INDELIBLE - The rock band Steppenwolf released the song “Born to Be Wild” in 1968. A year later, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper decided to include it in the opening scene of their new movie Easy Rider. The combination produced an INDELIBLE or unforgettable epoch defining image that captured the rebellious spirit and the pursuit of personal freedom that took hold of America’s Baby Boom generation in the late 1960s.
RENOUNCE and HOMOGENIZED – The song’s opening lyrics urge listeners to “Get your motor runnin’” and then “head out on the highway.” At the same time, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper hit the open road on their iconic custom choppers. They have chosen to RENOUNCE or abandon America’s boring HOMOGENIZED or uniform society and begin looking for adventure “and whatever comes our way.”
EMBODY and BANAL – As the soundtrack continues, the open highway becomes a symbol that EMBODIES or represents endless opportunities for self-discovery. The easy riders will “explode into space” and burst through the BANAL or boring and mindless boundaries of American life.
ARCHETYPE – The lyric “like a true natural child, we were born, born to be free,” powerfully invokes the ARCHETYPE or universal symbol of the “noble savage.” Popularized by the eighteenth-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the idea of a “natural child” expressed the belief that untamed humans are inherently good and free when they are untainted by a corrupt society.
MANIFESTATION – The song’s final defiant declaration “I never want to die” is a MANIFESTATION or expression of the pure joy of living in the moment. Mortality is thus rendered irrelevant.
INEXTRICABLE – The driving sound of “Born to Be Wild” and the image of the easy riders on their choppers created an enduring and INEXTRICABLE or closely joined connection between motorcycles and freedom. The song’s author Mars Bonfire later confessed that when he wrote the lyrics, he had never actually ridden on a motorcycle. He composed “Born to Be Wild” about driving around Los Angeles in his first car, a secondhand Ford Falcon. He later wrote, “Nothing’s as cool as your first car.”
INDELIBLE – can’t be erased or forgotten
RENOUNCE – to reject; disavow
HOMOGENIZED – uniform and lacking individuality
EMBODY – to give concrete form to an abstract idea
BANAL – boring and mindless; inane
ARCHETYPE – a universal symbol or a person or idea
MANIFESTATION – the outward expression of something; obvious and evident
INEXTRICABLE – closely connected
BONUS POINT: The lyric “heavy metal thunder” marks the first time the term “heavy metal” appeared in rock music. Ironically, Mars Bonfire wasn’t describing a new genre of music. Instead, he used the memorable phrase to describe the roaring engine of his Ford Falcon during a thunder storm.
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