Bruce Springsteen Didn’t Feel ‘Class Resentment’ Growing Up — ‘I Don’t Ever Remember Feeling Aggrieved by It’
Bruce Springsteen often shares his love for America — most notably, his home state of New Jersey. In the book version of Renegades: Born in the USA, Springsteen commented on “class resentment” toward those exempt from the Vietnam War. Here’s what we know about the “Born in the USA” singer.
Bruce Springsteen released ‘Born in the USA’
Bruce Springsteen is the artist behind “Dancing in the Dark,” “Glory Days,” and “I’m On Fire.” In 1984, he released Born in the USA, which included the fan-favorite title track.
In 2021, Springsteen appeared with Obama for Renegades: Born in the USA. The podcast discussed everything from music to the American Dream.
Bruce Springsteen discussed ‘class resentment’ he faced — especially regarding the Vietnam War
In addition to their podcast, Springsteen and Obama penned the book Renegades: Born in the USA. As part of the American experience, Springsteen and Obama discussed the Vienam War.
The former president acknowledged college students were exempt from the draft. With only select individuals able to return to school, Springsteen had one of his first experiences with classism.
“We just took that for granted,” Springsteen said during the interview. “That we’re not up there, we’re down here. And we’re playing by the rules of down here.”
“And if we don’t want to go, there are street prescriptions that you’re going to have to follow to get out, and it’s going to involve some crazy-a** s***, you know? Nobody could afford the doctors’ notes or getting back into college,” he added. “I barely got in the first time. I don’t even remember feeling aggrieved by it.”
Obama asked if Springsteen felt “class resentment” from this, to which he replied, “no, I didn’t.”
“You’d just think, ‘Yeah, of course, the rich kids are going to have a different deal,'” Obama noted. Although Springsteen was drafted, he never served in Vietnam.
Did Bruce Springsteen serve in the Vietnam War?
According to Far Out Magazine, Springsteen was a self-proclaimed “stone-cold draft dodger.” Although his close friends and family served in the United States army, Springsteen never served during the Vietnam War.
“I got a 4-F,” Springsteen said during a 1984 interview with Rolling Stone. “I had a brain concussion from a motorcycle accident when I was seventeen. Plus, I did the basic Sixties rag, you know: fillin’ out the forms all crazy, not takin’ the tests.”
“When I was nineteen, I wasn’t ready to be that generous with my life,” he continued. “I was called for induction, and when I got on the bus to go take my physical, I thought one thing: I ain’t goin’. I had tried to go to college, and I didn’t really fit in.”
Springsteen later became a symbol of the American spirit, releasing “Born in the U.S.A.” and creating “Streets of Philadelphia” for the Philadelphia soundtrack. The Renegades: Born in the USA podcast series debuted in 2021.
