"Born to Run" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run. Upon its release, music critic Robert Christgau took note of its wall of sound influence and called it "the fulfillment of everything 'Be My Baby' was about and lots more". "Born to Run" was Springsteen's first worldwide single release, although it achieved little initial success outside of the United States. Within the U.S. it received extensive airplay on progressive or album-oriented rock radio stations. The single was also Springsteen’s first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #23. The song ranked number 21 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the highest entry for a song by Springsteen, and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Composition In late 1973, on the road in Tennessee, Springsteen awoke with the title "Born to Run", which he wrote down. According to Springsteen, this was the first spark of the later song. 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. U.S. Route 9, a highway passing through Freehold, is mentioned from the lyric "sprung from cages out on Highway 9". In his 1996 book Songs, Springsteen relates that while the beginning of the song was written on guitar around the opening riff, the song's writing was finished on piano, the instrument that most of the Born to Run album was composed on. The song was recorded in the key of E major. In the period prior to the release of Born to Run Springsteen was becoming well-known (especially in his native northeast) for his live shows. "Born to Run" joined his concert repertoire well before the release of the album, being performed in concert by May 1974, if not earlier. The first recording of the song was made by Allan Clarke of the British group the Hollies, although its release was delayed, only appearing after Springsteen's own now-famous version. Recording In recording the song Springsteen first earned his noted reputation for perfectionism, laying down as many as eleven guitar tracks to get the