Born to RunBruce Springstein has just released his autobiography Born to Run. What do you know about the musician and what new things would you expect to read about in his book?

1/4

reading + listening

The GuardianBruce Springsteen – five things we learned from his autobiography, Born to Run

Springsteen is aware of his limitationsYou might think someone who has headlined stadiums since 1984 would be convinced of his own musical abilities, but no. When he formed the Castiles, 50 years ago, “I was considered toxic in front of a microphone,” he writes. And while he reckons he’s competent now, he doesn’t stretch much further than that: “I have a barman’s power, range and durability, but I don’t have a lot of tonal beauty or finesse. My voice gets the job done. But it’s a journeyman’s instrument and on its own, it’s never going to take you to higher ground. I need all my skills to get by and to communicate deeply. I am a sum of all my parts. I learned early that this is not

something to fret about.”

Whatever his relationship with his dad, he was always looking for father figuresSpringsteen’s troubled relationship with his father, eventually resolved long into adulthood, is an ongoing theme of Born to Run. In the absence of a father who supported him, he sought encouragement and advice from a series of men he admits were “surrogate father figures”, beginning in his teens with Tex Vinyard in his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey. Tex and his wife Marion let local teen bands practise in their home. Those father figures crop up several times, until the most important of all arrives in Springsteen’s life – Jon Landau who became his manager.

He suffered from serious depressionSpringsteen reveals in the book a profound unease that began in childhood – Bruce was nicknamed “Blinky” in primary school on account of his fluttering eyelids – and this erupted into full-blown depression in his 30s, on the eve of 1984’s Born in the

USA, the album that brought him global stardom. “My depression was spewing like an oil spill over the beautiful turquoise green gulf of my carefully planned existence,” recalls Bruce. In despair he called his manager, Jon Landau, who knew something of the problem and who told him bluntly: “You need professional help.”

So began a lifetime of counselling and medication for a condition whose sure-fire cure has always been the dazzling stagecraft of heroic guitar poses, dramatic knee skids, athletic piano leaps and air-punching exuberance. “Exposed in front of thousands, I have always felt perfectly safe,” he says. “That’s why you can’t get rid of me.”

Springsteen often had problems with womenWhile he realised early on that music was a way to

October 2016

Read the article and summarise in your own words the five things the journalist learned from the autobiography.

B

Born to Run

Which of the things surprise you the most? Is Bruce Springsteen popular where you live? Which of his songs do you know and which do you like?b

To coincide with the release of his autobiography, Springsteen has also released a new album, Chapter and Verse. Before listening to a song from the album, try to complete the gaps in the version below. The first letter is given as a clue. Then listen and check your ideas.

2

I hold you in my a___________As the band playsWhat are those w______ whispered babyJust as you turn awayI saw you last nightOut on the edge of t_____________I wanna read your m___________To know just what I’ve got in this new thing I’ve foundSo tell me what I seeWhen I look in your e____________

Is that you babyOr just a brilliant disguiseI heard somebody call your n___________From underneath our willowI saw something tucked in shameUnderneath your p_______________Well I’ve tried so hard babyBut I just can’t seeWhat a w______________ like youIs doing with meSo tell me who I see

2/4

reading + listening

meet girls, Springsteen was so consumed by his music that he didn’t have a lot of time for women. And when he did, he says, he didn’t behave well. He accepts he handled his separation from his first wife, Julianne Phillips, appallingly. But there’s more to it than that, and he traces it back to the personality traits he inherited from his father: “A misogyny grown from the fear of all the dangerous, beautiful, strong women in our lives crossed with the carrying of an underlying physical threat, a psychological bullying that is meant to frighten and communicate that the dark thing in you is barely restrained. You use it to intimidate those you love … I can’t lay it all at my pop’s feet; plenty of it is my own weakness and inability at this

late date to put it all away.”

The E Street Band could never be simply a band of brothersOf course, Springsteen was always the boss – as well as The Boss – but there’s more to it than that, and it lies in the complicated status of Clarence Clemons, saxophonist and onstage foil, the best-paid member of the band, and its beating heart. “He struggled living in the predominantly white world of our band,” Springsteen writes. “For a long time he was alone, and

no matter how close we were, I was white. We had as deep a relationship as I can imagine, but we lived in the real world, where we’d experienced that nothing, not all the love in God’s heaven, obliterates race.” There’s a telling moment in Born to Run, when the E Street Band join the 1988 Human Rights Now tour promoting Amnesty International. One of the stops is in Cote D’Ivoire, where the band play to “an audience, a stadium audience, of completely black faces! I finally knew how Clarence felt.”

Born to Run

V Complete this crossword with words from the article. The clues are on the next page.

3/4

reading + listening

When I look in your e__________Is that you babyOr just a brilliant disguiseNow look at me babyStruggling to do everything r__________And then it all falls apartWhen out go the lightsI’m just a lonely pilgrimI walk this world in wealthI want to know if it’s you I don’t trustCause I damn s_______ don’t trust myselfNow you play the loving womanI’ll play the f______________ manBut just don’t look too close

Into the palm of my h___________We stood at the alterThe gypsy swore our f_________ was rightBut come the wee wee hoursWell maybe baby the gypsy liedSo when you look at meYou better look hard and look t__________Is that me babyOr just a brilliant disguiseTonight our bed is coldI’m lost in the d______________ of our loveGod have mercy on the manWho d______________ what he’s sure of

1

2 3 4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

EclipseCrossword.com

What does the highlighted expression in this extract from the article mean?E

V

Born to Run reading + listening

Across3 father (colloquial)6 a situation or an activity that could cause harm or danger7 a particular quality in someone’s character10 take action in order to deal with a difficult situation11 only just; scarcely12 give someone an informal name

Down1 looked for2 worry4 destroy every trace of; wipe out completely5 believe that something is true8 be the main performer in a show or at an event where other people are also performing9 do things in a particular way

Write sentences with five of the words from the crossword that you would like to learn.V

The Guardian“Exposed in front of thousands, I have always felt perfectly safe,” he says. “That’s why you can’t get rid of me.”

October 2016

__ get someone’s drift __ get a kick out of something

__ get a feel for __ get one’s bearings

__ get cracking __ get one’s act together

__ get the nod __ get wind of

There are a number of expressions with get in English. What do you think these mean?

Now match them to the definitions below.

1 figure out one’s position or situation relative to one’s surroundings 2 enjoy something greatly 3 begin to understand how to do something well 4 find out about5 become organised 6 be chosen 7 begin moving or working; start8 understand what someone has said

get one’s bearings

React to the statements read to you using the expressions above.e.g. We’ve got a lot to do, so we’d better start work. > If you’ve got a lot to do, you’d better get cracking.

4/4

f

she gets a kick out of dancing in the rain

intermediate+ (B1+)week of 17.10.16

student pages 4

Transcript - Brilliant DisguiseI hold you in my armsAs the band playsWhat are those words whispered babyJust as you turn awayI saw you last nightOut on the edge of townI wanna read your mindTo know just what I’ve got in this new thing I’ve foundSo tell me what I seeWhen I look in your eyesIs that you babyOr just a brilliant disguiseI heard somebody call your nameFrom underneath our willowI saw something tucked in shameUnderneath your pillow

Well I’ve tried so hard babyBut I just can’t seeWhat a woman like youIs doing with meSo tell me who I seeWhen I look in your eyesIs that you babyOr just a brilliant disguiseNow look at me babyStruggling to do everything rightAnd then it all falls apartWhen out go the lightsI’m just a lonely pilgrimI walk this world in wealthI want to know if it’s you I don’t trustCause I damn sure don’t trust myselfNow you play the loving woman

I’ll play the faithful manBut just don’t look too closeInto the palm of my handWe stood at the alterThe gypsy swore our future was rightBut come the wee wee hoursWell maybe baby the gypsy liedSo when you look at meYou better look hard and look twiceIs that me babyOr just a brilliant disguiseTonight our bed is coldI’m lost in the darkness of our loveGod have mercy on the manWho doubts what he’s sure of

Born to Run

2

Teacher’s notes 1

V Find synonyms in the lyrics for these words and expressions:Across3 POP6 THREAT7 TRAIT10 HANDLE

11 BARELY12 NICKNAME

Down1 SOUGHT

2 FRET4 OBLITERATE5 RECKON8 HEADLINE9 BEHAVE

reading + listening

What does the highlighted expression in this extract from the article mean?Eget rid of = be freed or relieved of; remove something that you do not want any longer; eliminate or discard

V Now match them to the definitions below.8 get someone’s drift 2 get a kick out of something 3 get a feel for 1 get one’s bearings 7 get cracking 5 get one’s act together6 get the nod 4 get wind of

React to the statements read to you using the expressions above.fRead out these statements to the students and get them to respond using the expressions studied:I didn’t really understand what my boss was trying to tell me. Suggested answer: You didn’t really get his drift.If he wants to pass the exam, he needs to organise himself.Suggested answer: You need to get your act together when it comes to exams.The young striker was chosen to play in the final.Suggested answer: So he got the nod for the final.I really enjoy renovating old cars.Suggested answer: If you get a kick out of renovating old cars you should do it more.I don’t know how, but a friend of mine found out that the CEO is going to resign. Suggested answer: It’s not unusual to get wind of information like that in a company.I haven’t been to New York for a long time, so it is going to take me a couple of days before I remember where everything is. Suggested answer: It always takes me a couple of days before I get my bearings when I am not in my home town.After a few hours of practice, I think I am beginning to work out how to surf. Suggested answer: Once you get a feel for it you will improve quickly.