Bruce Springsteen was advocating for the rights of the common working-class man. The song was widely misinterpreted as jingoistic, and in connection with the 1984 presidential campaign became the subject of considerable folklore. In 1984, conservative columnist George Will attended a Springsteen concert and then wrote a column praising Springsteen's work ethic. Six days after the column was printed, in a campaign rally in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan said, "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts. It rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire—New Jersey's own, Bruce Springsteen." Two
Ramrod (Bruce Springsteen song) Ramrod (Bruce Springsteen song) "Ramrod" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen for his fifth album, "The River", released in 1980. It was recorded at The Power Station in New York in June or July 1979. The song was written earlier and initially recorded for Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" album, but that recording was not used for its release on "The River". Although "Ramrod" was never released as the A-side of a single, it reached #30 on the "Billboard" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1981. It has remained a popular song in concerts by