Forty-one years ago, “Thunder Road” opened Bruce Springsteen’s breakthrough album, Born to Run. With desperate, hopeful lyrics that mirrored the state of Springsteen’s pre-stardom career, it became one of his defining songs and a staple at live shows for years to come. A new video, “Bruce Springsteen: 41 Years on Thunder Road,” seizes on that longevity, cutting together performances of the song from 1975 through 2016.
The video—composed of everything from full-band performances to clips of Bruce alone at the piano—starts in London and takes us on a tour around the world before landing back in Springsteen’s native New Jersey for the last few lines. From there, an appropriate shout of “Let’s Go!” from a younger Bruce throws chronology out the window, and E Street Bands of all eras trade notes on the song’s powerful instrumental coda. It all goes to show that while people may age, a great anthem never gets old.
