Springsteen Torture At Camp X-Ray

[CShine]

A terror suspect freed from Guantanamo Bay has told of cruel and unusual punishment.

Hamed Abderrahman Ahmad, a Spaniard who denies any links with terrorism, said he had to wrap his head in a damp towel to try to muffle loud tapes of Born in the USA.

Mr Ahmad said he was confined to a small cell where the lights were always on and he was forced to listen endlessly to Bruce Springsteen.

"First I spent a month in a cell two metres square that had a roof of sheet iron, with unbearable heat," he said. "All day they blared patriotic American music. It was Born in the USA. We had to put wet towels on our heads to be able to bear the heat and not hear the music . . .


http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8831931%255E13762,00.html

[everythingsxen]

1. I believe this has already been covered in LBN..

[stevedeshazer]

2. That would do me in for sure

I'd sing like a canary in about five minutes.

[I AM SPARTACUS]

3. did these military MORANS even listen to the LYRICS???

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
'Til you spend half your life just covering up

CHORUS

Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

I got in a little hometown jam
And so they put a rifle in my hands
Sent me off to Vietnam
To go and kill the yellow man

CHORUS

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me"
I go down to see the V.A. man
He said "Son don't you understand"

CHORUS

I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone
He had a little girl in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go

I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

[eeyore]

5. jinx!

You beat me to it.

[Voltaire99]

6. Presumably they like the part about "killing the yellow man"

Subtlety like Springsteen's is so much static to the Clear Channel mind.

[eeyore]

4. Listen to the lyrics folks...

It's not a fucking patriotic song! God our government has their heads up their asses. Was it Reagan that tried to use this as a campaign song? Or was it Dole? Here you go...you decide.


Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

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.

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

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 ain't 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

[DieboldMustDie]

7. Of course it's a patriotic song.

There's nothing unpatriotic about protesting injustice. :evilgrin:

[JaySherman]

8. I know.

Is it irony or stupidity that has these people using a song that was essentially a sarcastic anti-war rant as a jingoist anthem? Then again, whose idea was it to use "Won't Get Fooled Again" in car ads (or whatever that was)? Does anyone else get really really really mad at this co-opting of classic songs without any regard or thought for the original meaning :grr:? The one that really killed me was Bowie's "Changes." One of my all-time favorite songs. The first time I heard it an ad, I wanted cry, then I wanted to hurl something at the TV :mad:.

OK. I'm done with the rant. Just a minor (in the big picture) side-affects of corporate capitalism that happens to set my blood to boiling. Maybe it's cause I'm such a music fan. Or maybe it's because I hate to see so much culture being exploited by people who wouldn't know real culture if it hit them over the head.

Marketers are the scum of the earth. As bad as Republicans. Oh wait, most of them are...

Sorry, I'll stop now :crazy:.

[I AM SPARTACUS]

9. you know that Carnival Cruise Lines ad - with "Lust For Life"...???

Iggy Pop...???...somehow, I don't think this is quite what they had in mind...catchy catchy tune, tho...

Here comes Johnny Yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And the flesh machine
He's gonna do another striptease
Hey Man where'd you get
That lotion? I been hurting
Since I bought the gimmick
About something called love
Yeah something called love
That's like hypnotising chickens
Well I'm just a modern guy
Of corse I've had it in my ear before
Cause of a lust for life
Cause of a lust for life

I'm worth a million in prizes
With my torture film
Drive a G.T.O
Wear a uniform
All on a government loan
I'm worth a million in prizes
Yeah I'm through with sleeping on the
Sidewalk - no more beating my brains
No more beating my brains
With the liquor and drugs
With the liquor and drugs
Well I'm just a modern guy
Of course I've had it my ear before
Cause of a lust for life
Cause of a lust for life
I got a lust for life
Got a lust for life
Oh a lust for life
Oh a lust for life
A lust for life

[eeyore]

10. the worst was what happened to fortunate son by ccr

I think it was an ad for Tommy Hilfiger last year during all of the post 9-11 and pre-war patriotic ad campaigns. It starts out with the music, then hits the opening lines...

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
ooh, they're red, white and blue.

And then they cut the lyric and continue on with a loop of the guitar line while they show lots of happy young americans canoodling in their red white and blue designer clothes. The unsuspecting listener thinks it's a nice patriotic song, but in reality it's probably the most viciously patriotic rock rebellion song ever. Here's what follows the opening lines of the song...the parts that they cut. Those fuckers took one of the greatest protest songs ever and turned it into a faux patriotic shill for jeans.

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
ooh, they're red, white and blue.
And when the band plays "Hail To The Chief",
oh, they point the cannon at you, Lord,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no senator's son,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, no,

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman come to the door,
Lord, the house look a like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no millionaire's son.
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, no.

Yeh, some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
ooh, they send you down to war, Lord,
And when you ask them, how much should we give,
oh, they only answer, more, more, more, yoh,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no military son,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one,

It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate one, no no no,
It ain't me, it ain't me,
I ain't no fortunate son, no no no,

[JaySherman]

11. Oh, yeah. Forgot about that one.

Ouch :hurts:

[mermaid]

14. I Know what You Mean

First time I ever heard "My Sharona" redone for an ad, I wanted to vomit. some things just should NEVER be trashed in that way...reducing excellent music into crappy advertisements...made me never want to buy a Toyota again...damnit all and I DRIVE a Toyota!!

[mermaid]

12. Dad-gum it...too many people beat me to it!!

Born In The U.S.A is ANYTHING but a patriotic song!

In a way, Bruce is trashing the USA with that song...in much the same way Billy Joel trashed Allentown (Pennsylvania) with his song by the same name.

I used to be a radio DJ, and I used to have all I could do to keep from laughing when someone wold call up, their dad had died or some shit like that, so they wanted to hear "Only The Good Die Young" which has nothing to do with actually dying...but folks don't really listen to the lyrics, do they?

I figured to hell with it, if it makes them feel better, I'll play the song...

[MinnFats]

13. you'd think Springsteen would be righteously pissed about this....

....
anybody see/hear a comment from him?

In 1980,falling into the trap that these other stupid fuckheads did, Ronald Reagan himself took to using that song as, well, bumper music when he'd take the stage while campaigning.

Springsteen didn't like the idea. He had his representatives quietly inform the Reagan campaign that he would actively campaign against Reagan if he didn't stop using it.

He did say, I think on the Today show, of Reagan, "There's a lot of Americans whose dreams don't mean much to him."


of course, if you recall the 'BITUSA' cover, some said it appeared that Springsteen (back to camera) was pissing on the U.S. flag. I don't believe it personally but I can see how someone would get that impression.

[Disturbed]

15. Rummy

That bastard said that yes it is unusual for prisoners not to have a lawyer, habeous corpus but some of those prisoners will be in Getmo indefinetely and the Military will decide if they are ever going to be released. Justice for our fellow human beings? Some of them may not be guilty of much other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

btw Fogerty's dad was a Sgt.in the Army. Fogerty did not give permission to use that song for any commercials. He sued for his publishing rights to his own songs and I believe that after 10 years he may have gotten them back.