Songfacts®:

• This is a commentary on racial and social injustice. Springsteen was inspired by television images of the Persian Gulf War (the first one) and the Los Angeles Riots, transformative events in the early '90s. Often viewed as a patriotic champion after "Born In The U.S.A.," Springsteen has been openly critical of American politics.
• The song tells the stories of a soldier in Iraq tasked with going through the clothes of troops who died, and of a young boy who is the innocent victim of gang violence. In the last verse, Springsteen tucks his son into bed and thinks about how fortunate he is that he's safe.
  
  The stories are made up, but Springsteen was indeed a new father, which influenced this song. By the time the song was released on the Lucky Town album in 1992, Springsteen had two children with his second wife, Patti Scialfa.
• The Lucky Town and Human Touch albums were released on the same day in 1992, almost five years after Springsteen's last album, Tunnel Of Love. Many fans felt he should have released one double album rather than two full-price single discs, and the sales of both albums didn't add up to what Tunnel Of Love sold. These were the first albums Bruce made after breaking up the E Street Band in 1989; he got the group back together in 1999.