Nathaniel Murphy Plays Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run' on a 1959 Fender Esquire

Nathaniel laces up his trainers and grabs this extra clean 1959 Esquire for a quick cover of the Boss’s 1975 classic.

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More about Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run"
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.

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Lyrics:
In the day, we sweat it out on the streets
Of a runaway American dream
At night, we ride through mansions of glory
In suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on Highway 9
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin' out over the line
Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
`Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
Yes, girl, we were
Wendy let me in, I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
And strap your hands across my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Oh, will you walk with me out on the wire?
`Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta know how it feels
I want to know if love is wild, babe
I want to know if love is real
Oh, can you show me?

Beyond the palace, hemi-powered drones
Scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you, Wendy, on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss

(1, 2, 3, 4) The highways jammed with broken heroes
On a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
But there's no place left to hide
Together, Wendy, we can live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Oh, someday girl, I don't know when
We're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go, and we'll walk in the sun
But till then, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run

Oh honey, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run
Come on with me, tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run

00:00 - 02:10 - Bruce Springsteen "Born to Run"
#ChicagoMusicExchange #NathanielMurphy #BruceSpringsteen #Fender #VintageGuitars #Guitar

[steveshaw]

This guy's got more talent in his left bollock than I would have if I had 10 hands...what a player👍👍👍

[RJ-lfex]

This guy is incredible. Not just his playing but his adaptations.

This song is incredibly difficult to pull off because believe it or not, Born To Run (the song) is very heavily bass oriented. The bass absolutely makes Born To Run work. And Nathaniel really nailed the bass part to this song. Watch his thumb and emphasis on the bass notes. Really wonderful and creative adaptation.

[Nordic_Sky]

I'm so glad YouTube keeps putting this in my feed! Never gets old.

[Hotitalianman]

He should be on TOUR making millions. My fav guitarist bar none.

[CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

I love Chicago Music Ex, bought two guitars from them.
But, I hope they are treating Nate right. They are going viral because of him and Beato.
IMHO.

[geraldhenrickson]

Thank you. This certainly made my morning...that and my cup of coffee.

[borjewahlen]

He is just amazing. Not only the skill but they way he approach the song in his way and still keep the original feeling. He keeps music interesting and with a lot feel.
❤👍

[lanceconnolly]

Just found this but am a huge NM fan....beautiful, again. Bruce would love seeing the Esquire in action.

[stickman]

Spectacular chord melody! Inspiring to watch Nathaniel play.

[sarnobat]

Even though it sounds beautiful, just seeing the similar model of what Bruce used is delightful alone.

[pumpkinhead]

I'm a simple man, I see a telecaster and I smash like

[thomaswest]

You are so good that you sound like more than one player at a time.

[ule]

Honestly... this version of this song makes me wanna cry. Also makes me wanna pick up my tele and learn it. You inspired me with this one. X

[jordanphillips]

Oh yeah, this guy is insane. What a player.

[musiclife]

What an amazing guitar player. To come up and play that part with those chords and thumb over the top is inspirational

[avoidingpuffins]

Damn that's some nice playing, beauty of a guitar as well!

[heavymetal]

It certainly helps when a talented musician can bring out the best in the instrument in question! Thanks for got goosebumps from that one lol

[Pappa]

Good to see a leve lad play Springsteen

[dep]

Love your playing, Nathaniel! Keep it up, brother!

[MonikaMotyl-DuszyPokorny]

Great playing, great presentation and emoting, a full realized pathos which is hard to without lyrics. Bravo Nathaniel, greeting from the front lines in Ukraina (I'm a combat medic).

And how can one not mention that axe, wow!!! I made '54 Tele replica with a lot of the internals original from that era, just the neck, body, and hardware is replica, but high quality (wood cellulose paint so it has pop corn smell and it's fading to more yellow, a swamp ash body). I would love to play an instrument like that someday.