Bruce Springsteen reflects on long concerts in 'CBS Sunday Morning' intervew

On Sept. 27, legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen will release his anticipated autobiography, Born to Run. Ahead of its publication, the 66-year-old joined Anthony Mason of CBS Sunday Morning for a wide-ranging interview that addressed his writing process and bouts of depression — and also shed light on the recent, record-breaking gigs that concluded his River Tour earlier this month.

“I’m conditioned to do it from many, many years of experience,” Springsteen said of the shows, some of which surpassed four hours in duration. “Don’t try it at home, kids.”

In the story, Springsteen shared details about writing his autobiography, which he says he began working on after the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl in 2009. “The entire thing, if I had done it from beginning to end, might’ve taken two years or so,” he said. “But I was very relaxed about it. And actually, the length of the thing actually helped, in the end. I had more insight at the end of seven years than I would’ve had five years before.” Added Springsteen: “I was just enjoying the process of doing something that wasn’t involved with music, but was still involved with writing.”

But Born to Run tackles heavy fare, and Springsteen explained how he conjured some of the toughest periods of his life, like his fraught relationship with his father, the death of E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, and his battles with mental illness. “It sneaks up on you,” he said of the latter struggle. “It’s like this thing that engulfs you. I got to where I didn’t want to get out of bed, you know.” Springsteen said his depression never impacted his music — “for some reason, it never affected my work or any of my playing” — but he credits his wife and fellow E Street Band member Patti Scialfa with “guiding [him] through it.”

To promote Born to Run, Springsteen will hit the road later this month for a book tour. And on Sept. 23 — his 67th birthday — the Boss will release Chapter and Verse, a career-spanning compilation containing unreleased songs.

Check out Springsteen’s complete interview with CBS Sunday Morning below.