"Born to Run"
Single by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Born to Run
Released	August 25, 1975
Format	7"
Recorded	up to August 1974
Genre	Rock
Length	4 min 30 sec
Label	CBS Records
Producer(s)	Bruce Springsteen Mike Appel
Chart positions
#23 (U.S.)
Bruce Springsteen singles chronology
Spirit in the Night (1973)	Born to Run/Meeting Across the River (1975)	Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out/She's the One (1976)

"Born to Run" is the signature song of the American singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run. This is an album cover. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Conor Dent (born September 11, 2009) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... For the episode of Lost, see Born to Run (Lost) Born to Run is a rock album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... A vinyl EP from Crop Circles. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... A minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour and to 60 seconds. ... Look up second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Columbia Records is the oldest continually used brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes . ... Conor Dent (born September 11, 2009) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... Conor Dent (born September 11, 2009) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Meeting Across the River was the seventh track on Bruce Springsteens breakthrough 1975 album, Born to Run. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out was the second song on Bruce Springsteens breakthrough album Born to Run. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of signature songs. ... Singer-songwriter is a term which refers to performers who write, compose, and sing their own material including lyrics, melodies and often the accompaniment and entire composition or song. ... Conor Dent (born September 11, 2009) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... For the episode of Lost, see Born to Run (Lost) Born to Run is a rock album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). ...

The song

Written in a small house in Long Branch, New Jersey in early 1974, the song was Bruce Springsteen's last-ditch effort to make it big. The prior year, Springsteen had released two albums to critical acclaim but with little commercial success. The lyrics to the song are appropriately epic for his last-ditch, all-or-nothing shot at the stars, yet they remain rooted in the universal desperation of adolescence. We gotta get out while we're young, 'cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run. Map of Long Branch in Monmouth County Long Branch is a City located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. ...

Written in the first person, the song is a love letter to a girl named Wendy (Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend I wanna guard your dreams and visions...; I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight/in an everlasting kiss!), whom the bike-riding protagonist certainly has the passion to love, but may not have the patience. However, Springsteen has noted that it has a much simpler core: getting out of Asbury Park. ... A motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle powered by an engine. ... The protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. ... The crumbling roof of a Howard Johnsons on the boardwalk in Asbury Park Asbury Park is a city located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. ...

In his 1996 book Songs, Springsteen relates that while the beginning of the song was written on guitar around the opening riff, the song's writing was finished on piano, the instrument that most of the Born to Run album was composed on.

In the time prior to the release of Born to Run Springsteen was becoming well-known (especially in his native northeast) for his epic live shows, and "Born to Run" quickly joined his concert repertoire well before the release of the album and was performed in concert by May 1974 if not earlier.

The recording

In recording the song, Springsteen first earned his noted reputation for perfectionism, laying down as many as eleven guitar tracks to get the sound just right. The recording process and alternate ideas for the song's arrangement are described in the Wings For Wheels documentary DVD included in the 2005 reissue Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition package. DVD (Digital Versatile Disc, often incorrectly explained as Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... Born to Run is a rock album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). ...

The track was recorded amidst touring breaks during 1974, with final recording done on August 6, well in advance of the rest of the album, and featured Ernest "Boom" Carter on the drums and David Sancious on keyboards; they would be replaced by Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan for the rest of the album and in the ongoing E Street Band (which was still uncredited on Springsteen's records at the time). The song was also recorded with only Springsteen and Mike Appel as producers; it would be later in the following year, when work on the album bogged down, that Jon Landau was brought in as an additional producer. August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... a drum player for the E Street Band Bruce Springsteen ... David Sancious ( Born in Asbury Park, N.J., November 30, 1953) is a talented musician probably best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen, Stanley Clarke, Narada Michael Walden and Zucchero Fornaciari. ... Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey) is a Jewish-American drummer and television personality. ... Roy Bittan (born July 2, 1949 in Rockaway Beach, New York) is an American keyboardist, best known as a member of Bruce Springsteens E Street Band, which he joined on August 23, 1974. ... The E Street Band is a backing band that has toured and recorded with rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager, and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen. ...

A pre-release version of the song, with a slightly different mix, was given by Appel to disc jockey Ed Sciaky of WMMR in Philadelphia in early November 1974, and within a couple of weeks was given to other progressive rock radio outlets as well, including WNEW-FM in New York, WMMS-FM in Cleveland, WBCN in Boston, and WVBR in Ithaca, New York. It immediately became quite popular on these stations, and led to cuts from Springsteen's first two albums being frequently played as well as building anticipation for the album release. Edward Leon Sciaky (April 2, 1948 - January 29, 2004) was a disc jockey in Philadelphia. ... WMMR is a hard rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide lattitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is... WNEW-FM is a New York City FM radio station operating at 102. ... Nickname: Big Apple, City that never Sleeps Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... WMMS 100. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... WBCN 104. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... WVBR-FM is a radio station that broadcasts to Ithaca, New York, and surrounding areas. ... The City of Ithaca (named for the Greek island of Ithaca in Homers Odyssey) sits on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, in Central New York State and is famous for being the location for Cornell University and Ithaca College. ...

Upon release in August 1975, the song and the album became unparalleled successes for Springsteen, springing him into stardom, and resulting in simultaneous cover stories in Time and Newsweek magazines. (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ...

Honors and Accolades

In 2004, "Born to Run" was ranked #6 in WXPN's list of The 885 All-Time Greatest Songs. Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time placed it at #21, while the song came in at #920 in Q's list of the "1001 Greatest Songs Ever" in 2003, in which they described the song as "best for working class heroes." It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2001 the RIAA's Songs of the Century placed the song 135th (out of 365). WXPN (88. ... Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music, politics and popular culture. ... In 2004, Rolling Stone listed the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time as polled by musicians, critics, and industry figures. ... Q magazine is a music and entertainment magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll is based on the permanent exhibit of the same name. ... The RIAA Logo. ... The Songs of the Century list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. ...

On June 12, 1979, "Born to Run" was named New Jersey's "Unofficial Youth Rock Anthem" by the New Jersey State Legislature. June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The Legislature of New Jersey is the U.S. state of New Jerseys legislative branch, seated at the states capital, Trenton. ...

Track listing

1. Born to Run - 4:31
2. Meeting Across the River - 3:18

The B-side was simply another cut from the album; Springsteen would not begin releasing unused tracks as B-sides until 1980. Meeting Across the River was the seventh track on Bruce Springsteens breakthrough 1975 album, Born to Run. ... In recorded music, the terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles have been released since the 1950s. ...

Chart performance

"Born to Run" was Springsteen's first world-wide single release, although it achieved little initial success outside of the United States. A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ...

Within the U.S. it received extensive airplay on progressive and album oriented rock radio stations, but as a pop single was only a minor hit, reaching #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Album Oriented Rock, abbreviated AOR, was originally an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock music artists rather than singles releases. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ...

Live performance history

The song has been played at nearly every non-solo Springsteen concert since 1975 (although it was not included in the 2006 Seeger Sessions Band Tour), and fans consistently sing along with Springsteen's signature wordless vocalizations throughout the song's performance. The Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour is a 2006 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and a large group playing what was billed as An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues, otherwise seen as a form of big band folk music. ...

The song has also been released in live versions on five albums or DVDs:

• A 1975 Born to Run Tour rendition on Hammersmith Odeon London '75, released in 2006;
• A 1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour runthrough on Live/1975-85, released in 1986;
• A starkly different 1988 solo acoustic guitar performance from the Tunnel of Love Express on Chimes of Freedom, a 1988 EP;
• A 2000 E-United Tour version on Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City, released in 2001 (the song closes disc one but does not appear on the track listing of the album cover);
• A 2002 Rising Tour take on the Live in Barcelona DVD, released in 2003.

Born to Run was Bruce Springsteens last, best hope for fortune and fame. ... Hammersmith Odeon London 75 is the fourth live album by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, released in 2006 (see 2006 in music). ... The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteens massively popular Born in the U.S.A. album. ... Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live/1975-85 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. ... The Tunnel of Love Express was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in 1988. ... Chimes of Freedom is the name of a 1988 live Bruce Springsteen EP. It was released to support the multi-artist Human Rights Now! Tour in benefit of Amnesty International. ... Extended play (EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which contain more than one single, but are too short to qualify as albums. ... The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour was a lengthy, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas over 1999 and 2000. ... The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003. ...

Music video

"Born to Run" predates the music video era and no film or video clip was made of it at the time. A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ...

However, in 1987 a video was released to MTV and other channels, featuring a live performance of "Born to Run" from Springsteen and the E Street Band's 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour, with the video interspersed with clips from other songs' performances from that tour as well. It closed with a "Thank you" graphic to Springsteen's fans. MTV (Music Television) is a cable television network headquartered in New York City. ... The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteens massively popular Born in the U.S.A. album. ...

Cultural references

The children's show Sesame Street featured a song about arithmetic called "Born To Add", sung by a Springsteen-like Muppet. Its background music, however, sounded more like Springsteen's "Thunder Road", though it did feature a "Born to Run"-ish saxophone solo. Sesame Street is an American educational childrens television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. ... John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together The Muppets are a group of puppets and costume characters created by Jim Henson and the company he created. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

In the Japanese novel Battle Royale, the main character Shuya Nanahara is a Bruce Springsteen fanatic, despite the fictional Republic of East Asia's ban on rock music. The lyrics to "Born to Run" are quoted a few times in the book, as Shuya applies them to his own need to get the hell out of Japan, down to singing them, replacing Wendy with his Noriko, in the very closing of the book. They also appear in the opening quotes of the book. Battle Royale is a novel written by Japanese author Koushun Takami. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

In an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Joel Robinson chides Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot for teaching Gypsy some racy lyrics ("Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims / and strap your hands across my engines") from "Born to Run". Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999), usually abbreviated MST3K, is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. ... Joel and the bots. ... Tom Servo and his friends. ... Crow T. Robot Crow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). ... Gypsy Gypsy is one of the robot characters on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. ...

In an episode of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano and Silvio Dante are waiting for Christopher Moltisanti to arrive; when he shows up late he explains that "the highway was jammed with broken heroes on a last-chance power drive," quoting the lyrics to "Born to Run". Dante is of course played by E Street bandmate Steven Van Zandt. The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Italian-American Mafia family in Northern New Jersey not far from South Orange. ... Anthony John Soprano, Sr. ... Silvio Dante. ... Christopher Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character the HBO TV series, The Sopranos. ... Steven van Zandt (born November 22, 1950 as Steven Lento in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American musician, actor, and radio disc jockey. ...

The British comedy program Spitting Image once featured a Bruce Springsteen puppet singing a parody entitled "Born To Teach Woodwork". Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on the United Kingdoms ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. ...

External links

• Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net