Now that I’ve gotten the history lesson out of the way, it’s time to talk about songs that are just plain brilliant.Today’s brief is a song I know all the words to. Even though I know the words to a lot of songs, I had to pick this one because I think it’s one of the most perfect songs ever written, musically and lyrically and dynamically, and to be honest I relish the chance to talk about it for a while. Day 8 of the 30 Day Song Challenge is a Springsteen Sunday.
This one really has everything. A great riff, a catchy chorus, a noisy breakdown, a kickback that makes you throw your fist in the air, and a hell of a sax solo. Springsteen is openly influenced by Dylan, and he once said of Like a Rolling Stone that the snare hit that opens that song “sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind”, and you can tell that he’s trying to emulate this in the opening of Born to Run, with that probably iconic drum run kicking open the door and dragging you away down a heat-hazy highway.
Then comes the riff, rolling around like the rims of a lowriding, souped-up muscle car, announcing all the joy and freedom and pure rock n’ roll to come. The layers of guitars scream at you like angry kids shouting obscenities as they drive by. This is a young man’s song: it’s angry, it’s ecstatic, it’s arrogant and it’s looking for a fight. That riff just dares you to disagree with it, challenging you not to listen to what’s coming.
And what’s coming is the usual angry young Springsteen story of escape, the same invitation he extends in Thunder Road, but this time more assured, more certain that the road is where he belongs. It’s a different girl this time---Wendy, not Mary---and it’s a different Bruce, it’s a Bruce who knows what he wants now, a Bruce who didn’t get it first time around and is trying again, more confident now that he needs to move on, that he was born to run. Once again he’s trying to talk a girl into coming with him, but he’s not taking no for an answer.
In Bruce Springsteen’s world, the road is the only place he can be himself. He can’t settle down, can’t stay in one place for too long, and probably can’t stay with one girl for too long. He says he was born to run, and he runs from women as much as he runs from places. He seems to be convinced that he’s in love with Wendy, “with all the madness in [his] soul”, but I’m not convinced, and I don’t think I should be. I don’t think it matters exactly which girl he runs with, as long as he’s got someone.
And, really, that’s true of everyone (not to make an egregious generalization about the whole human race with nothing to back it up, but hey, this is rock and roll, not science). It doesn’t matter all that much who we run with, as long as we’re not alone. You can love someone with all the madness in your soul, or you can barely tolerate them. Either way, you’ll never be bored on the road.
But after all this insight (well, possible insight: I could be reading too much into this), there comes the sax solo. Raucous and rough and furious, you can tell Clarence loves to play. You can see him wiggling across the stage, taking tiny steps, swinging his shoulders, eyes closed and cheeks rounded, putting all his soul into his horn. As much as Bruce’s youthful energy makes this song toe the line of greatness, I think it’s Clarence’s solo that pushes it over the edge.
And after it crosses that line of cool, the whole song goes into freefall, slipping down the chromatic scale until there’s only noise and chaos, like the wind roaring in the rolled-down windows of a car racing down the highway, Bruce and Wendy holding hands over the gearstick, communicating in looks because they can’t hear a word each other says.
Then, finally, Bruce manages to shout over the cacophony, counting in, and everything falls into place. The song shifts gear and they’re on their way to their place in the sun. You can’t really help but throw your fist in the air and share their triumph. This is another song that ends before it begins, but it’s the same deal as Thunder Road here: it doesn’t matter where they go, but this time they’re more certain. This time they know they’ll make it, and nothing can stop them.
So, back to the beginning, and the reasons why this song is one of the best. It’s got it all: excitement, romance, drama and a big ending. It takes you up, it takes you down, it drags you out of your little world and shows you what could be. With that stumbling drum roll in the beginning, it kicks open the door to your mind and invades your consciousness, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
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