"Born to Run" is a song by American singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run. Born to Run garnered widespread acclaim when it was first released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. It has since been considered by critics to be one of the greatest albums of all time.
This was the first song Springsteen wrote for a studio production, rather than a live performance. After recording four versions (one with a female chorus) at the low-budget studio where he recorded his first two albums, he moved to a higher end studio to finish it, refusing to release it until it was just right.
Springsteen wrote the lyrics in his Long Branch, New Jersey, home in early 1974. "One day I was playing my guitar on the edge of the bed, working on some song ideas, and the words 'born to run' came to me," he recalled. "At first I thought it was the name of a movie or something I'd seen on a car spinning around the circuit. I liked the phrase because it suggested a cinematic drama that I thought would work with the music that I'd been hearing in my head."