The defining Bruce Springsteen anthem, according to Bruce Springsteen
You can tell a lot about a person by asking for their favourite Bruce Springsteen track. The New Jersey musician has embraced so many different styles and songwriting themes over the course of his long and illustrious career, from his faithful folk-influenced songs of the common man to his more recent flirtations with soul and Motown. Still, a select few highlights from his ever-diverse discography seem to stand out among all the rest, at least in the eyes of ‘The Boss’ himself.
One of the most impressive aspects of Springsteen’s extensive career in music has always been the vast diversity within his material. Even if you look at the 1980s, one of his most commercially successful periods, pop-rock smash-hits like ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ arrived at around the same time as the profound vulnerability and emotion of Nebraska. Very few songwriters have been able to ride the line between mainstream appeal and sticking to artistic principles quite as expertly as Springsteen.
Even more impressive, the New Jersey songwriter has managed to maintain that reputation across multiple decades, appealing to multiple generations of music fans in the process. Even today, his influence over songwriting remains palpable, with the likes of Sam Fender regularly speaking about the incredible influence bestowed upon him by Springsteen. With such an extensive, generation-spanning discography, though, it is becoming increasingly difficult for ‘The Boss’ to select his career highlights.
Curating a setlist for a live show must be a difficult task for Springsteen, as he has enough cult favourites and mainstream hits to perform for days without stopping. However, certain tracks are utterly unavoidable, and one such example is Springsteen’s 1975 classic ‘Born to Run’. Marking the songwriter’s mainstream breakthrough in the US, the timeless rock anthem quickly became Springsteen’s defining track, and he has performed it over 1800 times at live shows to date.
So, when Springsteen was asked by The Project to name his favourite Springsteen track back in 2013, he inevitably responded, “I have to go with the fans. I guess we usually say ‘Born To Run’. Because it was the song where I invented myself.” Adding, “It carried a certain amount of rock and roll past, current and future.”
“I’ve managed to write well about the classic rock archetypes,” the songwriter continued. “The car, the girl, the road, the guy, the running – all classic B-movie rock cliches that I was able to use and reinvigorate in my own way. Bring new life to and bring current into 1975, which was when the record was released.” Concluding, “So if I have to go with one, I’m always comfortable of going with that one.”
Although every fan has their own take on Springsteen’s finest moment, it is certainly difficult to disagree with his decision to select ‘Born To Run’ as a highlight. Not only did it expose the songwriting mastery of ‘The Boss’ to mainstream audiences in America, but it also acted as a promising sign of things to come for the musician.
During his earlier years, Springsteen struggled to escape the constant comparisons to artists like Bob Dylan, but ‘Born To Run’ was a song that remains unmistakably Springsteen. So. it is no surprise that the track holds a sizeable place in the heart of the songwriter.
