Songfacts®:

• One of Jackson Browne's most political songs, in "For America" he questions those who don't question their government leaders. The song was released in 1986, six years into Ronald Reagan's presidency.
  
  "Politically, I was galvanized by the Reagan presidency, that so many people were accepting his version of 'Morning in America,'" Browne told Rolling Stone. "There is a lot of self-criticism in this song - waking up after you've been asleep and feeling responsible for not knowing what was going on. That's the feeling I wanted to pass on, that we are responsible for what the government does."
• Browne didn't rely on symbolism or metaphor to make his point in this song - the lyrics are very direct. Witness:
  
  The thing I wonder about the Dads and Moms
  Who send their sons to the Vietnams
  Will they really think their way of life
  Has been protected as the next war comes?
  
  "The reason 'For America' was so explicit is I had done 'Lawyers In Love,' and nobody got it," he said. "It was sarcastic, and people didn't find their way into the humor. This time I was determined not to be misunderstood. I needed to be clear about it - 'I was made for America.' Even people whose judgments I admire were like, 'Maybe you can change that.' I think it worried a lot of my audience."
  
  "Lawyers In Love," from 1983, is a send-up on Cold War relations, wondering what would happen if the USA and Russia didn't have each other as rivals.
• Browne had been active in politics since the late '70s when he participated in the "No Nukes" movement. His songs, though, generally steered clear of politics until 1983 when he released his Lawyers In Love album. He explained why he took a political turn:
  
  "I'd been to Nicaragua. I was active in Latin American solidarity issues. My writing caught up with my interests. There was a conventional wisdom that you don't burden people by talking about political things, that those are your personal opinions. But in the words of Steven Van Zandt, what's more personal than your politics?"
• "For America" was the first single from Jackson Browne's 1986 album Lives In The Balance. By this time his popularity was waning, mostly because he didn't make easily digestible pop songs with MTV-friendly videos, with one exception: his 1985 duet with Springsteen saxophone player Clarence Clemons, "You're A Friend Of Mine."
  
  "For America" stalled at #30 and was his last Top 40 hit.
• The alto saxophone on this song is by Phil Kenzie, who you can also hear on Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs" and Al Stewart's "Year Of The Cat."
• Browne inserted "For America" back into his setlists in 2004 when George W. Bush was president, running for re-election (successfully) against John Kerry.