Official 1978 studio version
Johnny works in a factory, hey, Billy works downtown
And Terry works in a rock and roll band looking for that million-dollar sound
And me I got a job down in Denville but some nights I just don't go
I said I ride to the drive-in or some nights I just stay home
Well I follow that dream just like those guys do up on the screen
And I drove a Challenger down Route 9 through the dead ends and all the bad scenes
And when the promise was broken, I cashed in a few of my own dreams
Whoa-ah-um
Well now I built that Challenger by myself, but I needed money and so I sold it
And I lived a secret I should've kept to myself, but I got drunk one night and I told it
All my life I fought the fight, the one that no man can ever win
Every day it just gets harder, a dream I'm believing in
Thunder Road, ??? the evening 'till it turns light
Thunder Road, there's something dying out on the highway tonight
Well my daddy taught me how to walk quiet and how to make my peace with the past
I learned real good to tighten up inside and I don't say nothing unless I'm asked
When the promise is broken you go on living, it steals something from down in your soul
Like when the truth gets spoken, don't make a difference, something in your heart well it turns cold
Well I follow that dream to the southwest ???, the dead ends in the two-bit bars
The promise was broken, I go far away from home sleeping in the backseat of a borrowed car
Thunder Road, hey-yeahhh-yeah
Thunder Road, here's all for the tires rushing by in the rain
Thunder Road, remember what me and Billy we always say
Thunder Road, we wanna take it all, gonna throw it all
Throw it all away
Throw it all away
Throw it all away
Throw it all away
Throw it all away
The above lyrics are for a studio version of THE PROMISE that was recorded, according to The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set liner notes, in 1978 in New York City. This take was cut in early 1978 (most probably early January) at The Record Plant in New York City, NY. In-studio video footage of the recording of this take was released on The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set in 2010 (read below). The video was shot by Barry Rebo.
Video of this version of THE PROMISE from The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story was posted on Bruce Springsteen's YouTube channel on 12 Nov 2010.
The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story is a Bruce Springsteen box set released in 2010 on Columbia Records. It was originally expected to be released for the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album's 30th anniversary in 2008, but that didn't happen, possibly due to Springsteen's touring schedule. The box set was officially announced on 26 Aug 2010 and released to retail on 16 Nov 2010.
The 8.5"x11" box set contains three CDs, three Blu-Ray discs or three DVDs, and an 80-page spiral-bound notebook containing facsimiles from Springsteen's original notebooks from the recording sessions, which include alternate lyrics, song ideas, recording details, and personal notes, in addition to a new essay by Springsteen on the album and never-before-seen photographs. The box set won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package.
Disc 1 consists of a digitally remastered version of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album. Disc 2 and 3 consist of The Promise, a collection of unreleased songs from the Darkness On The Edge Of Town recording sessions.
Disc 4 is The Promise: The Making Of Darkness On The Edge Of Town, a documentary that was produced for the box set. It was directed by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Thom Zimny. The ninety-minute film combines never-before-seen footage of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shot between 1976 and 1978, including home rehearsals and studio sessions, with new interviews with Springsteen, E Street Band members, manager Jon Landau, former manager Mike Appel, and others closely involved in the making of the record.
The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 14 Sep 2010 and also aired on HBO on 07 Oct 2010. It was first exclusively available as part of The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set, but was then released separately on 03 May 2011, in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats, with some bonus features.
Disc 5 consists of two parts: Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park 2009 and Thrill Hill Vault 1976 - 1978. The former is a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's live performance of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album in its entirety, shot in HD on 13 Dec 2009 at Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, without an audience.
Thrill Hill Vault 1976-1978 is a collection of archival footage from Springsteen's personal vault It consists of an about-an-hour's worth (it clocks at about 56 minutes) of home rehearsals footage from 1976, studio sessions footage from 1978, and live in concert footage from 1978. It was produced and edited by Emmy- and Grammy-winner Thom Zimny and the audio for the live 1978 footage and some of the 1978 studio footage was mixed by Bob Ludwig. Zimny re-edited the 1978 concert footage making use of previously unseen camera angles. The home rehearsals and studio session footage was originally produced and directed by Barry Rebo, while the live in concert footage was originally directed by Arnold Levine.
Disc 6 is Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut, a video of the complete 08 Dec 1978 concert at The Summit in Houston, TX. The footage was taken from the in-house video screen at The Summit, which was one of the first arenas in the United States to have this system at the time. This gave the release its title "Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut". Considering that it was taken from the mono soundboard, the sound is only available in PCM stereo and not in 5.1 surround. The video was produced by Emmy- and Grammy-winner Thom Zimny and the audio was mastered by Bob Ludwig. It clocks at around 176 minutes.
Thanks Alex Reinert for the lyrics corrections.
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List of available versions of THE PROMISE on this website:
THE PROMISE [Official 1977 studio version]