You Can't Catch Me

Bruce Springsteen wasn't the first to write rock songs about the liberating power of a fast car - Chuck Berry also had a fascination with automobiles, which he sings about here (part of the song takes place on the New Jersey Turnpike, a road Springsteen is quite familiar with). "This was a yearning which I had since I was aged seven to drive about in a car," Berry told Record Mirror in 1967. "It was my fascination for the roads, for driving, motoring, which prompted me to write those songs." Driving way too fast under the moonlight with your baby in the car while listening to rock and roll on the radio... it doesn't get any better.

At the end of this song, we find out that the car is named Maybellene, referring to Berry's earlier automotive hit.

Musically, this song was influenced by a Muddy Waters track called "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," which has a nearly identical guitar lick in the intro.