Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run, the autobiography.
What might have become arguably one of the great “wisdom” traditions of our time, the music of Bruce Springsteen has been a source of comfort for millions since he stepped into the spotlight in 1973 with his debut release, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
It was his third record, Born to Run, however, that propelled him and his E Street Band into superstardom, and is now recognized as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. The lyrical and compositional mastery of songs like “Thunder Road,” “Backstreets,” and “Jungleland,” as well as the title-track “Born to Run” still speak to those longing to breakaway and realize a brighter future.
Known affectionately as “the Boss” by fans and the general public alike, to listen deeply to the music of Bruce Springsteen is to listen to the age-old struggle for self-transendence. His 2016 autobiography, also entitled Born to Run, is a frank elaboration on this struggle as his own personal journey towards a better life.
One brief chapter, no more than a couple pages in length of this massive five-hundred-plus page book, for me particularly stands out. Entitled Zero to Sixty in Nothing Flat, the opening lines read, “The blues don’t jump right on you. They come creeping.”
Disclosing his fierce battle against bouts of depression that in some cases last years, the Boss’ candor is a sober reminder that even our heroes, those we admire, and perhaps envy the most, are vulnerable like the rest of us. Crafty, powerful, and cruel, depression he writes is “this thing that I have studied and fought against for the better part of sixty-five years.”
The lesson in these pages, I think, is an all too human one. Our subjective selves are fragile, we all need to be handled with care. When “these moods hit” he writes, “few will notice.” Springsteen’s words teach us that even those who we think we know are a mystery unto themselves. In the privacy of our inner world, wars can be fought. Victories made, and sometimes tragically lost. When it comes to life, remind yourself that we are all in it together.
With both deadly seriousness and unfeigned humor, the music of Bruce Springsteen sings of love, truth, the need for solidarity and above all hope. His autobiography opens like an expanse of road on these very same themes, which we all hold within ourselves.
“That’s why the E Street Band plays steamroller strong and undiminished, forty years in, night after night. We are more than an idea, an aesthetic. We are a philosophy, a collective, with a professional code of honor. It is based on the principle that we bring our best, everything we have, on this night, to remind you of everything you have, your best.”
Amen, Boss. Amen.
