BORN TO RUN

Live 13 Jul 1974 version

Hot day we sweat it out in the streets
Of a runaway American dream
At night we stop and tremble in the heat
With murder in our dreams
Sprung from cages on Highway 9
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected
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
Tramps like us baby
Baby we were born to run

So close your tired eyes little one
And crawl within my reach
Oh and wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
And we'll ride tonight on the beach
Out where the surfers sat wet and cold
As they watch the skies
There'll be a silence to match their own

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 wanna know if love is wild
I wanna know if love is real

Oh yes I do
Show me now

Well outside the Palace the hemi-powered drones
Scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in custom mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
Like animals pacing in a black dark cage
Senses on overload
They're gonna end this night in a senseless fight
They watch the world explode

One, two, three, four
Highways jammed with broken heroes
With a loneliness in their eyes
Everybody's out on the run tonight
But there's no place where they hide
We gotta live with the sadness
Drive to this madness
Oh burnin' off the radio
Oh well maybe someday girl I'll get us somewhere
We'll get to that place we really wanna go
And we'll walk in the sun
But till then
Tramps like us
Baby we were born to run
Tramps like us
Baby we were born to run
Tramps like us
Baby we were born to run

Oh whoah yeah

Ugh, ugh

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 13 Jul 1974 performance of BORN TO RUN at The Bottom Line in New York City, NY, during what is considered The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle Tour. This early version of BORN TO RUN is pretty different from the album version.

Promotional ad for the July 1974 three-night stand at The Bottom Line, New York City, NY
(Taken from Brucebase)

Ticket stub for the 13 Jul 1974 show at The Bottom Line, New York City, NY
(Taken from Brucebase)

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed three nights at The Bottom Line between 12 and 14 Jul 1974. They played two shows each night, an early one at 8:30PM and a late one at 11:30PM. According to pre-concerts advertisements, these were double-bill shows, with Bruce Springsteen headlining and singer-songwriter Jeffrey Comanor opening. Recollections differ, but Comanor may not have appeared at all six shows of the three-night stand. An audience recording from the second night circulates among collectors and is believed to be from the late show, although this hasn't been verified.

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) and Chris at born2run.de for the lyrics help.

Some of the above information is taken from Brucebase.

Available Versions

List of available versions of BORN TO RUN on this website:

Page last updated: 05 Jan 2016