Thunder Road Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

Genius Annotation

Perhaps the quintessential Bruce number, this anthemic 1975 song contains many of the lyrical and musical hallmarks that make the band from E Street so justly famous. It is the first song on the first side of Springsteen’s breakthrough album, Born to Run.

Born to Run was the final installment of Springsteen’s first record deal with Columbia. The preceding albums, Greetings from Asbury Park and The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, had not been commercial successes. The third album would be critical in determining the viability of his future in music. Facing that do-or-die pressure to compose a life-defining last-ditch effort, he leads off with a song about life-defining last-ditch efforts.

In his 2005 VH1 Storytellers interview, Springsteen shares that Thunder Road is more than an invitation to the album, it’s an invitation to a bigger life. In his own words, “The music sounds like an invitation. Something is opening up to you… What I hoped it would be when I wrote this song is what I got out of rock and roll music – which is a sense of a larger life, greater experience, hopefully more and better sex, a sense of fun – more fun, a sense of personal exploration, your possibilities… the idea that it is all lying somewhere inside of you… just on the edge of town.”

Another song on Born to Run that took almost a year to complete. In February-March 1975, it was performed live as “Wings For Wheels”. In late March, Bruce decided to take the music from another song, “Walking In the Street”, and use it to replace the instrumental outro (ending) of the song. He also revised the lyrics, renaming it “Thunder Road”, based on a poster he had seen in a movie theater lobby. Thunder Road was first recorded at the Record Plant, NY on April 18, 1975, and it was finished on July 16, 1975.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Bruce Springsteen say about "Thunder Road"?
Genius Answer

About the piano as the dominating instrument, Springsteen said

We decided to make a guitar album, but then I wrote all the songs on piano.

Credits
Mastering Engineer
Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Background Vocals
Fender Rhodes
Glockenspiel
Recorded At
Record Plant Studio, New York, N.Y.
Release Date
August 25, 1975
Songs That Sample Thunder Road
View Thunder Road samples
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