Written at 7½ West End Court 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...
[Verse 1]
In the day, we sweat it out on the streets
Of a runaway American dream
At night, we ride through mansions of glory
In suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on Highway 9
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin' out over the line
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
Yes, girl, we were
[Verse 2]
Wendy let me in, I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
And strap your hands across my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Oh, will you walk with me out on the wire?
`Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta know how it feels
I want to know if love is wild, babe
I want to know if love is real
Oh, can you show me?
[Saxophone Solo]
[Bridge]
Beyond the palace, hemi-powered drones
Scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you, Wendy, on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss
Huh!
[Instrumental Break]
(One, two, three, four)
[Verse 3]
The highways jammed with broken heroes
On a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
But there's no place left to hide
Together, Wendy, we can live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Oh, someday girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go, and we'll walk in the sun
But till then, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
[Outro]
Oh honey, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Come on Wendy, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Whoa-oh-whoa
Hm-hm-hm
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Hm-hm-hm
Whoa-oh-whoa
Oh-oh-oh
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Born to Run was written by Bruce Springsteen.
Born to Run was produced by Mike Appel & Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce Springsteen released Born to Run on Mon Aug 25 1975.
I had enormous ambitions for it. I wanted to make the greatest rock record I’d ever heard. I don’t know how important the settings are. It’s the idea behind the settings. It could be New Jersey, it could be California, it could be Alaska.
Bruce Springsteen to Rolling Stone