Bruce Springsteen Reveals Painful Legacy of Depression

Bruce Springsteen's eagerly awaited memoir, Born to Run, won't be hitting stores until later this month, but the 66-year-old superstar offered fans a considerable sneak preview of his thoughts during a recently released interview with Vanity Fair.

The story, which is the magazine's October cover feature, reveals intimate and painful glimpses of Springsteen's relationship with his troubled father, Doug, as well as the legacy of depression Bruce inherited from his dad.

The elder Springsteen, whom his son calls "a bit of a Bukowski character," is described as a cold-natured loner and alcoholic incapable of saying the words "I love you." Springsteen's issues with his dad led him to a crippling fear he'd follow in those dark footsteps, a concern he battles to this day.

"You don't know the illness's parameters," he tells Vanity Fair. "Can I get sick enough to where I become a lot more like my father than I thought I might?"

Springsteen further reveals in his memoir the up-and-down nature of his depression, which can change from year to year. "I was crushed between 60 and 62, good for a year and out again from 63 to 64," he details. "Not a good record."

Over the years, the musician has relied on medication and therapy to help maintain his mental health, as well as assistance from his wife of 25 years, Patti Scialfa. "Patti will observe a freight train bearing down, loaded with nitroglycerin and running quickly out of track," he explains. "She gets me to the doctors and says, 'This man needs a pill.'"

The singer mused to Vanity Fair that his parents' unhappy but stable marriage - which lasted until his dad's passing in 1998 - has parallels to what is likely his most iconic hit, "Born to Run," a tale of a loner who promises his lover "we'll live with the sadness" and "someday walk in the sun."

"I never connected this song particularly to my father," he says, before adding, "In a funny way, my parents actually lived this song."

Overall, Springsteen notes that he has come to some resolution regarding his issues with his father. In the memoir, he recalls a poignant moment shared in 1990, when his dad came for a visit just prior to the birth of Springsteen and Scialfa's first child. Over beers, Doug said, "'Bruce, you've been very good to us,'" Springsteen remembers. "And I wasn't very good to you."

"That was it," the singer writes. "It was all that I needed, all that was necessary."

Springsteen and his E Street Band are wrapping up their 2016 River Tour dates this month. The singer is working on a new album of all-original songs, set for release sometime in 2017. You can read the full Vanity Fair cover story here.

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