Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984. A critical and commercial triumph, it found Springsteen marking a departure in his sound. While the predecessor, the dark and acoustic Nebraska featured songs of pessimism and isolation, Born in the U.S.A.'s lyrics expressed signs of hope in the daily fight of the ordinary American in following the American Dream, a new feeling complemented by synthesized arrangements and a pop-flavored, radio-oriented sound that helped Springsteen to extend his popularity and appeal to mainstream audiences. The album was supported by an enormous commercial campaign that helped create several hit singles, as well as remixes and music videos.
Born in the U.S.A. was the best-selling album of 1985 in the United States (and also Springsteen's most successful album ever). The album produced a record-tying string of seven Top 10 singles (tied with Michael Jackson's Thriller and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814) and also a worldwide concert tour (the two-year Born in the U.S.A. Tour) that was a success. Apart from this hype, the album was lauded by most critics and is often considered Springsteen's magnum opus along with his 1975 breakthrough, Born to Run. The title track is often misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem. Its cover (a close-up of Springsteen's rear in front of an American flag, as he was photographed by Annie Leibovitz) became an iconic image of the era.

"Glory Days" is a 1984 song, written and performed by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen. In 1985, it became the fifth single released from his massively successful album Born in the U.S.A.

"Glory Days" was recorded in April or May 1982 (sources differ) during the first wave of Born in the U.S.A. sessions. Even though the album went through several different phases of what would be on it, "Glory Days" was always seen as one of the cornerstones.

The song is a seriocomic tale of a man who now ruefully looks back on his so-called glory days and those of people he knew during high school. The lyrics to the first verse are autobiographical, being a recount of an encounter Springsteen had with former Little League baseball teammate Joe DePugh in the summer of 1973.

The music is jocular, consisting of what Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh called "rinky-dink organ, honky-tonk piano, and garage-band guitar kicked along by an explosive tom-tom pattern." It also features a mandolin solo from Steven Van Zandt, one of the sideman's most noticeable instrumental contributions to the Springsteen studio canon.

An alternate mix of "Glory Days" has circulated, which includes a deleted third verse between the second and the last. The missing verse refers to the singer's father sitting on a bar stool at the legion, bitter over his lack of any "glory days."

The single peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles charts in the summer of 1985. It was the fifth of a record-tying seven Top 10 hit singles to be released from Born in the U.S.A. Marsh named the second volume in his biography after the song.

"Well, time slips away and leaves you with nothing, mister, but boring stories of glory days."