This song originally is an Irish folk song...

this whole album of Springsteen's, from 2006, is Springsteen's interpretation of thirteen folk music songs made popular by activist folk musician Pete Seeger...

Pete Seeger was a member of The Weavers, who were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and environmental causes...

the timing for this Springsteen album of covers is significant because the optional and unnecessary war in Iraq started three years before this album came out...  at the time, anybody who criticized the war was proclaimed unpatriotic by the attack dogs of war...  it was incredibly brave of Springsteen to tell the truth against power...

just look at the last lines of Springsteen's contemporary interpretation of this song—

"All foreign wars I do proclaim
live on the blood and the mother's pain.
I'd rather have my son as he used to be
Than the King of America and his whole navy."
 

He writes of living "in a time when it's never been more difficult to tell the truth from lies and lies from the truth" and denounces "the obstructions that have kept the media from fully doing their job." So all of us must "be more questioning, skeptical, and savvy than ever in assessing information that's presented to us," he writes. "And we need to teach our children to do the same."...

As for the Iraq war, he commented, "You don't take your country into a major war on circumstantial evidence — you lose your job for that. That's my opinion, and I don't have a problem voicing that. Some people have a problem with that, others don't."

 

And here's an article from just a few months ago called 10 YEARS AGO: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST IRAQ WAR

And when the United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003, Bruce had plenty to say with his choice of songs.

In the run-up to the war, Springsteen had been vocal about his stance against it. When introducing ‘Born in the U.S.A.,’ he would say that he had written that song about the Vietnam War and hoped he wouldn’t have to write a similar song soon. He even revived his hit cover version of Edwin Starr’s ‘War,’ specifically for a March 2 show in Austin, Texas – then-President George W. Bush’s former hometown.

The day of the U.S. invasion of Iraq also happened to be the first date of Bruce and the E Street Band’s Australian leg of ‘The Rising’ Tour. So, it was from the Telstra Dome in Melbourne, Australia that Springsteen made his political stance clear. He opened with a somber, acoustic rendition of ‘Born in the U.S.A.,’ instead of the anthemic full-band version heard elsewhere on the tour. He then launched straight into a full-band attack for ‘War,’ with its impassioned line: ‘What is it good for? Absolutely nothin’.’ Springsteen would continue to open his shows this way for the subsequent Australian dates.

Later on in the show, before playing ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ during the second encore, Bruce dedicated the song to “American and Australian sons and daughters… and innocent Iraqi civilians.”

The U.S./Iraq War would have a profound effect on Springsteen’s concerts and songs. In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Bruce campaigned against George W. Bush and played a major role in the Vote for Change tour. His next two albums would feature songs about characters dealing with the Iraq War and its consequences, including ‘Devils & Dust,’ ‘Last to Die’ and ‘Gypsy Biker.’

My appreciation for Bruce Springsteen keeps growing. I was not a fan back in the day. This beats the hell out of Dancing in the Dark in my opinion.