Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ still speaks to a nation vacillating between hope and despair

Bruce Springsteen performs in Atlanta on Aug. 22, 1975, during the 'Born to Run' tour. Tom Hill/WireImage via Getty Images

I was 18 when Bruce Springsteen’s third album, “Born to Run,” was released 50 years ago, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

I’d just finished my freshman year in college, and I was lost. My high school girlfriend had broken up with me by letter. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was stuck back in my parents’ apartment in the Bronx.