THIS HARD LAND

Live 09 Dec 1995 version

[Spoken intro:] (chuckles) Ah you're a bunch of suckers, alright (chuckles). This is a song about hope, friendship, community, struggle, survival, every Western movie I ever saw. About how it ain't over till it's over.

Well hey there mister, can you tell me what happened to the seeds I've sown
Can you give me a reason, sir, as to why they never grown
Well they just blown around from town to town till they're back out on these fields
Where they fall from my hand back into the dirt of this hard land

Now me and my sister, from Germantown yeah we did ride
We made our beds, sir, from the rock on the mountain side
We've been blown around from town to town, yeah looking for a place to land
Where the sun bursts through the clouds to fall like a circle, like a circle of fire down on this hard land

Now even the rain it don't come around, don't come around here no more
And the only sound at night's the wind, the wind slamming that back porch door
Well it just stirs you up like it wants to blow you down, yeah just twisting and churning up the sand
Leaving all them scarecrows lying face down, face down in the dirt of this hard land
Hey!

From a building up on the hill I can hear a beat box blasting "Home On The Range"
I can see them bar rim choppers sweeping low across the plains
And it's me and you Frank, we're looking for lost cattle, our hooves twisting and churning up the sand
We're riding in the whirlwind, searching for lost treasure way down south of the Rio Grande
We're riding across that river in the moonlight yeah up onto the banks of this hard land

Hey Frank, won't you pack your bags and meet me tonight down at Liberty Hall
I just want a kiss from you my brother and we'll ride 'til we fall
We'll sleep in the fields, we'll sleep by the rivers and in the morning we'll make a plan
Well if you can't make it, stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can and meet me in a dream of this hard land
Say!

[Spoken outro:] Thank you.

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 09 Dec 1995 performance of THIS HARD LAND at Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA, during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour. In this version Springsteen replaces "tape deck" with "beat box".

Ticket stub for the 09 Dec 1995 show at Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA

Columbia Records Radio Hour

A selection of four studio tracks from The Ghost Of Tom Joad album (see track list below) intercepted with interview segments with journalist Bob Costas were originally broadcast on the 21 Nov 1995 edition of the syndicated Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show which aired on U.S. album oriented rock stations. Costas conducted the interview with Bruce Springsteen that same day (21 Nov 1995) either prior to or following Springsteen's public warm-up show at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ. A total of 35 minutes of the 90-minute interview were used in the radio show.

Additionally, three songs from Springsteen's 08 Dec 1995 show and seven from his 09 Dec 1995 show at Upper Darby's Tower Theater (see track list below) were broadcast on the 14 Dec 1995 edition of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

The complete Columbia Records Radio Hour show was officially issued in December 1995 on cassette and reel-to-reel tapes for promotional use in the United States. Six of the ten live tracks from part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) were never made available in commercial form.

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour Part 1 & 2

MC - Columbia (CAT 7698) - USA, 1995

This Promotion-only cassette tape contains both part 1 (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast) and part 2 (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) of the radio show.

Side A: part 1
Side B: part 2

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast).

Side A: part 1
Side B: blank

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast), with commercials.

Side A: part 1
Side B: blank

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast), with commercials.

Side A: part 2
Side B: blank

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

Reel-to-reel - Columbia (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only reel-to-reel tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast), with commercials. This is one of two reel-to-reel tapes that were distributed together but each was housed in a separate box. These are 10.5-inch reels with 1/2" tape, with a running speed of 7.5 ips.

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia

Reel-to-reel - Columbia (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only reel-to-reel tape contains part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast), with commercials. This is one of two reel-to-reel tapes that were distributed together but each was housed in a separate box. These are 10.5-inch reels with 1/2" tape, with a running speed of 7.5 ips.

Part 2 of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.

Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions

CD - Good Ship Funke (GSF020) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- Upper Darby Theater '95

CD - Rox Vox (RVCD2045) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour

Digital album - Lilith Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2016

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions

2xLP - Parachute Recording Company (PARA155LP) - UK, 2018

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- Youngstown

LP - Roxborough Music (ROXMB018) - UK, 2018

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Broadcast Collection 1975-1995

5xCD - Cult Legends (CL93154) - Europe, 2023

This release contains the 05 Feb 1975 broadcast from The Main Point, the 15 Dec 1978 broadcast from Winterland Ballroom, and the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Other Official Releases

The live 09 Dec 1995 performance of THIS HARD LAND was also released on the B-side of DEAD MAN WALKIN' in Europe and included on the Dead Man Walkin' European EP in 1996. It was also included on the Live & Rare European EP in 2003.

Bruce Springsteen -- Dead Man Walkin'

7" single - Columbia (663190 7) - Holland, 1996

Never available in stores, but distributed directly by employees of Columbia/Sony Holland's Haarlem offices to private collectors and fan clubs.

A1- DEAD MAN WALKIN'
B1- THIS HARD LAND [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]

Bruce Springsteen -- Dead Man Walkin'

CD EP - Columbia (663190 1) - Austria, 1996

Austrian pressing for the European market.

01- DEAD MAN WALKIN'
02- THIS HARD LAND [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]

Bruce Springsteen -- Dead Man Walkin'

CD EP - Columbia (663190 2) - Austria, 1996

Austrian pressing for the European market.

01- DEAD MAN WALKIN'
02- HIGHWAY 29
03- THIS HARD LAND [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
04- DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? [Live 08 Dec 1995 version]

Bruce Springsteen -- Live & Rare
CD EP - Columbia (SAMPCM 12867 2 / 0128672000) - Austria, 2003

Promotional EP pressed in Austria for the European market. It was issued as a freebie item for customers purchasing any Bruce Springsteen CD at selected record stores throughout Europe during his tour of the continent in May/June 2003.

01- GROWIN' UP [Live 22 Sep 1992 version]
02- DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
03- THIS HARD LAND [Live 09 Dec 1995 version]
04- THE BIG MUDDY [Live 22 Sep 1992 version]

Available Versions

List of available versions of THIS HARD LAND on this website:

Page last updated: 24 Feb 2015