From a songwriter whose arguably written nearly as many important and influential anthems as his 64 years of age, the chance to actually own a piece of what is perhaps The Boss’s most iconic song is a rare one indeed.
That’s the opportunity that wealthy Bruce Springsteen diehards are being offered when original handwritten lyrics of ‘Born To Run’ are going on sale next week, as the rare piece of rock history goes up for auction,
Going under the gavel at Sotheby’s in New York on 5th December, with the sheets – penned by the Boss’ own hand – expected to fetch somewhere between between £43,000 (approximately AU$ 77,300 ) and £61,000 (AU$110,000), as The Guardian reports.
The handwritten manuscript isn’t just a quick scrawl done at the behest of a fan either, but in fact shows a slightly altered prototype of what would become the 1975 hit song, featuring lyrics that are unpublished and never been recorded.
The 30 lines of ‘Born To Run’ feature alternate wording and stanzas that are significantly different from the finished version. While “certain key phrases” are present, some alterations include the “riding through mansions of glory in suicide machines” originally written by Springsteen as “chasin’ the bad kind of glory down a killers highway.”
Complete with ideas written neatly in the margins, it offers insight into the mind of the 25-year-old Springsteen as he wrestles with coming up with the car-culture iconography and sweeping Americana narrative of the title track of the album that propelled him into the upper echelons of American rock music; a place he’d inhabit for the majority of his decades-long career.
There’s omitted lines that’d have The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers drooling, such as “I looked out cross my hood + saw the highway buckle neath the wheels of a gold Chevy 6.” And it also shows off Bruce’s extremely florid way with the letter ‘t’.
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(Image: Sotheby’s. Source: The New York Times)
According to the auction house – who are currently displaying the handwritten artefact to the public – the item was offered up by an unidentified seller who alleges the early ‘Born To Run’ was torn from a spiral-bound notebook that once belonged to the Jersey singer-songwriter, written in Long Branch, 1974.
The errant songbook was part of a collection owned by Springsteen’s manager, Mike Appel, who “sold it to a collector, who sold it to the current consignor,” Sotheby’s Richard Mr. Austin tells The New York Times.
“Bruce Springsteen manuscripts don’t come up often,” he adds. “There have been a few fragments over the last five to 10 years, but nothing of this importance. There are verses here that will be unfamiliar even to hardcore fans.” It offers insight into the mind of the 25-year-old Springsteen as he wrestles with coming up with the car-culture iconography and sweeping Americana narrative of ‘Born To Run’
This week, Springsteen also revealed plans to release his 18th studio album, High Hopes, a collection of originals, covers, and re-worked parts of his catalogue to be released in January, just weeks before he hits Australia for a massive, nearly sold out national tour with the E Street Band.
The new album also has ties to Australia, with Springsteen recording two covers at Sydney’s 301 Studio during his $25 million-dollar grossing tour of the country this past Easter, including a cover of ‘Just Like Fire Would’ by Aussie punk legends The Saints, as Noise 11 points out.
The title track, a cover of 90s LA band Havalinas, was also cut in the Sydney studio, at the suggestion of Rage Against The Machine Tom Morello, who was filling in for guitarist Steve Van Zandt during the Australian tour (and will be returning alongside the E Street regular for the Australian dates next February)
“I was working on a record of some of our best unreleased material from the past decade when Tom Morello suggested we ought to add ‘High Hopes’ to our live set,” Springsteen explains. “We worked it up in our Aussie rehearsals and Tom then proceeded to burn the house down with it. We re-cut it mid tour at Studios 301 in Sydney along with ‘Just Like Fire Would’, a song from one of my favourite early Australian punk bands, The Saints.”
Springsteen adds that Morello’s dazzling fretwork “became my muse, pushing the rest of this project to another level,” with High Hopes including the re-tooled version of The Boss’ “The Ghost of Tom Joad’ spotlight the Rage guitarist’s signature guitar stylings that was a bona fide set highlight of his previous Aussie tour.
Additionally, Frontier Touring have today confirmed that after selling nearly 60,000 tickets to the two Melbourne dates for next February’s Australian Tour, a new release of an additional 2,000 rear General Admission tickets are on sale for Springsteen’s two AAMI Park concerts, with special guests Hunters & Collectors and Dan Sultan.
Bruce Springsteen Australian Tour 2014
Pre-sale tickets available via www.frontiertouring.com/brucespringsteen
Monday 23 September to Tuesday 24 September
Perth – 2pm local | Adelaide – 2.30pm local | Hunter Valley – 12 noon local (or ends earlier if pre-sale allocation is exhausted)
General public on sale from Thursday 26 September (staggered times, refer below)
Wed 5 Feb – Perth | Perth Arena (All Ages) – SOLD OUT!Fri 7 Feb – Perth | Perth Arena (All Ages) – SOLD OUTSat 8 Feb – Perth | Perth Arena (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Tue 11 Feb – Adelaide | Entertainment Centre (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Wed 12 Feb – Adelaide | Entertainment Centre (All Ages) – NEW SHOW!
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 15 Feb – Melbourne | AAMI Park (All Ages) – NEW TICKETS!
Sun 16 Feb – Melbourne | AAMI Park (All Ages) – NEW TICKETS!
with special guests Hunters & Collectors and Dan Sultan
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Wed 19 Feb – Sydney | Allphones Arena(All Ages) – SELLING FAST
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 22 Feb – Hunter Valley | Hope Estate (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Sun 23 Feb – Hunter Valley | Hope Estate (All Ages) – SELLING FAST
with special guests The Rubens and Dan Sultan
Ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Wed 26 Feb – Brisbane | Entertainment Centre (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 1 Mar – Auckland | Mt Smart Stadium (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Sun 2 Mar – Auckland | Mt Smart Stadium (All Ages) SELLING FAST!
with special guest Jimmy Barnes
Ticketmaster.co.nz | Ph: 0800 111 999
Frontier Members pre-sale via www.frontiertouring.com/brucespringsteen
2pm NZST Thursday 5 September – 2pm NZST Friday 6 September
(or until pre-sale allocation is exhausted). Visit the website for more details
General public on sale from 9am NZST Monday 9th September
