Rapper Eminem's F-bomb-laced set wasn't the only eyebrow-raising moment during Tuesday's "Concert for Valor" on the National Mall — there's some debate over whether some songs were insulting to the very U.S. servicemen and women and women the show was meant to honor.
Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Zac Brown played a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," which contains such lyrics as:
Yeah, some folks inherit star spangled eyesOoh, they send you down to war, Lord
And when you ask them, "How much should we give?"
Oh, they only answer, more, more, more, oh
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
The Weekly Standard described it as an "anti-war screed, taking shots at 'the red white and blue.' It was a particularly terrible choice given that Fortunate Son is, moreover, an anti-draft song, and this concert was largely organized to honor those who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq."
@JayCaruso why the hell would any dope think Fortunate Son would be appropriate for Veterans Day?!?
— Super King (@SuperKng) November 12, 2014
"Fortunate Son" played at the #ConcertForValor? Of course. Leave it to Hollywood to insult those who serve on Veterans Day.
— Ted Newton (@Ted_Newton) November 12, 2014
HUGE insult Bruce, Zac Brown and Grohl to play anti-war anthem #FortunateSon at the #TheConcertForValor. #SupportOurTroops#VeteransDay#sad
— Lucy Craig (@ShootinRooster1) November 12, 2014
However, others were quick to point out that "Fortunate Son" can be read as a critique of class differences — the rich staying home while the poor go off to fight the wars — instead of as an "anti-military anthem."
@AnthonyWEHM#FortunateSon is about the privileged skipping war, and less fortunate not able to. Song against the gvmt. Problem still exists
— Andrew Young (@YoungaGaLunga) November 12, 2014
Meanwhile, another Springsteen performed didn't spark quite as much controversy:
The people who have a problem with #FortunateSon being played are probably the same people who think "Born in the USA" is a patriotic song.
— Kevin Nicholas (@3yeMeetsEye) November 12, 2014
Springsteen played a stripped-down version of his "Born in the USA" which, as the Washington Post noted, is a very dark, critical portrayal of American society and the Vietnam War:
Born down in a dead man’s townThe 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 USA...
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 USA...
Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says “son if it was up to me”
Went down to see my VA man
He said “son don’t you understand now”
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 penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m 10 years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go
Of course, some people took umbrage to both songs.
Im in NJ and cannot stand #Springsteen. #fortunateson#BornInTheUSA . We get it Bruce. You hate America despite your $. #TheConcertForValor.
— Carmine Sabia BPR (@CarmineSabia) November 12, 2014
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