Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
If you liked Glenn Beck's amusing interpretations of the symbolism in artwork found at the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, you're going to love his brilliant analysis of the lyrics found in rock music. He's discovered - gasp - that Bruce Springsteen is - shhhhhh - a liberal.
Beck and crew call Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." "anti-American." On Beck's radio show, co-host Pat Gray stated: "How many of us go to the Fourth of July fireworks display, we see the fireworks blasting, exploding in the air, and we hear 'Born in the U.S.A.' by Bruce Springsteen, and we're like, 'Yeah, "Born in the U.S.A." ' And you get filled with patriotic pride, and then you find out that Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the U.S.A.' is anti-American." After Beck read the lyrics of the song, Gray said, "That's what it's all about. That's what America's about, according to Bruce Springsteen." Beck responded: "See, here's the thing that I don't think people understand yet -- I think you do -- that it is time for us to wake up out of our dream state, wake up out of the propaganda."
Because, of course, any song that is against the Vietnam War and speaks about the problems of the working man, even though it chronicles the views of at least half the country, must be anti-American. If you criticize anything this country has ever done, you're anti-American. At least, that's how you'd see it if, like Glenn Beck, you were a fucking moron.
Ronald Reagan had this same problem back in 1984, when that song came out. He actually mentioned it in one of his speeches, how inspiring and patriotic it was. And in fact, it was patriotic -- in the real sense, not the shallow and childish sense of patriotism that is common among conservatives.
Beck is not done "discovering" things about famous songs.
Beck analyzes Beatles' "Revolution" to illustrate progressives' plan to slowly institute Marxism. On his radio show, Beck implored his listeners to "listen to the words" of the Beatles' "Revolution." After playing part of the song, Beck asked, "Do you know why those two lines -- evolution and revolution -- are in this song?" Beck then said, "If you know the history of progressives" and stated that progressives and Marxists "believe in all the same stuff." Beck continued: "Their [progressives'] idea was you don't need a bloody revolution. You just evolve things slowly, and you'll change the world." After playing more of the song, Gray said, "This is all -- it's peaceful." Beck responded, "But it's progressive."
And therefore, of course, it's evil and anti-American. Again - if you're a fucking moron.
Politics
Comments
Ah, the rise of Fox News: Where lying morons get paid insane salaries to convince conservatives that everyone who disagrees with them is unamerican.
I really can't decide if Ol' Glenn is really that insane or just a really fine actor with no sense of shame.
Posted by: DJ | March 14, 2010 9:26 AM
You mean it's taken Mr. Bek Forty-three (43) YEARS to figure that out? Boy what a super-genius.
I think I figured it in about three minutes, like most people.
Gosh. I hope Glenn doesn't work out that 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' is about DRUGS! He'd have apoplexy* - Dingo
----
* or maybe I hope he does. Bwhahahahhahahaha. :D
Posted by: DingoJack | March 14, 2010 9:31 AM
I was at my parents' house when the Alzheimer's President talked about the "exuberant patriotism" of Born in the USA. It was the 4th of July 1984.
WAR IS PEACE,
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY,
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Posted by: BaldApe | March 14, 2010 9:42 AM
Hey we should all be thankful this is happening in the digital age instead of when records were popular, Beck would be playing everything backwards and finding all the CommuSatanic meanings in the words. Let's all hope to Jebus that he doesn't start listening to Brown-Eyed Girl, I really don't want to hear him deciphering THOSE lyrics.
Posted by: Rob Monkey | March 14, 2010 9:44 AM
I wonder if the huge number of Springsteen fans include some Beck crap-lappers? They could get pissed off, at least until the game starts.
Springsteen has been pretty publicly in support of liberal causes and politicians for years. The rock that Beck lives under must be damned big.
Posted by: MikeMa | March 14, 2010 9:49 AM
So his argument is that seeking to change your society peacefully is unpatriotic? I wonder what that says about the patriotic methods he and his ilk hope to use in bringing about the change they desire.
Posted by: Julian | March 14, 2010 9:49 AM
I really can't decide if Ol' Glenn is really that insane or just a really fine actor with no sense of shame.
My money is on, "Insane with no shame"
Posted by: William George | March 14, 2010 9:54 AM
Why would Beck even consider Beatles' songs? They were a British group... but I guess that's beyond his comprehension, too, or at least beyond that of his sycophants.
Posted by: Ray M | March 14, 2010 10:11 AM
I look forward to Glenn Beck's analysis of O Fortuna.
Posted by: mb | March 14, 2010 10:14 AM
Firstly, this is just a part of a continued conflation of patriotism and nationalism by the right. But, they aren't even consistent about it. Criticizing wars (when led by Republicans) or the treatment of minorities or the poor is unpatriotic. Tea Parties decrying the rise of Islamo-social-fascism and equating the president with Hitler are patriotic. Basically the concerns of "Real Americans" (angry white people) are always patriotic, but the concerns of all others are anti-American.
Secondly, did Beck even listen to Revolution before he did this segment? All you get from that song is support for peacefully changing the world. It's a very bland message that even the tea baggers should be able to embrace.
Posted by: penn | March 14, 2010 10:25 AM
No, no, Julian, you've got it all wrong. The method is unimportant; only the direction matters. "Progressive"* change is un-Amurrican no matter how you go about. Regressive change, on the other hand is uberAmerican no matter how you go about it.
*Despite my snark here, which I stand by, I do despise the word "progressive." Not all of the left's ideas constitute progress of a meaningful sort. It's no less an attempt at moral high-grounding than "patriotic," even if considerably less effective on the emotional level.
Posted by: James Hanley | March 14, 2010 10:28 AM
You'd have thought Beck would be quite fond of the Beatles' Taxman. It's practically a Tea Party anthem.
Posted by: Ginger Yellow | March 14, 2010 10:32 AM
Lucy in the Sky not about drugs, much insistence on that, including producing the actual Lucy.
Also, my close reading of Revolution makes it anti-revolution, not pro-slow-revolution. But I was on acid, of course.
Beck has set a precedent that words matter. Apparently one instance of the words "social justice" can disqualify an entire church, regardless of its attitudes, consistency, good works, and theology. That means that, for the good of the nation, Beck should listen to more music.
ice
Posted by: ice9 | March 14, 2010 10:45 AM
Dear Mr. Bek,
Could you please supply your thoughtful and deep analysis of the linked song, because I'm a little confused about it's subject.
Thanking you in advance,
Dingo
---
* Oh be advised that this is one those songs that you might a little 'modern' being written 35 years ago (that's 1975, Glenn).
Posted by: DingoJack | March 14, 2010 10:46 AM
Glenn Beck has got to be a neo-feudalist. Why else would he be so against social justice, etc. and rail against everything that threatens corporate control of our country? He is an arch-arch-arch conservative wanting this country 'restored' all the way back to pre-revolutionary days when everything was privately owned and nothing whatsoever was held in the public trust.
Whoa, this makes me a conspiracy nut.
Posted by: Reverend Rodney | March 14, 2010 10:49 AM
Wait until he gets to Woody Guthrie! My favorite Woody quote: Well, I ain't necessarily a Communist, but I been in the red all my life.
Posted by: barry | March 14, 2010 10:50 AM
@ Dingo Jack Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds is about a picture Lennon's son drew, filled with references to semi-popular Brit shows like 'the men with plasticine ties' and such.
And he even gets it wrong about Revolution: there are lines like "if you go around carrying pictures of chairman mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow'. Lennon was not about the specific ideological method, he was about the results. He hung out with a lot of revolutionaries because he wanted to know what they had to say (without being particularly aware of their ties to China/USSR or any illegal actions they may have been up to), and is quoted to have said "Apathy isn't it. We can do something. OK, so flower power didn't work. So what? We start again."
He was optimistic, not necessarily socialistic. But it's Beck we're talking about. He has the lyrical comprehension of Charles Manson.
Posted by: Matthius | March 14, 2010 10:50 AM
Beck should take a stab at "Broken hearts are for assholes."
No political undertones, but I'm sure it would give him a burst aneurysm.
Posted by: slpage | March 14, 2010 10:54 AM
And that can be proven by looking at the members of the group still alive. Are there any bigger Marxists than Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, who's, like, the richest man in Britain. I even think he lives in a freakin' castle.
Oh, I think we've more than proven his batshit insanity at this point.
Posted by: CPT_Doom | March 14, 2010 10:58 AM
I wonder, has Beck thought of listening to these horrible un-American songs backwards? I've heard that you can hear secret Satanic messages that way. Perhaps Glenn Beck can prove for once and for all that liberals are not just Muslims, Nazis, and Communists, but also devil-worshippers!
/eye-roll
Posted by: KristinMH | March 14, 2010 11:17 AM
Bravo, Glenn! 26 years late is better than never, I suppose. Anything to save those kids' souls from the evils of rock and roll. The only responsible, moral thing to do now is to burn all the records. But first, we must ascertain which ones are communist and satanic by listening to each one backwards. Any hidden message is surely a message from Satan himself. Thanks for looking out for us, Glenn!
Posted by: Sadie Morrison | March 14, 2010 11:21 AM
"Hmmm this sounds suspiciously like rock and/or roll" Rev, Timothy Lovejoy - :) Dingo
Posted by: DingoJack | March 14, 2010 11:38 AM
"If you criticize anything this country has ever done, you're anti-American."
I see this in other forums, too. It is particularly entertaining in the Military.com forums I frequent, where nearly all of the people accused of being anti-American are military veterans, and some of us served for 20 years or more. There's really no evidence of patriotism that can overcome a lack of fealty to right-wing ideals.
Posted by: BobApril | March 14, 2010 11:43 AM
I'm a big rock and roll fan whose interest in what the lyrics actually mean is almost nil with the exception of a handful of artists, where Springsteen doesn't making my cut. I do appreciate singing, but more so regarding how one's voice is used an instrument and adds to the song rather than whatever message the lyricist hopes to convey.
Given that context, I think Born in the USA is a paradoxical song that is also a paradigm-buster. So I've never been surprised that people treat it like a jingoistic salute to American exceptionalism where Springsteen instead depicts that whatever appreciation we had for those who served in Viet Nam, it didn't adequately translate to opportunities when they came back home. The song breaks paradigms because the music is celebratory though the lyrics are anything but; that's rare for songs which become part of our collective psyche and requires us to actively consider the song rather than passively absorb it. It's paradoxical because the music compels us to treat the song as a jingoist anthem while the lyrics instead demand reflection, a mental exercise I doubt most people do when listening to anthems.
As an aside, it seems near impossible these days for songs to spread across the population like they once did, e.g., Beck ranting about songs published 26 - 40+ years ago in order to conjure up another boogey-man for his audience to hate and fear is Exhibit A.
Here are the lyrics:
Born in the U.S.A...
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
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the 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 burning down the road
Nowhere to run aint got nowhere to go
Born in the u.s.a., I was born in the u.s.a.
Born in the u.s.a., I'm a long gone daddy in the u.s.a.
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.
Posted by: Michael Heath | March 14, 2010 11:46 AM
Just wait until Beck gets around to listening to "Louie Louie" really really slowly.
Posted by: Iason Ouabache | March 14, 2010 11:49 AM
Not long ago, criticizing America's Commander-in-Chief during a time of war was considered treason. Now it's considered patriotism.
Posted by: Dr X | March 14, 2010 12:02 PM
Rob Monkey @#4,
Here in the digital age, it's much easier to play a song backwards. Load a digital recording into any reasonable audio editor and you can reverse the recording with a couple of mouse clicks.
Posted by: LightningRose | March 14, 2010 12:11 PM
Didn't Springsteen quash an attempt by the man some now call Dubya Daddy to use "Born in the USA" for a campaign song?
What does that tell you about the so-called "patriotism" of the Bush clan, Comrade Glenn?
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | March 14, 2010 12:20 PM
OK, let's listen to the lyrics to "Revolution:"
Number 9
Number 9
Number 9
Number 9
And who wore #9? Gordie Howe, that's who! And what sport did Gordie How play? Soccer! No wait, I meant to say Hockey! It was Hockey! And in what sport did Canada just beat the United States men AND women? That's right - Hockey.
God damn Beatles.
Posted by: bfish | March 14, 2010 12:23 PM
Like.
Posted by: Amy | March 14, 2010 12:32 PM
bfish @ 29,
Damn, you got Beck's shit down.
Posted by: Michael Heath | March 14, 2010 12:55 PM
Here in the digital age, it's much easier to play a song backwards. Load a digital recording into any reasonable audio editor and you can reverse the recording with a couple of mouse clicks.
Yeah in fact you can "scrub" back and forth at whatever speed you want, whatever direction you want. Heck they even have digital virtual DJ turntable doohickey thingies.
Posted by: 386sx | March 14, 2010 1:06 PM
Beck did turn his magical insight on woody Guthrie the other day, appalled at the subversive meaning to "this land is your land"... Someone should introduce him to the songs of Bob Roberts. He'd love those:
"drugs stink"
"times are changin' back"
"complain"
Posted by: BZ | March 14, 2010 1:18 PM
That's "Revolution 9"; different song, I'm afraid.
Posted by: eamick | March 14, 2010 1:32 PM
I'm waiting for him to discover that KISS stands for Knights in Socialism's Service.
DingoJack "Gosh. I hope Glenn doesn't work out that 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' is about DRUGS!"
I don't know what lyrics you were listening to. I got a totally different vibe...
Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties,
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
de Gaulle with kaleidoscope eyes...
Posted by: Modusoperandi | March 14, 2010 1:39 PM
In other breaking news of similar novelty:
"American Woman" is not an ode to the beauty of female americans.
"Universal Soldier" is not a song about supporting the troops.
What's next? Bob Dylan wrote a protest song or two? "Alice's Restaurant" isn't just about eating food?
Posted by: Carolyn | March 14, 2010 1:52 PM
Springsteen's music mostly sucks but he is at least certainly no conservative douchebag.
Born in the u.s.a., I'm a cool rocking daddy in the u.s.a.
Egad, that's awful.
Posted by: peter | March 14, 2010 2:31 PM
Crap! Why didn't I think of that!
Posted by: Rev. Kefentse Siwoti | March 14, 2010 3:05 PM
Here Glen, analyze this one.
Then cram it up your ass you worthless piece of shit.
Posted by: Taz | March 14, 2010 4:40 PM
Thank you Glenn Beck - I've always wanted to know just what those crafty Beatles were up to. Especially John. He was pretty tricky.
Now, could you help us interpret a few other of their songs that have puzzled me over the years:
"Come Together": Who is this so-called 'Flattop', really?
"Rocky Raccoon": I think I've got this one. Rocky is a low-life criminal; thus the raccoon's mask, which looks like what a gangster wore in the old movies.
"Get Back": Is this an anti-immigration song?
"Why Don't We Do It in the Road": What are they doing in the road? Stopping traffic with a peacenik protest?
Glenn Beck, if you read this, please help.
Posted by: Dacks | March 14, 2010 4:47 PM
Mon Dieu! Springsteen is a Francophile???
Please have someone slip this URL into Glenn BecKKK's coffee:
http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/talking-birmingham-jam.html
Its lyrics from Phil Ochs, who wrote extensively during the civil rights movement. He is my favorite folk artist from the sixties.
A sample from "Talking Birmingham Jam" follows.
You see Alabama is a soveriegn state
With soveriegn dogs and soveriegn hate
They stand for the Bible, for the Constitution
They stand against Communist revolution.
They say: "It's pinkos like you that freed the slaves."
And they're right.
Posted by: NJOsprey | March 14, 2010 4:57 PM
"Hey we should all be thankful this is happening in the digital age instead of when records were popular"
There is software for reversing digital audio files. You can look for subliminal satanic messages digitally too.
Posted by: Bill Poser | March 14, 2010 5:05 PM
He had better not listen to that Aussie anthem Khe Sahn by Cold Chisel,or we'll be up for invasion next.Especially since we've just had the biggest Athiest Conference in the world and all the universe.
Seem to remember a former candidate for a Presidential campaign,a few years back, who didn't make the cut,was purported by a couple of pundits,to be more interested in sitting in a bar with his Viet Nam mates belting out the aforementioned song.And a few others.
Traitor!
Posted by: wobert | March 14, 2010 5:24 PM
Do you think he knows what "In the navy" by The Village People is about?
Posted by: mikka | March 14, 2010 5:35 PM
To all of you who commented about my post saying that you could use demon "technology" to listen to songs backwards: This is Glenn Beck we're talking about. He would be challenged enough to figure out how to reverse a record player, let alone do it on a newfangled computer-thingy. Those computer things are just for the heathens to look up their porn anyway, Joseph Smith told him so.
Posted by: Rob Monkey | March 14, 2010 5:37 PM
43 posts so far, and no one's mentioned "Pink Houses"? Don't let Glenny in on the secret.
Posted by: James Hanley | March 14, 2010 5:38 PM
The funniest thing about this story is how it took Glenn Beck over 25 years to realize the meaning behind Springsteen's lyrics for "USA" which are hardly un-American. They just paint how hard life was for many Vietnam vets returning home.
Not that Beck ever once considered putting on a military uniform. There was way too much blow to do back in his 20s to ponder petty ambitions like serving one's country.
Posted by: CHV | March 14, 2010 6:18 PM
I always remember a very insightful analysis by Al Franken of the love of country a progressive feels vs. the love of country a liberal feels.
A conservative feels the love of country like that felt by a small child for a parent: Mommy all good. Others all bad. Mommy can do no wrong, others can do no right.
The love of a progressive for his country is that of someone for his/her spouse. A love that doesn't look beyond fault while still being faithful. A love, that if required, operates on equality of responsibility and understanding and, if necessary to preserve the marriage, asks change of both partners in the marriage.
One is inherently the immature love of a child, and one is inherently the mature love of an adult.
Posted by: Duane | March 14, 2010 6:53 PM
I've always been annoyed by the view--prevalent even among liberals--that anti-Americanism is somehow a bad thing. When Beck accuses us of being anti-American, we should stand up proudly and say "yes, we are; now get your fascist bloodwagon out of our land."
@48: I disagree. The conservative feels love as they would for an authoritarian parent that rules through fear. The progressive feels love as they would for a stifling parent that rules by making the child helpless and dependent. Neither has anything to do with adulthood.
Posted by: Miko | March 14, 2010 7:56 PM
I can't wait for Bek to discover these new bands called Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. I will set a a calender event for 2025 in outlook.
Posted by: JohnV | March 14, 2010 8:08 PM
Hmm. Quite a limited array of options. Are libertarians or liberal populists the only adults out there?
Posted by: Sadie Morrison | March 14, 2010 8:13 PM
Beck might explode if he saw this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si0WTCMrksw
Posted by: David Worthington | March 14, 2010 9:06 PM
I caught Beck on a holiday drive bitching about how "I Believe in Father Christmas" was anti-Christian.
I grew up with ELP and had never noticed the irony of the song - but then I don't am not the "twisted freak" Beck claims to be.
Posted by: shrike | March 14, 2010 10:35 PM
@46: I was thinking about John Mellencamp I read about him running for a Democratic Senate seat for Indiana.
He does the songs for the Chevy truck commercials and he sings, "this is our country". The Chevy truck owners that I know down here in the South are 99.9% Republican "god & country" nuts. If they only knew.
We have a lot of trucks in the South because in these type of minds, only gay men drive anything but a big 'ol gas-sucking truck. Obviously, they're overcompensating for something.
I feel like I have a yummy secret.
Posted by: aerie | March 15, 2010 1:11 AM
Sadie #51:
I don't find libertarians to be very adult at all. There's a libertarian slogan about liberals wanting government to be a mother and conservatives wanting it to be a father, and libertarians wanting it to treat you like a grownup. Someone writing an extended rebuttal to libertarianism summed it up like this: "Libertarians want to kill mommy and daddy so they can stay up and eat more ice cream." Considering the utter childishness of many libertarian arguments, i find that to be a reasonable description.
Posted by: Brian X | March 15, 2010 1:13 AM
Michael Heath @ 24:
Give a listen to Warren Zevon's, "Excitable Boy"--I think it is a bit more of that thing you talk about re: sprightly melodies and not so cheerful lyrics.
Posted by: democommie | March 15, 2010 4:27 AM
Posted by: Matty | March 15, 2010 6:49 AM
Hey Brian :
you're hitting on one of my pet peeves about fellow libertarians - there is a (in my opinion in my circles) strong sense from some that they see their views as "punishing" or "giving comeuppance", usually in internet tuff gai speak such as "don't like it? move" type of thing. It's absolutely the petulant teenager talking (objectivists hit this with gusto).
not all libertarians fall into that ice-cream eating mentality. Next time you're engaging a libertarian, check if the "treat like adult" extends to social issues beyond his right to smoke pot.
and if he doesn't, point and laugh. i'll stand next to you and will do the same!
(and what if Glen Peck(er) finds out that the pledge is socialist?)
Posted by: VikingMoose | March 15, 2010 10:34 AM
He has the lyrical comprehension of Charles Manson.
Uh, that's hardly fair to Charles Manson, who actually cut an album or two and had a good enough lyrical sense to get ripped off by the Beach Boys at least once. (If you don't know what I mean, listen to Manson's track "Cease to Exist" back-to-back with "Never Learn Not To Love You" sometime. I've never been able to listen to the Beach Boys without getting creeped out since I discovered that.)
That said, I'm not sure Glenn Beck actually knows how to listen for comprehension, which would probably impair his ability to interpret musical lyrics.
Posted by: Interrobang | March 15, 2010 10:35 AM
Gordon Lightfoot -- Patriot's Dream should give any Beckian a heart attack.
Posted by: Yeti | March 15, 2010 11:41 AM
Yeah, conservatives treat patriotism like they treat religion. Rather than wanting to improve your country, you must pretend that it's completely perfect and infallible and always has been. This is how we elected G. W. Bush the second time. He was our leader and we must trust him blindly, even if it's not in the country's best interest. When I was an active Christian, I considered this to be a form idolatry, but I think conservatives just love a good hierarchy and they find both in religion and patriotism.
Posted by: catgirl | March 15, 2010 11:50 AM
Do you suppose Glenn Beck has discovered his namesake?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgSPaXgAdzE
I'd love to see him analyze that chorus. ;)
Posted by: puckishone | March 15, 2010 12:02 PM
When the going gets tough, the right-wing likes to trot out the attacks on Bruce Springsteen.
The funny thing is this. Springsteen wins every time.
Posted by: Rich Irwin | March 15, 2010 10:59 PM
uh, interrobang, you're confusing Charles Manson the "Helterskelter"-loving homicidal nutcase with Marilyn Manson the singing gothfreak :-p
Posted by: Jadehawk | March 16, 2010 6:28 AM
Jadehawk - No, he's not.
Posted by: Taz | March 16, 2010 9:02 AM