[davemp]

> "Born in the USA" was popular because few people actually listened to the lyrics

I hear this repeated often, but is it even true? Couldn’t also be true that the song is popular because people can relate it to their negative feelings about “the system” and a weird sense of patriotism they feel regardless? It’s pretty common to have mixed feelings about one’s country.

Assuming the song is only popular because of ignorance seems far fetched.

[clarkevans]

>> "Born in the USA" was popular because few people actually listened to the lyrics

> I hear this repeated often, but is it even true?

I was a mid-western teenager when "Born in the USA" came out. My friends all knew the lyrics -- we hung out in the back of the bus, and shouted them out for 30 minutes on the ride to school. The lyrics spoke to our insecurity: fear of poverty, fear of being sent off in war, and the futility of it all. No one wanted to talk about the empty factories our bus drove past, or the parents that lost their jobs. Springsteen spoke to this, he captured our lived experience. The tune was fantastic. But it was the lyrics that clinched the deal.

That whole album was filled with singable songs: I'm on Fire, Glory Days, and especially My Hometown. The verses were especially catchy and clear as a bell, Springsteen pronounced the lyrics clearly so you hear, understand, and memorize them.

[srazzaque]

Whilst I can only speak anecdata, in my experience majority of people who "know" the song definitely only know the chorus, and have no idea about the song's history or lyrics. They'll sing along (loudly, I might add) during the chorus, but go hush during the verses.

This [1] is Bruce Springsteen performing the song very differently to how you might normally hear it. For me, this particular style seems to "fit" better with the subject matter.

[1] https://youtu.be/xBuZGiisGvs

[kikokikokiko]

As a brazilian kid that did not spoke english in the 80's (just like 99% of the folks down here), Born in the USA was a huge hit simply because it's catchy as hell, the melody is a pop rock masterpiece. I sung this song for over 10 years without having any idea what the lyrics meant other than the guy was born in the usa, and it was still a great song. Now that I'm fluent in english, to tell you the truth Springsteen is a very mediocre song writer, his lyrics are what a "very deep" preteen would write if he wanted to sound good to his middle school crush, the evil maaaannn, the government is baaaaaad, I got my motorcycle, I am a simple guy that work with my hands.... Man, finding out the lyrics for most of his songs was almost as bad as learning the lyrics for Midnight Oil songs after years of singing a lot to their hits.

[retrocryptid]

I would buy-into the idea that quite a few people only know the song from the chorus ("born in the USA").

But the general public apparently has a short memory for complete song lyrics (or just enjoys a good catchy jingle.) In the past decade I've heard:

a. A song about raping and pillaging (Led Zepplin/Immigrant Song) used to sell Cadillac SUVs.

b. A song about a deadly disease (Gang of Four/Anthrax) used to sell Burritos and Tacos.

c. A song about random hook-ups in Texas (ACDC/Thunderstruck) used to sell... not sure what it was pitching... Apple commercials are sometimes vague.

d. A song about kidnapping pretty women (Johnny Guitar Watson/Gangster of Love) used to sell whatever the hell it is Axe is selling.

Though using the Ronettes "Be My Baby" to sell Cialis seems to be about right. All good rock songs are about sex, so using a song about hooking up to sell a product that makes it easy for old dudes to hook up seems spot on.

I think my point is a) Bruce Springsteen and Brian Eno had TONS of great songs before "Born in the USA" and various Talking Heads tunes and b) people don't listen to song lyrics when interacting with commercials. If they did, they sure as hell wouldn't eat at Taco Bell. (Though I have to admit, using "Anthrax" in a Taco Bell ad was inspired culture jamming. So... hats off to whichever random ad creative who snuck that in under the radar.)

Also... if you're analyzing ads based on song lyrics, I think you've missed the point. The advertisers aren't expecting people to listen to the lyrics, critically analyze them and then attempt to relate those concepts to the product being advertised.

Music in ads is (pretty much) exclusively there to establish an affective context. It's sort of like they're saying "hey. remember this song! remember when you were young and didn't have a mortgage and were dating that crazy blonde chic? this product will make you feel like that."

[acheron]

No it's not true. But people like to create strawmen in their head that they can feel superior to. "I'm better than all those dumb rubes!"