“that song was written to mock Ronald Reagan...”
And like Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” us Americans have taken it and made it ours.
So much so, that years ago, I saw Neil Young at Madison Square Garden. He failed to perform “Rocking in the Free World” and on departing I said aloud, how is it possible he didn’t play it?
A little girl of no more than five on her dad’s shoulders replied from the crowd in frustration, “It’s my favorite song.”
You don’t think Neil Young knows? He knows. We don’t care, we’ve made it our American song. And it’s killing him.
Lynyrd Skynyrds “Sweet home Alabama“ Was written in response to Neil Young’s Southern man song.
Well, I heard Mister Young sing about her (southern man)
Well, I heard ol’ Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don’t need him around, anyhow
It is true that as much as I love Ronald Reagan, he didn’t realize that the song Born in the USA was about a Vietnam veteran whose brother died in the war and then came back home and couldn’t get a job.