(Credits: Columbia)
Sun 31 August 2025 0:00, UK
From a quiet upbringing in Long Branch, New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen knew he was always destined for a bigger life than simple domesticity and Catholic education.
The rebellions began in little ways – arguing with his nun teachers, forever being the social outcast at school, but permanently with a guitar glued to his hand. It was both his shield and his weapon, and in just a few short years, that silent suburban life was nothing but a distant memory as he was set free on a path to world domination, all through the mouthpiece of rock and roll.
But somewhat ironically, it was the muse of Long Branch itself that served as the most potent force in propelling Springsteen into the bona fide star, as the epitome of the long-romanticised notion of coming of age transformed into the medium of song. This freewheeling spirit was embedded in the heart of ‘Born to Run’, as the ultimate declaration of love to his dream girl, all while enthusing that, as a pair, they were meant for a much greater adventure in life than anything the small town could offer.
As he wailed: “Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back/ It’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap/ We gotta get out while we’re young/ ‘Cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to run,” on stages all over the world in the years and decades to come, the song evidently transported ‘The Boss’ back into those very same streets, as the track of his own back catalogue that he deemed the most quintessential in telling the story of his early days.
He confirmed as much in a 2009 interview with NPR, in which he discussed all those nascent works and influences. “Immediately after ‘Born to Run’, I felt I’d sort of – OK, that was my – the song of my youth,” Springsteen explained, before going on to highlight how, in his view, the song came as the pinnacle of his first run of three albums. These three records, they were the [essence] – you know, but maybe particularly ‘Born to Run’, and you know, that was just – always felt like that’s the song of my youth.”
Of course, it’s not just Springsteen himself who feels this way. Through channelling his own experiences as the everyman, he brought a life of adolescent suburbia to the attention of the world, before letting all those notions and preconditions fly away in the wind. As we all know, this was precisely the secret ingredient that made him into a superstar – not because he was particularly windswept or elusive as other rock stars can be, but because this was a man who always stuck true to himself, and cultivated his stardom through that unique lens.
On the face of it, ‘Born to Run’ is a song focusing on a love interest and the notion of being set free – you can find countless other examples in the rock songbook of that. But what ‘The Boss’ created was a true elixir of hedonism and the rushes of invincibility, and there’s rarely anything else that can even come close to paralleling that. The tune may represent the peak of his youth in a personal capacity, but it opens the rest of the world up to something far greater. That’s the mark of the man.
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