Whilst I can only speak anecdata, in my experience majority of people who "know" the song definitely only know the chorus, and have no idea about the song's history or lyrics. They'll sing along (loudly, I might add) during the chorus, but go hush during the verses.
This [1] is Bruce Springsteen performing the song very differently to how you might normally hear it. For me, this particular style seems to "fit" better with the subject matter.
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Whilst I can only speak anecdata, in my experience majority of people who "know" the song definitely only know the chorus, and have no idea about the song's history or lyrics. They'll sing along (loudly, I might add) during the chorus, but go hush during the verses.
This [1] is Bruce Springsteen performing the song very differently to how you might normally hear it. For me, this particular style seems to "fit" better with the subject matter.
[1] https://youtu.be/xBuZGiisGvs