Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run Lyrics

Bruce Springsteen Lyrics

"Born To Run"

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

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?

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

(1, 2, 3, 4) 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

Oh honey, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Come on with me, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run

Submit Corrections

Thanks to Ben Smith for correcting these lyrics.

Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen's "Greatest Hits" album had this explanation written by him in its liner notes: "My shot at the title. A 24 yr. old kid aimin' at 'The greatest rock 'n roll record ever'."

Highway 9, mentioned in this song, refers to Route 9 in New Jersey which went through Freehold, Bruce Springsteen's hometown.

"The Palace" from the lyrics is an amusement park listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.

When this song was performed at The Spectrum in Philadelphia on the 9th of December 1980, it was the next day after John Lennon's death. Bruce Springsteen opened the show with a dedication, "If it wasn't for John Lennon, a lot of us would be some place much different tonight. It's a hard world that asks you to live with a lot of things that are unlivable. And it's hard to come out here and play tonight, but there's nothing else to do." Springsteen sang Twist And Shout at the end of the concert in tribute to Lennon.

The Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time has this song at number 21 position.

"Born To Run" is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

A notepad page with Bruce Springsteen's early lyrics for this song was sold for $197,000 at an auction in New York on the 5th of December 2013.

album: "Born To Run" (1975)

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run album cover

Thunder Road

Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

Meeting Across The River

Jungleland

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"Born To Run" lyrics

Bruce Springsteen Lyrics