Vintage Bruce coming right up… and it more than aptly takes the wheel from where yesterday’s slice of American dream realism – Jackson Browne’s The Pretender – left us.
If there’s one song which immediately transports back to my 15 year-old self accompanied with all hopes and dreams that stir inside, it’s The Promised Land. This song did something to me back then, and it never let go. To me, it’s Bruce’s quintessential coming-of-age song: Mister, I ain’t a boy, no, I’m a man / And I believe in a promised land. It comes from Darkness on the Edge of Town, one of my favourite records growing up too. If Born in the U.S.A. is the high-performance machine built for the open highway, then Darkness is the raw, oil-slicked garage where the engine was forged—Working all day in my daddy’s garage / Driving all night chasing some mirage.
The idealism which the song pulses is captured right from the get-go, with Bruce’s iconic harmonica intro which exudes this gritty and defiant hope. And its quite the ride too as the piano sets a steady, soulful rhythm and the melody gets cracking. The track has a sense of motion – as if you the listener were being driven across the county line. Then you have Clarence’s superb saxophone solo which truly makes one soar. Also, the following passage is possibly one of the most uplifting and inspiring messages I’ve heard from Bruce – and at the time of writing this, I found very cathartic. It would also lead to one of his most underrated songs – With Every Wish from the maligned double album:
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing
But lost and brokenhearted
Background (From Wikipedia)
The Promised Land originated through a trip to Utah and Nevada in 1977, with photographer Eric Meola (who shot the Born to Run cover) and guitarist Steven Van Zandt. The group set out towards Reno, Nevada, Meola looking for photo ops, Springsteen to see some of the places he envisioned in his dreams. He was also upset, because one of his heroes, Elvis Presley, had just died. Springsteen “wanted to take every single side road that we could in Nevada“, according to Meola…. Thirty days later, Springsteen came to the Record Plant with the words and music he had been working on since he left Nevada, for a song called “The Promised Land“…The song’s title pays homage to Chuck Berry’s song “Promised Land“. In Berry’s song, the singer leaves his Virginia home to go to the “promised land” of California.
Different authors have different answers as to what the “promised land” represents. June Skinner Sawyers believes it means the American ideal or even America itself… Springsteen’s promised land is defined by what doesn’t happen there: “you aren’t ‘lost or broken hearted,’ your dreams don’t ‘tear you apart‘ and your blood doesn’t ‘run cold.’ Springsteen noted that elements of the song reflected his own situation when he wrote it. He was unable to record a new album due to a lawsuit, and felt weak, unable to do what he wanted and that he was letting down the other members of the band. The song reflects the sense of despair but also of resilience and determination and desire to transcend his limitations that he was feeling at the time.
[Verse 1]
On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert
I pick up my money and head back into town
Driving ‘cross the Waynesboro county line
I got the radio on and I’m just killing time
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Working all day in my daddy’s garage
Driving all night chasing some mirage
Pretty soon, little girl, I’m gonna take charge
[Chorus]
The dogs on Main Street howl ’cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister, I ain’t a boy, no, I’m a man
And I believe in a promised land
[Verse 2]
I’ve done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak, I just wanna explode
[Pre-Chorus 2]
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
Well, there’s a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I’m heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground
[Pre-Chorus 3]
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing
But lost and brokenhearted
[Chorus]
References:
1. The Promised Land (Bruce Springsteen song) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
What can you say about “Promised Land”? To me, it’s a true Springsteen classic that falls into what has become my favorite period of the Boss, spanning the albums “Born to Run”, “Darkness on the Edge of Town”, “The River” and “Born the U.S.A.” I’m still warming to “Nebraska,” which is why I left it out here.
‘The Promised Land’ was one of the pivotal and ‘foundational’ songs which catapulted me into a Springsteen craze to discover more.
I too, haven’t warmed to Nebraska like so many die hard fans.’The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle’, BTR (too ‘loco’ for lol), Darkness and BITUSA were the records that I listened most too.
I saw Bruce in 1978. That was a great show. I would love to see him again.
That would have been amazing. I’ve seen glimpses of his recent shows on YT and tbh I think his best days are well past him. I still adore his Barcelona 2002 concert and have it on DVD.
Yeah, he’s 10 years older than me, so he would have been 28 in 78 ~ in his prime ~ or going into his prime ~ I think most men are in their prime in their 30s & 40s. He’s 75 now & performing rock & roll is a hard job. Any kind of performance is hard. Most people think you just get up there & do it but that’s not how it works.
I assume when you say prime you are referring to their performance effectiveness. The best I ever saw him and the Band as far as ‘rock performance and sound quality’ (only via videos) was between ‘The Born in the USA’ record and 1988 Human Rights Now tour. So he would have been in his 30’s then. But seeing him when you did just after BTR and Darkness would have been Magic.
Yes, I can’t imagine how much effort goes into performing rock at the heights which only Bruce could muster would be challenging to say the least.