975](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOgxo1O1Mwg) that showcases a lot of his best songs from the early albums and also shows how tight that band was live.
1
fsociety091786 Mar 25, 2026 +1
You don’t really need to prepare, nothing wrong with hearing a song for the first time live. But you can find the set lists that they’ve been rehearsing. It’s a pretty wide mix of stuff from his early albums (BTR, BITUSA) to his later stuff which is just as good (The Rising, Wrecking Ball).
1
goldengod828 Mar 25, 2026 +1
Thunder Road is a personal favorite
1
payasosagrado Mar 24, 2026 +33
As a Chicano and someone who is very pro immigration they missed a real chance to use Born in East LA
33
Crafty_Ish1973 Mar 24, 2026 +60
That's....not what the song is about. At all.
60
Ignore_User_Name Mar 24, 2026 +5
The album already turned 40.. we can be sure by now they're never gonna notice that.
5
The-Sand-King Mar 24, 2026 -22
I think Bruce gets to decide what his OWN song is about. Who are you to tell him otherwise?
-22
hewhoisiam Mar 24, 2026 +52
His lyrics?
52
Daveslay Mar 24, 2026 +7
Yeah, I dunno.. If I said something like: “I completely agree with u/The-Sand-King and think that they should be fast tracked to lead the UN general assembly” And then I claimed my comment was *actually* about how u/The-Sand-King writes bad poetry and is a mediocre home cook… Do I get to decide what my OWN comment is about? Especially when there’s an obvious, clear interpretation of my words distinct from what I claim (or even what I may have originally intended)? ——- Also, all that was just hypotheticals, I don’t want to seem like I’m some a****** picking on a stranger I’ve never met. I’m sure if u/The-Sand-King does indeed write poetry; their words are both soulful and beautifully evocative, and that their kitchen skills are top notch and happily enjoyed by friends and family.
7
Crafty_Ish1973 Mar 24, 2026 +16
His lyrics tell me exactly what the song is about. Try reading them.
16
Bundlecorn Mar 24, 2026 +11
I think politicians just hear “USA” and climax so hard they forget what other words mean. 
11
Etzell Mar 24, 2026 +22
Yay, now the left gets to completely misunderstand the meaning of the song!
22
Johnny-Moondog Mar 24, 2026 +44
Has to be ragebait 😂😂 song is literally anti-Vietnam anti-rich class, yes, it is obviously a left leaning song….
44
Etzell Mar 24, 2026 +18
I'm very obviously aware it's a left-leaning song. I'm saying the use of it in a birthright citizenship campaign is misguided. Lyrically and thematically, This Land Is Your Land would be a way better choice.
18
dustmanrocks Mar 24, 2026 +11
lol wut? either you forgot you /s, or you completely misunderstand the lyrics of this song. It's the complete opposite of patriotism, and the right are the ones that can't seem to hear past the uplifting sound. The prideful repetition of "born in the USA" is meant to be ironic. It's literally a protest song against the conservative agenda of the time.
11
Etzell Mar 24, 2026 +4
Yes, which is exactly why the use of it to defend birthright citizenship is misguided.
4
microtherion Mar 24, 2026 +4
I would argue that the narrator in the song is measuring his experiences against what he perceives to be his birthright as an American.
4
Etzell Mar 24, 2026 +5
I would fully agree with you, but again: that doesn't mean the song is a good backdrop for a pro-birthright-citizenship ad campaign. It's a great critique of the gap between reality and the American dream, but that's not what they're going for. >Bruce Springsteen’s song ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ is an American anthem. It captures what birthright citizenship has made possible for generations: the simple, powerful guarantee that if you are born here, you belong here, if you’re born in the USA, you’re an American. Period. \- Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. He's missing the point.
5
dustmanrocks Mar 24, 2026 +6
I can see where you're coming from. But you could also argue that a left leaning protest song about the right puts it back into relevant territory. I jumped to the offensive a bit on this one as Trump has used this during all 3 of his presidential campaigns, thus this statement came off a bit.. odd. I can see now I may have read it in the wrong tone.
6
[deleted] Mar 24, 2026 +1
[deleted]
1
dustmanrocks Mar 24, 2026 +1
lol you’re 4 hours late to this debate dude, I acknowledged that if you had kept reading. sorry to have triggered you.
1
panspal Mar 25, 2026 +3
“Bruce Springsteen’s song ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ is an American anthem. It captures what birthright citizenship has made possible for generations: the simple, powerful guarantee that if you are born here, you belong here, if you’re born in the USA, you’re an American. Period,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. Dude, I don't think you know what the song is about, it's not just the born in the USA part
3
Embarrassed_Art5414 Mar 24, 2026 +3
As a Euopean lookin' in....might I suggest you guys re-familiarise yourselves with "My Hometown"
3
HiRyzaFenix Mar 24, 2026 +1
Underrated comment!
1
stinkobinko Mar 25, 2026
My favorite album is the earliest and purist: "Greetings from Asbury park"
0
MacDugin Mar 26, 2026
Bruce never like the US
0
OneReportersOpinion Mar 24, 2026 +1
That’s not what the song is about! Lol
1
← Back to Board