Lyrics to Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 hit Born to Run, handwritten by the Boss himself, have sold on auction in New York Sotheby’s for $197,000. The opening bid was $40,000, and offers quickly intensified through online, telephone and eager in-person bidders.
The buyer of the manuscript remains anonymous, but the auction house said the the page had once belonged to Springsteen’s manager at the time, Mike Appel. He sold it to a collector, who sold it’s most recent owner.
The New York Times reports (and die-hard Brucey fans can probably verify), many of the lines in this version didn’t appear on the final version of the song. Still the manuscript, said to have been penned in Long Branch, New Jersey in 1974, is an example of Springsteen’s creative process.
Not only does it show a blue-inked 30 lines in the Boss’s neat cursive handwriting, but also has notes added in the margins and above some of the lyrics. Lines on in the manuscript that made the final cut include “This town’ll rip (out your) the bones from your back, it’s a suicide trap (rap)” and of course, “take my hand cause tramps like us baby we were born to run.”
While the Boss came on top with the highest bid, he wasn’t the only rock star to feature in Sotheby’s auction of Fine Books and Manuscripts. Forbes reports, The auction also included a 1967 handwritten letter from John Lennon that went for $18,000 and three of Mick Jagger’s 1965 love letters ($8,000).
Bruce Springsteen is heading back to Australia for part two of his Wrecking Ball tour next February having recently added new shows in Perth, Adelaide and the Hunter Valley.
Gallery: 14 Pieces Of Music Memorabilia People Actually Paid Money For
14 Music Memorabilia Items People Actually Paid Money For
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MickJagger2
A 50-year-old lock of Mick Jagger's hair sold for £4,000 at auction, more than 4 times that of Keith Richards. -
George Harrison
George Harrison's half-finished toast sold for $2,200, despite Harrison refusing to authenticate the item, saying he always finished his toast. -
Justintimberlake1
A 19-year-old fan bought Justin Timberlake's half-finished breakfast in 2006, saying she planned to freeze dry it and keep it on her dresser. No word on what condition it's in today. -
Paul Mccartney
A collector purchased the front door of Paul McCartney's childhood home for £5,000 earlier this year. -
William Shatner
OK, we know William Shatner's musical career has been humourous at best but this is truly the weirdest - he sold his kidney stone to an online casino for $25,000 to raise money for charity. HIS KIDNEY STONE. $25,000. Yeah. -
John Lennon Tooth2142430i
A rotten tooth John Lennon had removed in the '60s was sold to a Canadian dentist for £19,500 in 2011. It has since been turned into 3 necklaces. -
Cher Bra
Cher put her own bra up for auction in 2007. It was bought for an undisclosed amount by the Hard Rock Hotel and is on display in their Las Vegas hotel and casino. -
JamesBlunt Bus Home
James Blunt' put his sister on eBay when she was unable to get to a funeral in Ireland. The winning bidder owned a helicopter and ended up marrying Blunt's sister. -
Britney Spears 638x425
Someone picked up Britney's Spears' used gum in 2004 and put it on eBay. It sold for $14,000. -
Jerry Garcia 69346-7
Jerry Garcia's toilet was sold to the same online casino for $2,550 but was stolen before it could be delivered. There's a $250 reward for its return. -
152169914LL018_Lady_Gaga_Fa
Lady Gaga lost a fake fingernail backstage at a gig. A member of her stage crew found it, put it up for auction and sold the talon for a whopping $12,000. -
Madonna
Madonna's ex-boyfriend James Albright sold answering machine messages from the singer, in which she referred to herself as 'Lil Booty'. Bidding on the tapes started at $25,000. -
14 Music Memorabilia Items People Actually Paid Money For #13
Bryan Adams left his dirty Armani socks in the back of a cab whilst getting changed in 2004 after a show, so the cab company sold them, fetching $750. -
Elvis Presley Aquarium
Three teaspoons of water that reportedly touched Elvis at a 1977 concert went for $455 at auction.
