Born to Run (4:29)

1,012,995 plays (231,160 listeners)

Send Ringtones to Cell

Buy at Amazon MP3 (Search)

Download Track
Amazon MP3 Search

7digital Search

iTunes ($1.29)

Add to my Library Share More

Born to Run is the signature song of the American singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run. 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.

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!), for whom the motorcycle-riding protagonist certainly has enough passion to love, but perhaps not the patience. However, Springsteen has noted that it has a much simpler core: getting out of Asbury Park.

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.

The track was recorded at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York amidst touring breaks during 1974, with final recording done on August 6, well in advance of the rest of the album

Tagged as:

rock, classic rock, bruce springsteen, 70s, singer-songwriter
See more…

Video

Added by OberstKrautwaschl

Rare footage from a show at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA on October 25, 1976.

Share Video

Flag as incorrect

See 13 more

Related Tracks

Thunder Road (4:47)
Bruce Springsteen
284 shouts
Badlands (4:01)
Bruce Springsteen
78 shouts
Go Your Own Way (3:38)
Fleetwood Mac
268 shouts
More Than A Feeling (4:46)
Boston
911 shouts
Like A Rolling Stone (6:08)
Bob Dylan
574 shouts
The Weight (4:34)
The Band
348 shouts

Albums featuring this track

Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $7.92
- 7digital $7.99
- iTunes
- Buy Album
- Amazon $15.28
- eBay Search
Greatest Hits
Bruce Springsteen
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $11.99
- 7digital $13.99
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $37.55
- eBay Search
The Rolling Stone Collection: 1973-1977
Various Artists
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Legends: Ultimate Rock Collection: We Will Rock…
Various Artists
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search

See all 63 albums

Shouts

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

rockandrollsuzi wrote:
yesterday morning

Never heard this version before.......liike the other

View Profile | Leave rockandrollsuzi a shout
paloefe wrote:
Sunday afternoon

it couldn´t be better!

View Profile | Leave paloefe a shout
OskiRocks wrote:
Sunday morning

Wendy let me in, I wanna be your friend. I want to guard your dreams and visions.....

View Profile | Leave OskiRocks a shout
millwalljoel wrote:
Thursday afternoon

Never heard this version, still quality though. Gotta love the boss

View Profile | Leave millwalljoel a shout
johnTMcNeill wrote:
Wednesday evening

very nice - but not what I expected to hear. One of the rare times Lastfm pleasantly suprised me with a switch. I've seen Bruce two or three times, but I never heard this version. Thanks!

View Profile | Leave johnTMcNeill a shout
rareblood wrote:
last week

recently paid a hundred bucks to sit through a 3 hour bruce concert. ( kinda tough for somebody with adhd.) will never forget this song live, though. almost a spiritual experience.

View Profile | Leave rareblood a shout
paloefe wrote:
last month

this version sucks

View Profile | Leave paloefe a shout
Diegoo21 wrote:
last month

Don't really like this live version. Loses speed

View Profile | Leave Diegoo21 a shout
irlandgirl wrote:
last month

Beautiful

View Profile | Leave irlandgirl a shout
OrganizedUproar wrote:
last month

"1-2-3-4 THE HIGHWAY'S JAMMED WITH BROKEN HEROES..." still gets me every time; brilliant song.

View Profile | Leave OrganizedUproar a shout
Dora117 wrote:
last month

Full of emotions...........♫♫♥♥

View Profile | Leave Dora117 a shout
georgeinar wrote:
last month

this was an instant classic the minute it came out, it has everything a great rock song needs, musically as well as emotion not just attitude

View Profile | Leave georgeinar a shout
philliesphan123 wrote:
last month

great song. NJ ROCKS!!!!!!

View Profile | Leave philliesphan123 a shout
amusings_bnl wrote:
last month

bruce redeems all the rest of jersey for me. heh.

View Profile | Leave amusings_bnl a shout
selbic wrote:
last month

weeendy!!!!!!!

View Profile | Leave selbic a shout
OskiRocks wrote:
last month

Got the 'unplugged' version this go-round. Still awesome.....

View Profile | Leave OskiRocks a shout
rockandrollsuzi wrote:
last month

Just the best!!

View Profile | Leave rockandrollsuzi a shout
pergo45 wrote:
last month

THE BEST!!!! Jersey Rock at its best.

View Profile | Leave pergo45 a shout
jerseyboi3877 wrote:
last month

Jersey, baby!

View Profile | Leave jerseyboi3877 a shout
Dora117 wrote:
last month

Now that's my style..........

View Profile | Leave Dora117 a shout