The stars and stripes, mom, apple pie and The Boss.

Over the years, each of those things and what they represent have come to mean patriotism in the good ol' U.S. of A.

The first three are easy to understand: The flag is a widely recognized symbol of nationality; the second represents the family values that a nation founded on Judeo Christian beliefs likes to imagine it stands for; and, well, hell -- who doesn't like pie?

But the last one, The Boss, 53-year-old New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen, is a little more difficult to understand.

Over the course of his more than 30-year career in rock and roll, Springsteen, who brings his group the E Street Band to Calgary on Sunday for the very first time, has become the quintessential American rock star.

It's why his song Born in the U.S.A. is still considered by some to be the third official anthem of that nation, close behind The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America.

And it's why it was Springsteen's take on the tragedy of 9/11, his current Grammy-winning release, The Rising, was so highly anticipated by a country still in grieving and in need of a patriotic pep talk.

But at the same time, if you look at his life and his body of work, he hardly follows the stereotypes of either "rock star" or "American" for that matter."

Springsteen's not Steven Tyler, Gene Simmons or even Justin Timberlake when it comes to his offstage indulgences.

SHORT ON SCANDAL

Other than one or two small scandalous blips (most notably his affair with and subsequent longtime marriage to band member Patti Scialfa, whom he left his first wife, actress Julianne Phillips, for) his life has hardly been one marked by rock star excesses.

In fact he has seemingly used his star-power and reputation more for social good than personal gains, lending his name and talents to a number of causes over the years including the environment, Amnesty International, labour and unions, anti-Apartheid and Third World hunger -- he appeared on both the Sun City and We Are the World projects.

Which brings us to his status as real American. In many parts of the nation to the North -- as well as some dark parts of our own country -- speaking up on the "liberal" side of such issues will earn you the derogatory label of "peacenik" or even "pinko."

Or how about The Boss stance on the current conflict in Iraq?

During his current tour, he's featured the late Edwin Starr's classic song War prominently in his set.

In the Bush Jr. world of "with us or against us" and one where Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks have suffered a backlash for anti-conflict/anti-president comments, performing one of the ultimate anti-war anthems would, for some, be tantamount to treason.

But it's caused no protests, no boycotts -- in fact nary a blip.

Sure, Springsteen has long performed the song, but one of the reasons he reportedly first started playing it in concerts was to counter the deaf, dumb and blind highjacking of Born In the U.S.A. as some sort of fist-pumping, flag-waving pledge of allegiance.

Even Ronald Reagan attempted to appropriate the song for his own political purposes, offering it up as an example of the blue-collar conservative ethic that the Republican Party stood for.

REAL INSPIRATION

There was only one problem with that: The song -- the one that turned Bruce Springsteen into an instant American icon -- isn't about the American dream, but more the failure of it during the post-Vietnam hangover.

In fact, a number of his songs are about the characters, the regular working-class people who've been beaten down, cheated and broken by a country that has long promised something more for its sons and daughters.

His 1982 release Nebraska and its songs about mass murderers, the working poor, sinners, cheaters and lost souls stands as one of rock music's starkest, bleakest looks at that country ever taken.

And even The Rising doesn't really provide any easy answers or feel-good slogans for a wounded nation to rally around.

Springsteen does what he does best -- not taking sides, just telling the stories of those who don't have a voice with the kind of empathy and compassion of someone who's been there.

Come to think of it, maybe that's why Springsteen is still considered and held up as a true American icon.

Not because he represents and celebrates everything our flawed neighbours to the south wish things were, but the way things really are: The stars and stripes that are bullet-riddled, blood-stained and burning on streets half a world away; and the mothers that are waiting at home for word on their husbands, sons and daughters who are dying and killing for a cause that many are questioning.

And the pie?

Well, hell -- who doesn't loves pie?