New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) released a lengthy statement on Tuesday gushing about how much he loves Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” on the 40th anniversary of the album’s release.

Christie, who is running for president, has made no secret of how much he loves Springsteen. On Tuesday, he called the album his “desert island disc” and the “most powerful rock album of my lifetime.”

In the statement, which kind of reads like a mini-essay, Christie describes how the album spoke to him as a 12-year-old.

“The music was exciting, dramatic and exhilarating. As a kid from Jersey it spoke to me. Bruce wrote of the places and people I knew,” Christie said in the statement. “He wrote about our hopes and our frustrations. He gave voice to the suburban kids like me who were filled with dreams and doubts. He was one of us.”

Christie has been to over 100 Springsteen shows and said that he cried after getting to hug The Boss in 2012.

Springsteen hasn’t always reciprocated Christie’s love, declining to play at his inauguration in 2009 and poking fun at the governor’s “Bridgegate” scandal.

Despite Christie’s love for “Born to Run”, he told radio host Laura Ingraham last month that he now prefers Jon Bon Jovi to Springsteen.

For more from The Huffington Post, download our app for iOS or Android.

Also on HuffPost:

– This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.