A First Reaction and Analysis of Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen

[@rebeccam439]

I’ve seen Bruce live dozens of times and he never lets me down. Loved him for five decades.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

I grew up in Asbury park New Jersey at that time. These lyrics are all true and I lived it all before I got out. This song is totally about life in Asbury Park a beach town with a boardwalk and amusement rides and dive bars, rock clubs and seedy motels.

[@billbitterman9487]

This album is among the greatest rock albums ever. Bruce was basically told he needed to produce or the record company was ready to drop him. As great as this song is, my favorites are Thunder Road and Jungleland. Both of those songs give me chills to this day. If Zep has their Stairway To Heaven, The Who has Love Reign O’er Me, then Bruce has Jungleland. An absolutely epic song. By the way. Born To Run is one of those “perfect” record albums…not a single weak song.

[@mamaflush9945]

I totally agree💯

[@beckybarnes4651]

Nearly agree, though I'd add Backstreets to those two too!

[@QuakerPop]

Backstreets!

[@RicoBurghFan]

Bruce is not only a dynamic performer--his live shows can last 3-4 hours --but he is a brilliant lyricist and consummate storyteller. A lasting legend in musicl history, right up there with Paul Simon and Neil Young. Your thoughtful and insightful analysis make me appreciate him more.

[@calguy3838]

There is a good coming of age movie that came out a few years ago called "Blinded By the Light" about a young man growing up the son of Pakistani immigrants in the 1980's in the UK. He discovers and takes inspiration from Bruce Springsteen's music. Apparently it's somewhat based on the life experiences of the director.

[@rghilino6734]

Bruce himself jokes that he was the king of escaping/running/getting away but in reality he lives 10 minutes from where he grew up. My sister sits next to him on the beach every week.

[@josephclarke4244]

Syed the sentiment of the song is real, this is written at a time when Americans were at a crossroads. The young people of the sixties/ seventies were entering adulthood and the loss of childhood left behind like all generations became romanticized. Thier childhood and young adulthood now gone. The feeling of real life starting to press that generation, Springsteen included, was frustrating them as they came to terms with day to day life. Everyone dreams of just saying F it all !! Springsteen articulated that sentiment through this song. This song was my class of 1981 class song.

[@alpetrocelli4465]

I got to see him in the early ‘80’s,at an old movie theater called the Uptown in Chicago. The balcony held 1,500, and at his shows there the balcony was bouncing around 8’ vertically. They had to shut the theater down after his last run there. His were among the greatest live shows I’ve ever seen! ✌️❤️🎶

[@henriklarsson5221]

Saw him in 2012, best live-show i´ve ever seen.

[@Penn57]

I actually fell in love with this song/album in 1975 and saw him for the first time in 1978 inn Charlotte NC (he played over 4 hours) I have seen him several times over the years since and I’m still a huge fan. You haven’t lived until you see him perform BTR live!!! Love his new cover album Only the Strong Survive. My favorite song is still Jungleland RIP big man 😢but so happy to see his nephew Jake continuing the legacy.

[@izzonj]

I saw Bruce in concert a few times. Once in a small venue in Minneapolis in 1980. He came out and opened with this song. The crown went insane and people started rushing from seats in the back to up front. We were in about the 10th row and people were moving into the rows were we were sitting. It was a bit scary seeing the this was just the year after the Who concert where several people were trampled to death. After the sing ended, Bruce landed into the microphone and said, "Ok everyone, let's go back to our seats so nobody gets hurt. And everybody went back to their seats showing why Bruce was known as The Boss.

[@dimestorephilosopher3308]

I get the concept that hearing it now, it might sound cheesy or whatever, but the reason Bruce hit so hard, was that this album and song came out of nowhere in the '70s when everything was disco or psychedelic or whatever rock was back then and it was actually so different. It's almost funny that most of his songs are now just "American baseline" when much of his early fame was because he was different.

[@ziggymarlowe5654]

Yeah, Syed, we are onto your tell 😂; and we turn it up!!! Nice point about Thoreau's words of men living lives of quiet desperation.

[@korybeavers6528]

You should check out the official video for this song, gives you a very good idea of the energy they have on stage

[@markmurphy558]

If you ever get a chance to see Bruce perform in New Jersey before his acolytes, grab it. He is by far the most exciting live performer I have ever seen. He routinely played for 3+ hours and was totally committed to his audience and his performance. Bruce is a god in the NYC area, for good reason. Bruce labored for years down on the Jersey Shore in small clubs, and never took his fans for granted. You have to listen to his quiet brooding ballads to understand his songwriting talent. DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN, I'M ON FIRE, PHILADELPHIA,and many others. BORN TO RUN was an anthemic banger that got him on the national stage.

[@bostonwhofan]

One of the Top 10 greatest rock songs of all time. Epic! Another great one off the Born To Run album is "Jungleland" which has the greatest saxophone solo in history as well as amazingly deep lyrics.

[@paulaharvey5020]

You are so enjoyable to watch, and very musical!!! Look forward to your videos!!

[@Rob-eo5ql]

“There’s a life to be lived that’s not being lived by this person” I’ve been listening to this song for almost 40 years and that is the best description I’ve ever heard.

[@citizenghosttown]

Agree, 100%

[@citizenghosttown]

Great reaction. Bruce has described this song as his attempt to combine Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan with the production of Phil Spector and the guitar of Duane Eddy. Glad you recognized the great keys (keyboardist, Roy Bittan is the E-Street Band's secret weapon. You're also hearing glockenspiel by the late Dan Federici). The "cheesiness" is, I think, a product of Bruce's success -- it's become such an iconic anthem, that it can seem like parody, but remember Bruce was just 25 when he wrote this. For an even more poetic, story-telling take on this theme (that need to escape from Thoreau's "lives of quiet desperation"), try "Thunder Road" from the same album.

[@ArmandoMPR]

Sonny Rollins may be the greatest saxophonist ever overall, but for rock and roll tracks there are two GOATs, and they are Bobby Keys (longtime Rolling Stones collaborator) and the Big Man (Clarence Clemons) from the E Street Band.

[@kima.4268]

My best friend is from Jersey. Her childhood was watching Bruce and the E street band in the small clubs before they hit it big. Never a big fan. She took me to the bands concert and WOW! Total interactive experience. Real, guttural emotional rock music. One of the best concerts I've ever experienced.

[@mikemccabe6258]

This album was launched on a weekend that they played in LA and NYC

[@heyskipj]

Yep. Can definitely see it in retrospect now as a cheesy Americana. But like a Rockwell painting it paints the time and that spirit young, eager scrappy American so well. Right? Not just cars, a “last-chance power drive.” Rebel Without a Cause. Thelma & Louise… when the record sold in ‘75 every copy came with a slice of apple pie.

[@DawnSuttonfabfour]

I saw Bruce in 81 in Rotterdam via Magic Bus. He played for almost 4 hours and I danced so much I could barely walk at the end. We'd also had a day and night in Amsterdam and stocked up on herbal supplies. Bruce was amazing, truly great. I'm not a fan of everything he's done but damn he was worth the trip. P.S My mum's name is Wendy and we used to sing that line to her.

[@tomward6689]

Good analysis. It's true they didn't get out. They were still at the beach by the amusement park of Asbury Park, NJ where he played the clubs in the early-mid 70s. Definitely try Jungleland for a little bit different vibe. More keys and sax on that one too!

[@mattwhaley9917]

The automotive imagery was spawned from drag racing in the streets that had a big scene in the early seventies in Asbury Park.

[@davidgagne3569]

Bruce really is about as American as anyone can be. Thjs is such a fun song. He really packed everything he could into this song. So positive. BRUUUUUUCE!!!

[@OgreLXXV]

Springsteen has two very distinct sounds, and they’re both instantly recognizable. There’s the big sound of the E Street Band backing him up on songs like this one, Rosalita, and so many others. Then he has that dark, stripped down sound of I’m On Fire, State Trooper, etc. Just a great catalog to dive into.

[@ladydiaspora807]

When I think of American sound,I always think of Bruce and the E street band

[@nflr92]

In his Broadway show, Springsteen jokes that "So Mr. Born to Run, Mr. Thunder Road....sings about yearning to leave home and hit the highways....well, he now lives 10 miles from where he grew up" 😆

[@johnandrews3151]

This was the debut hit in the top 40 for Bruce Springsteen in the USA. It is my favorite song by Bruce. For me, it captures the spirit of that decade, the 1970's.

[@rogerlucero834]

You are correct, this is great live. You must watch the live version!!

[@suzannesellers7383]

This whole album is about growing up in small town New Jersey, dreams of getting out of where you are, teenage sex, love, motorcycles, being young. Bruce’s gravelly voice is so retro, reminiscent of Elvis. This album changed music when it came out in 1975. I was 16 and it felt so new but so retro at the same time. Over the years I have come to feel that Bruce is primarily a poet, like Bob Dylan. I hope he will win the Nobel Prize in literature like Bob.

[@brumleytwitch6265]

All of Bruce's songs come alive in concert. Next, you should check out the live video of "Jungleland", live in Houston 1978.

[@brettschacht4183]

Love tons of Springsteen's material, so I'm hoping you do more in the near future ("Atlantic City" would be a great one, it's completely stripped down and the polar opposite of this track). Glad you did the studio version. Live versions are great for giving a fresh perspective on a song, but usually the studio allows the artist to deliver the definitive version.

[@mattshaw6180]

Yes! "Atlantic City" is a perfectly representative Springsteen song.

[@BrianMihok]

Hard agree on Atlantic City.

[@joelliebler5690]

Bruce has always had great stories and his electrifying performances with Clarence, Littke Miami Steve, and the rest of the band!

[@williamdemerchant7295]

Jungleland is another amazing song from this album. It's epic. I especially like the live version at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 1975.

[@bobbyboogie2603]

Another brilliant reaction my friend Bruce's backing band really added a great dynamic to his songs. R.I.P. Clarence! Also I'm looking forward to Ziggy's comments on this

[@cazgerald9471]

0:34 I agree with that - when I was younger I used to wake up with ideas for solving impasses at work

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

Springsteen's later work is just as rich, but takes a much sadder tone and has a lot of movie soundtrack work. His song "The Wrestler" (2008) from the film of the same name is just devastating, especially in the context of the film.

[@jordimoore2167]

His wife, Patty Scialfa, was a guitarist in the band. She also wrote and sang. Check out Rumble Doll.

[@leisastalnaker3790]

I saw him 2008. This song blows you away Live.

[@famat161]

I saw him in '74 after the second album. They played in a large wooden chapel providing a warm splendid reverb. A friend reminded me recently that as we exited I said, "I've never heard music in 3-D before".

[@mattshaw6180]

"Badlands" is another fantastically big-sound B.S. song, while "Thunder Road" and "Atlantic City" walk your head through rich lyrics. Try some more, please!

[@jonathanlocke6404]

It took me awhile to get into Springsteen and I finally realized it's because his roots are older than The Beatles and the British Invasion (which is sorta the foundation of everything I knew) but not as old as Elvis and the blues. There's a lot of all that, but his real roots are in that sort of early 60's in between period: Roy Orbison, Del Shannon, early girl groups, Phil Spector...

[@dragon-ed1hz]

Back in the day, Rolling Stone once described his music as sounding "like a 57 Chevy running on broken Crystals records."

[@amitabhhajela681]

Agreed. But the Beatles were very impactful on him. I believe he was around 14 when they (the Beatles) broke big in America. He talks about this in his autobiography.

[@TheMikelleh]

Bruce is great, his band made him greater. There were some in and out guitarists, but the rest, including a pianist AND a keyboardist were decades long touring group. They BROUGHT IT EVERY NIGHT. Possibly the best live act ever.

[@angelskunk2206]

The official video is something you need to see. Bruce puts so much energy into his performances that it’s just contagious. I saw him in Atlanta, GA in 2009 (I believe) and at 60 he was still running and sliding across the stage on his knees. BTW, he always closes the show with this song ❤️ Other Springsteen songs you should check out are Glory Days, Dancing in The Dark, Streets of Philadelphia, Secret Garden, Born in The U.S.A.. Hungry Heart & My Hometown

[@jbellinger99]

Great song - check out the underappreciated "Lost in the Flood" which he wrote when he was 21 or 22/ Thanks - nice analysis. There are three epic tunes at the end of his first three albums. "Lost in the Flod", "NYC serenade" and "Jungle land" - a sort of trilogy

[@noother964]

All three songs you mention are amazing and not often appreciated.

[@jbellinger99]

@@noother964 "Jungleland" is the exception. But yes, they are all Epic. And "Lost" is my favorite of the three.

[@TrianglesAndCircles]

America is such a vast expanse of different cultures and lifestyles and the best part is if you don't like one place or way, there are limitless other choices, and if you're happy where you are, you have nowhere to go.

[@bigneon_glitter]

👉 _Hammersmith Odeon, London '75_ The _Born To Run_ album is the radio Pop entry point but Bruce & The E Street Band are animals of the stage. To know the glory of early Springsteen, hit the _Hammersmith_ live album - _the_ pinnacle performance. The live version of "Born To Run" is a Punk song with Rock orchestration - the studio version pales in comparison.

[@Tijuanabill]

This guy is one of the few humans enjoying music as much as I do, by my measure. I love the enthusiasm and the open minded journey this young man is taking.

[@bruceheckerman7343]

If you want to explore the other side of Bruce, which you should do, check out I'm on Fire and Streets of Philadelphia which he wrote for people with Aids.

[@scottdobson1276]

If you want to follow up the themes of this song, and progress them over the next 10 years of his career, look at Thunder Road, The River and eventually Born in the USA

[@chriseasterling5506]

“Turn it UP!” ❤️

[@a2zme]

If you want your mind totally blown, listen to the whole album .. Jungleland is an Epic that won't let you down :) #theBoss

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Jungle land yes

[@mediaserver8265]

If you think this is good, you have a chocolate box of delights ahead as you explore Springsteen. On this album alone (and if you like the 'keys', ), 'Thunder Road' is thematically similar, but with a different tone and even more killer lines. And speaking of killer lines, this album closer 'Jungleland' has some of his best ever lyrics. He literally paints pictures in your minds eye. Then there's '10th Ave. Freeze Out', 'Backstreets' and more, all on this one album alone. THEN you get to check out the next albums, 'Darkness on the edge of town' and 'The River' where we find out what happens to all these characters after they broke out and escaped. THEN you get a sharper dose of reality in 'Nebraska', leading on to the bombasitic, synth-tastic 'Born In The USA' before experiencing grown up Bruce speaking some home truths on the 'Tunnel of Love' album. And we haven't even left the 80s yet! Enjoy!

[@michaelwalker5257]

It's been two months, so you'll probably never see this, but just like the Alchemy version of Sultans of Swing, you've GOT to watch the "official' live version! Got to. Springsteen is ALL about live...more unbelievable classics than you can imagine. I agree with the guy who mentioned Thunder Road and Jungleland...but make sure it's the Thunder Road from the 1975-85 live album. Just Bruce, his voice, his harmonica, his piano player...and his heart and soul.

[@ThaKunzlermichael]

A young person who is in to hip hop like you cant call this chese without most of us over 55have lived harder and tougher then your generation with a safety net.....your rright though the underground thought it a little to pop sounding....rockers, even white ones where poorer and hungrier than your generation (any skin color) we had a stick and a marble to play with and thought we where just fine......But I respect your insight as an old soul, which you are...the 60's and 70's rockers where lean and mean and talkin love , not about gripes threats profanity and not realizing you are stepping on larger shoulders Keep up the channel I enjoy you, I hope this isnt a mean egotistical comment Peace and Love from Cleveland Ohio

[@gablen23]

It is Roy Bittan on the piano.

[@distressor6770]

Brilliant album .. so many awesome songs.. try Jungleland 😍

[@claymmore]

Springsteen invented heartland rock, so many copied him that is can sound derivative but is was something completely new when it came out. If you ant something less mainstream, try Jungleland, it's his most Dylan moment and the sax solo is epic. Highly recommended.

[@famat161]

A Springsteen song called "Jackson Cage" at times is my favorite song of all. The lyrics are on par with Dylan. It is a song about the feeling of isolation, of being caged in a pointless repetitious existence, where after you've been beaten down for so long that you yourself become the jailer who turns the key on others. The lyrical phrasing is stunning in a way that I can not describe. But you will be able to analyze it because you are you. I would love to hear why I love it so dearly.

[@TheoZoffrok]

One marvellous fact about this song is that's the only Springsteen song on which Ernest "Boom" Carter played drums - imagine you only play on one song by an artist, and it's *this* one!

[@martha1spur]

He is describing drag racers in every town in America in the mid-late 50s. Also he grew up in the rust belt. The '70s were bad--Japan, Germany took the lead as car makers --and factory jobs closed down over the Northeast and the Midwest.

[@johnweimer3249]

Never got out never in the city, everything was done on the beach down at the Jersey shore.

[@jasonremy1627]

He threw everything and the kitchen sink at this song. It's so musically dense. The glockenspiel always gets me. Such a little touch, but you'd miss it if it wasn't there.

[@mattdefilippis4625]

Go see a Bruce concert! He’s still touring and this is no oldies tour. He has been killing it steadily for 50 years.

[@TomGorham]

I was much much younger when that came out, but yes, I felt that way!

[@bendancar]

Nice reaction! It would be great to see you dive in to early Springsteen, from his first couple of albums that came before this. When he first hit, people were labeling him "The New Dylan," and Born To Run was as much a push away from that trap as anything. Try "Spirits in the Night," "Blinded by the Light," "I Came For You," or "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City." (lots of versions, but start with the original early 70s album versions).

[@scottfallon1]

Born to Run is pretty much a very poetic way of saying: "Freehold NJ sucks, let's drive our cars around Asbury Park."

[@troymk1]

Turn it up !

[@hifijohn]

many many great songs from bruce to react to.

[@goodbyedemocracy5678]

Oh my brother, you have got to do this whole album. This was Bruce's last chance after 2 critically acclaimed albums that were not commercial successes . The record company gave him one more album before cutting him. This was his response. This whole album is do or die.

[@alessandropino8479]

Besides the innocent... personally was even Better than Born to run !

[@mickgrant9181]

“The mass on men live lives of quiet desperation”. If you are ever in Boston, send a note and I will give you a Henry Thoreau tour.

[@edsaadi]

From the same album, you gotta check out...Meeting Across the River...Jungleland.

[@williamlovett619]

BRUCE

[@jabberbone1]

Bruce initially called the song "Born to Rub", but Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist, suggest "Born to Run" instead, and the rest is history.

[@petersneddon962]

Plz react to Tenth Avenue Freeze Out live dvd live in NYC. 2000 It will exhaust you

[@ladydiaspora807]

Sounds Epic dont it!! Pure Americana

[@barbarabweaver1]

Thunder Road is an elegiac version of this. Would love to hear your take on it.

[@bargell]

I think at the end of the song, they WERE in the big city, but it didn’t help them. It still wasn’t what they needed or were looking for, so therefore they will keep running or searching until they find it.

[@themadcow71]

Turn it up

[@joelliebler5690]

Great song, album, and one of the greatest artists in the early days. You need to check out Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes which has a whole horn section and great rock and roll music that Mr. Springsteen learned a thing or 2 from.

[@scottdobson1276]

Key thing with this track is how big a Phil Spector fan Bruce was. He was trying to use wall of sound, and it turned out amazing. Love this is now always the closing song, after all the encores, they come out one last time, the house lights come on and they rip out this song

[@laughinggravyuk]

I think that part you liked was partly to do with the glockenspiel overlaid on top of the piano, really emphasising that treble end of things. As for not liking it as its been a bit overdone, I can see that...but to be fair it's 47 years old now, so fair to say he might have been one of the first, and the derivatives that have spoiled it shouldnt really mark this one down? To hear how influential this track still is to this day, listen to this back-to-back with Sam Fender's "Hypersonic Missiles" from 2020

[@mattdefilippis4625]

It’s still huge when he does it live.

[@kcitsgt]

Bruce was a powerhouse, but I don’t know if he’d been nearly as big without the E Street Band. Every single member was a star on their own.

[@gloriacurran4601]

I've heard that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie considered making Born to Run the state anthem. The song is that iconic -- even though it ultimately portrays the negative impression that the people who reside here are all struggling to get out. That's partly true... I guess? However, a big thumbs up to my fellow New Jerseyans!

[@hugginduff]

He is imitating the Phil SPector "Wall of sound" of the early 60s

[@dwhite849]

I saw them play as opening acts a few times in the Cleveland area. Knew they were going to0 go big. Why Cleveland? At the time it had the top Album FM radio station and one of the biggest concert promotors was based there. Bowie played Cleveland like every two months before he hit it big in the US.

[@stevewebster973]

Before this big jump into the mainstream there was another Bruce Springsteen, the one I knew first, who I found much more interesting. But it didn’t sell.

[@rachaddle6581]

Bruce Springsteen is a VERY American band!!!!

[@LadyIarConnacht]

This is one of those bands I never really liked much. I almost felt like Springstein was commercialized and sold to us too much - not really popular just because we loved him.

[@amitabhhajela681]

I don't fully agree with you since his talent is evident and I think he's an American icon.. BUT I do see your point and I think it's a valid perspective. He was promoted hard at a certain point too. Ultimately his huge die-hard fan base does seem organic and legit though.. that level of devotion can't be manufactured.

[@amitabhhajela681]

For what it's worth... his voice turns off a LOT of potential fans. I used to have a girlfriend who could listen to and enjoy his songs when other people covered them (like amateur KZbin singers lol).. but could not STAND to hear Bruce's renditions.

[@BalbazaktheGreat]

Classic Springsteen. Edit: Not a huge Springsteen fan myself, but the man certainly has a way of capturing that distillation of "the American Experience" - both the positive and the negative. That whole "muscle car" scheme he's got going is pure Americana.

[@beverlyoyarzun3326]

Pink Cadillac and Tenth Avenue FreezeOut

[@korybeavers6528]

Springsteen, is as skilled a wordsmith as Bob Dylan

[@brettschacht4183]

I must have 40 CDs from these two artists. So much great stuff to be explored!

[@mamaflush9945]

Here's one of my favorite song's with "Clarence Clemons and Jackson Browne - You're A Friend Of Mine (Video)" but I personally think that as far as this album goes, "Jungleland is far more a better choice. Although after saying this, I would never try to devalue the importance of this song, because it does embody the American spirit and Bruce Springsteen will always be "The Boss" the blue-collar working man's band! "BORN IN THE USA"😂🎸🔥💖🤗

[@rosamattisse4652]

How I wish someone would react to the acoustic version of this song.

[@theslimelady6336]

I fuckin looove brucey!

[@dwhite849]

He wrote the song before he became really famous this song made him famous

[@paulwhite7972]

Springsteen has said in the past that every song he's ever written is just a rewrite of the Animals track We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place. Born To Run is the most obvious example of this. Although the Animals didn't write WGGOOTP, it was written by the songwriting duo of Mann and Weil, their interpretation of it is undoubtedly the best. Like Born To Run its hard driving and dirty and speaks of being trapped in a town with no prospects and no way out. Give it a listen and you'll hear the similarities. It's more the feel of the song itself than the music kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpTPmYF4baecras

[@jamieoconnor1916]

Great video sir thanks 😊if you liked this one think you might also like Bruce springsteens song spanish Johnny 😀