Born in the USA is the title track from Bruce Springsteen's 1984 album Born in the U.S.A., recorded with the E Street Band. Built around a stark synthesizer riff and thunderous drums, it became one of the biggest hits of the decade despite its verses criticizing the treatment of Vietnam veterans. Politicians and sports stadiums adopted the chorus as a pure patriotic anthem, stripping it of irony. That chant-like chorus made it perfect for short video, where it now signals American pride, victory or deliberate over-the-top patriotism.