Running Music: Bruce Springsteen 'Born To Run'

See the list so far here

Next up:

Bruce Springsteen ‘Born to Run’

So I’ve reached the halfway point of my list of 20 songs which vaguely relate to running, or the London Marathon.

Following The Clash, Arcade Fire, Iron Maiden, Canned Heat, Tom Petty, Spencer Davis Group, All American Rejects, Lindisfarne and Thin Lizzy, this week we come to the previously advertised obvious song on the list.

In summer 2003, Bruce Springsteen was playing Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, a relatively short train journey from Leeds, where I was living at the time.

I seriously considered going, but, for once, was a responsible student and gave it a miss. One of my final exams was to be the following morning, and Bruce would come back.

Having still never seen Bruce Springsteen live, and not having found my degree to be a massive amount of use since, I do sometimes wonder if I should have gone. I mean, how difficult would the exam have been with only marginally less sleep than I imagine I got anyway?

Apparently ‘Born To Run’ came out at a point when Springsteen was at something of an all or nothing stage in his career. His previous work hadn’t seen him enjoy quite the success which early critical acclaim suggested he should. It was Springsteen’s first world-wide single release in August 1975, although it made little impact outside the US, where it reached number 23 on the Billboard Chart.

Running Music: Full List

This page will have the complete list of songs which I write about, updated as the weeks pass.

To recap, the point of this list is, I often get songs stuck in my head while running. More often than not they’re ones I hate, or at best, find irritating.

I’m not in favour of the idea of running to music, not least as the beat could encourage you to run at a pace which you hadn’t planned to. However I am in favour of using music to motivate, clear the mind, relax or anything else that helps your preparation, I might even listen to some of these on the morning of April 17th.

All these songs either relate to running in their title, or have some connection to the story of my first marathon.

And so the list is:

The Clash ‘London Calling’
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Arcade Fire ‘Keep the Car Running’
Blog Post
Arcade Fire original on Youtube
Foo Fighters Cover on Youtube

Iron Maiden ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Canned Heat ‘Let’s Work Together’
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Tom Petty ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Spencer Davis Group 'Keep On Running'
Blog Post
Youtube Link

All American Rejects 'Move Along'
Blog post
Youtube Link

Lindisfarne 'Run For Home'
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Thin Lizzy 'Running Back'
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Bruce Springsteen 'Born To Run'
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Neil Young 'Long May You Run'
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Kate Bush 'Running Up That Hill'
Blog Post
Youtube Link

REO Speedwagon 'Take it on the Run'
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Lemonheads 'Outdoor Type
Blog Post
Youtube Link

Jimmy Cliff 'You Can Get It If You Really Want'
Blog post coming soon
Youtube Link