Born down in a dead man’s town The first kick I took was when I hit the ground End up like a dog that’s been beat too much 'Til you spend half your life just to cover it up now

Born in the USA I was born in the USA I was born in the USA Born in the USA, now

Got in a little hometown jam So they put a rifle in my hands Send me off to a foreign land To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the USA I was born in the USA Born in the USA I was born in the USA

Come back home to the refinery Hiring man said, “Son, if it was up to me” Went down to see my V.A. man He said, “Son, don’t you understand, now?” Oh, yeah No, no No, no, no

I had a brother at Khe Sanh Fightin’ off them Viet Cong They’re still there, he’s all gone He had a woman he loved in Saigon I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I’m ten years burnin’ down the road Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go

Born in the USA I was born in the USA, oh Born in the USA I’m a long-gone daddy in the USA, now

Born in the USA Born in the USA Born in the USA I’m a cool rocking daddy in the USA, now