The Boss

Ronald Reagan did use Bruce's song "Born in the U.S.A." during his campaign. He didn't think there was any anti-war ideas in the song, even though if you take a couple seconds to look at the lyrics, it is plain and simple what the song is about. He didn't get Bruce's permission to use the song either. This song, I do remember was also used during the Beijing olympics when the US women's beach volleyball won the gold medal. I don't think the song was appropriate for that occasion either. People really do need to look at the basic meanings of songs before they go and play them. Sure, it may sound patriotic and full of US nationalism, but the song is criticizing American's for how they treated the nam war veterans. I also remember Beijing playing Bruce's song "Born to Run" at the end of the men's marathon when the runners entered the stadium. This song is about love and class. It's about running away and trying to find love in a poor neighborhood. I suppose you could use it at the end of a marathon, but it's not really a song for the end of a race besides the chorus saying "baby I was born to run." Really that's the only link to marathon running. Now, this year, the World Cup had K'Naan take his song "Wavin Flag" and put new words to it to make it better for a soccer stadium atmosphere. It is about nationalism and freedom, a perfect match for the World Cup. People should take the time to learn about songs before they use them. It's not like you need to examine 1000 songs. Maybe 10 will be used, so look at about 100, it can be narrowed down, because you should know the general idea of a song if you like it enough.