10 Perfect Protest Songs In Rock History

Going through rock history, you couldn't really think of a better spokesman for the American Everyman than Bruce Springsteen. For all of the people in the world of country or rock and roll, Springsteen seems to embody the American Dream to his core, always pushing himself forward that much more to fulfill some sort of dream than the hand he'd been dealt. He may be proud of where he's from, but that doesn't mean he can't criticize his home either.

Which is funny because of just how many people still think of Born in the USA as a flag waving song. This track has populated many a 4th of July barbeque in its time, but Bruce is actually singing about how the America that he knew back in the day was a bit more corrupt than he remembers. In each verse, the Boss goes through different stories of what Americans go through, from returning soldiers who had to carry on without their brothers to then struggling with PTSD when they get back home.

It's almost chilling hearing some of these verses, as these kids straight out of school are given guns and told to go overseas for a war they didn't want to fight, until eventually they come back to a country that hates them for partaking in the war. America may pride itself on being the land of the free, but if you're caught in the wrong situation, it can turn into a really lonely place pretty quickly.