Billboard Beatdown: Bruce Springsteen - “Born to Run”
Some mornings I have a specific song in my head when I wake up. Some mornings, I feel the need to ease in to my day and I will look for something sonically gentle. Then there are mornings like today when I feel the need for an anthem.
The first one that came to mind is “Baba O’Riley.” The problem? I don’t like The Who. I do like that song, mostly because everyone is using it, taking advantage of its impossibly huge sound. The only versions of it I have are Pearl Jam’s various covers of it on the live albums I’ve bought over the years. They do a good job, but it’s not the same.
Anthem… anthem… Bruce Springsteen! Brilliant! “Born to Run” it is.
Even before you hear the opening notes, the song’s title screams anthem and purpose. “Born to Run.” That’s intent, that’s attitude, that’s rebellion.
I bought the 30th Anniversary edition of the Born to Run album a couple years ago, and I mention that because the remastered version of the record has helped restore the hugeness of this song. This song was Springsteen’s title shot, and you can hear it without analyzing a single word or note. Timidity is not an option with songs that have a title like “Born to Be Wild” or “Born to Run” and you can hear the ambition, purpose, and the ferocity in the song’s first three seconds.
I don’t know that I can add all that much in the way of analysis to the song because there’s not much needed. There’s not a lot of subtlety, there’s not supposed to be. This is innocent sophistication and that special naivety unique to teenagers. You have to be pretty sour to listen to “Born to Run” and not feel flooded with life and vitality. It’s a celebration of those larger-than-life moments. It’s the perfect companion for a weekend of debauched revelry. Turns out it’s also a powerful tonic for 7 am on a Tuesday.
Filed under: Billboard Beatdown, Bruce Springsteen
I don’t like The Who
and somehow, i still associate with you.
I will resist the temptation to turn this into a poo-flinging about all the bands you’re wrong about, instead reminding you we both agree on Bruce and this song. That must count for something.
Besides… you’ve never heard my Roger Daltrey impression.
and you’ve never heard my Elliott Smith impression.
I bet it sounds like fingerknives.
I’ll bet my Daltrey is funnier, too.
only if fingerknives sounds like John Lennon just dragging himself out of bed in the morning.
p.s. what the heck is a finger knife anyway?
It’s a good day for anthems. At least here in Indiana. Bright sun, blue skies and more warmth than a Josh Hathaway fart…or something.
For sure the windows will be rolled down for the drive home, and something loud and fun shall be blaring from the speakers. Too bad I don’t have a copy of “squeeze box” with me.
blue sky? sun? what the heck are those things?! on my way home, i got detoured ten miles out of the way because a bridge was closed due to more flooding. it’s crazy around here.
It has been miserable around here the last several weeks (well not quite that miserable, but still) but today is perfect. Exactly what April should be.
Naner naner.
[...] remember that when in a situation not too dissimilar from this a couple weeks ago, I reached for Bruce Springsteen’s classic “Born to Run. I remembered that, and thought once again that album might be up to the task. What I also [...]