[Verse 1]
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 coverin' up, now

[Chorus]
Born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A. now

[Verse 2]
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

[Chorus]
Born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A.​

[Verse 3]
Come back home to the refinery
Hirin' man says, “Son, if it was up to me”
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said, “Son, don't you understand,” now
[Interlude]
Oh yeah
No, no
No, no, no

[Verse 4]
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

[Verse 5]
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

[Chorus]
Born in the U.S.A.​
I was born in the U.S.A. now
Born in the U.S.A
I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. now
Born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A.​
Born in the U.S.A.​
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A. now