Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen song) in Long Branch, New Jersey in early 1974, the song was Bruce Springsteen's final attempt to become successful. The prior year, Springsteen had released two albums to critical acclaim but with little commercial movement. Written in the first person, the song is a love letter to a girl named Wendy, for whom the hot rod-riding protagonist seems to possess the passion to love, just not the patience. However, Springsteen has noted that it has a much simpler core: getting out of Freehold. Route 9 is mentioned from the lyric "sprung from cages out on Highway 9". In his 1996 book
Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen song) sing along with Springsteen's signature wordless vocalizations throughout the song's performance. The song has also been released in live versions on six albums or DVDs: "Born to Run" was also performed as the second number of four during Springsteen and the E Street Band's halftime performance at Super Bowl XLIII. On Jon Stewart's last episode as host of "The Daily Show" on August 6, 2015, Springsteen performed "Land of Hope and Dreams" and "Born to Run". The B-side was simply another cut from the album; Springsteen would not begin releasing unused tracks as B-sides until 1980. "Born to Run" was