Noah Rosenfeldt has seen Bruce Springsteen in concert 22 times. He’s met him once. His bedroom is covered from wall to wall with posters of Springsteen, Springsteen magazine covers, Springsteen records, a Springsteen mug — almost anything you can think of.

To Rosenfeldt, a junior writing and rhetoric major in the College of Arts and Sciences, Springsteen’s music has left a permanent mark on his heart — and on his body. When he was 19 years old, he got Springsteen song title ”Born to Run” tattooed on his chest because it is one of the singer’s most popular songs.

This past summer, Rosenfeldt got another song title, “Leap of Faith,” tattooed on his back.

Rosenfeldt said he got his tattoos to honor Springsteen and his music, and the affect it’s had on his own life.

“The messages of both songs are romantic. There’s something cool about the idea of running away with someone you love and never going back,” he said.

Rosenfeldt went to his first Springsteen concert in August 2003 at Giants Stadium with his family. His parents, sister and family friends share a passion for Springsteen. Rosenfeldt describes Springsteen as a uniting factor for his family, although his parents don’t know about his tattoos.

“I’m not the easiest person to deal with, I admit that,” Rosenfeldt said. “There were a couple of times where I was almost thrown out of the house, but then two or three days later, we’d go to a Bruce concert. I mean if they didn’t let me go, that’s not even a punishment, that’s torture.”

Rosenfeldt once followed Springsteen on tour and saw him nine times in two weeks.

When he was in high school, he knew that Springsteen’s daughter was a competitive horseback rider and that Springsteen would be attending the Devon Horse Show, just outside of Rosenfeldt’s home city of Philadelphia. He skipped the last 45 questions on a math exam, left school early and after some searching at the show grounds, finally met Springsteen.

Rosenfeldt said Springsteen’s early music was about dreams, love and never looking back. Then as he got older, his music started to deal with more serious things.

“I compare his music to where I am at in my life. It all just makes sense,” Rosenfeldt said. “I love Bruce Springsteen. But it’s more than just that. His music means everything to me.”

Published on September 9, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Gigi: gantonel@syr.edu