AMERICAN LAND

Live 28 Jun 2009 version



[Spoken intro:] Thank you all for being such a great audience. Sister Soozie!

One, two
A one, two, three, four!

Alright, everybody now, whoa!

What is this land America, so many travel there
I'm going now while I'm still young, my darling meet me there
Wish me luck my lovely, I'll send for you if I can
And we'll make our home in the American land

Over there the women wear silk and satin to their knees
Children dear, the sweets, I hear, are growing on the trees
Gold comes rushing out the river straight into your hands
If you make your home in the American land

There's diamonds in the sidewalk, there's gutters lined in song
Dear, I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long
There's treasure for the taking, for any hard working man
Who'll make his home in the American land

Soozie!

I docked at Ellis Island in the city of light and spire
Wandered to the valley of red-hot steel and fire
Made the steel that built the cities with the sweat of our two hands
We made our home in the American land

There's diamonds in the sidewalk, there's gutters lined in song
Dear, I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long
There's treasure for the taking, for any hard working man
Who'll make his home in the American land

Roy!

The McNicholas, the Posalskis, the Smiths, Zerillis too
The Blacks, the Irish, Italians, the British and the Jews
Come across the water a thousand miles from home
With nothing in their belly but the fire down below

They died building the railroads, worked to bones and skin
They died in the fields and factories, names scattered in the wind
They died to get here a hundred years ago, they're dying now
The hands that built the country we're always trying to keep out

There's diamonds in the sidewalk, there's gutters lined in song
Dear, I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long
There's treasure for the taking, for any hard working man
Who'll make his home in the American land
Who'll make his home in the American land
Who'll make his home in the American land
Whoa!

Whoa!

(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoooo, hoo-hoooo)

Little Steven!
Curtis King!
Soozie Tyrell!
Garry W. Tallent!
The Mighty Max Weinberg
Roy Bittan!
Charles Giordano!
Nils Lofgren!
Cindy Mizelle!
And the biggest man you've ever seen, Clarence "Big Man" Clemons!

London! Yeah!
London! Yeah!
London! Yeah!
London! Yeah!
London! Yeah!
London! Yeah!
London! Yeah!
You've just seen the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, earth-shocking, booty-shaking,
love-making, Viagra-taking, history-making, legendary E Street Band!

One, two, three!

(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoooo)

Whoa!
Man! Stevie, come back brother!
To the D, one more time.
One, two, three, four!

To the fucking G!
One, two, three, four!

(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo)
(Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hoo-hoooo, hoooo)


Info

The above lyrics are for the live 28 Jun 2009 performance of AMERICAN LAND at Hyde Park in London, England, during the Working On A Dream Tour. The song was played in a full-band rock arrangement. The complete 28 Jun 2009 show was officially released in 2010 on the London Calling: Live In Hyde Park home video (see the below section). The parts in bold are shouted by the crowd. In this version, Springsteen replaced "Germans" in the fourth verse by "British".


London Calling: Live In Hyde Park

Hard Rock Calling is a music festival held at Hyde Park in London, England, around early summer each year since 2006, and spans the period of two or three days. The festival is organized by Hard Rock Cafe and Live Nation.

During their Working On A Dream Tour, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed on the last day (28 Jun 2009) of the festival and their performance, was captured with High Definition (HD) cameras and was released in its complete form on DVD the following year. The film was officially released on 22 Jun 2010, though it premiered on the big screen in a 90-minute edited version on 05 Jun 2010 at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland, OH. The 90-minute cut was also screened in June 2010 various theaters across the United States, with benefits going either to the venue itself in the case of non-profit theater, of The Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.

Promotional poster for the 28 Jun 2009 show at Hyde Park, London, England
Promotional poster for the 28 Jun 2009 show at Hyde Park, London, England
Ticket stub for the 28 Jun 2009 show at Hyde Park, London, England
Ticket stub for the 28 Jun 2009 show at Hyde Park, London, England
Handwritten setlist for the 28 Jun 2009 show at Hyde Park, London, England
Handwritten setlist for the 28 Jun 2009 show at Hyde Park, London, England

The film is credited to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and is titled "London Calling: Live In Hyde Park". The release takes its name from LONDON CALLING, the Clash classic that Springsteen opened the show with.

In addition to the complete 28 Jun 2009 concert, the release also contains performances of three songs from other shows: an instrumental version of RAISE YOUR HAND from an unknown performance plays over the closing credits, and THE RIVER from Glastonbury Festival and music video for WRECKING BALL recorded at Giants Stadium are included as bonus tracks.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- London Calling: Live In Hyde Park (DVD cover art)
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band -- London Calling: Live In Hyde Park (DVD cover art)

London Calling: Live In Hyde Park charted and peaked at #1 in several countries, including:

Country Chart Weeks at #1 Weeks in chart Charting period
USA 1
Canada 1
UK 1
Ireland 2
Germany 3
Austria 1
Switzerland 1
Denmark 4
Norway 5
Sweden 2
Finland 2
Australia 5
New Zealand 6

The video was directed by Chris Hilson and edited by Emmy- and Grammy-winner Thom Zimny, with audio mixed by Bob Clearmountain (including 5.1 surround) and mastered by Bob Ludwig. London Calling: Live In Hyde Park was released on 22 Jun 2010 on one Blu-Ray disc and as a two DVD set.

Disc 1 (2-DVD set format):

  1. LONDON CALLING
  2. BADLANDS
  3. NIGHT
  4. SHE'S THE ONE
  5. OUTLAW PETE
  6. OUT IN THE STREET
  7. WORKING ON A DREAM
  8. SEEDS
  9. JOHNNY 99
  10. YOUNGSTOWN
  11. GOOD LOVIN'
  12. BOBBY JEAN
  13. TRAPPED
  14. NO SURRENDER
  15. WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY
  16. THE PROMISED LAND
  17. RACING IN THE STREET
  18. RADIO NOWHERE
  19. LONESOME DAY

Disc 2 (2-DVD set format):

  1. THE RISING
  2. BORN TO RUN
  3. ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)
  4. HARD TIMES COME AGAIN NO MORE
  5. JUNGLELAND
  6. AMERICAN LAND
  7. GLORY DAYS
  8. DANCING IN THE DARK
  9. RAISE YOUR HAND [instrumental, under end credit sequence]
  10. THE RIVER [27 Jun 2009, Glastonbury Festival]
  11. WRECKING BALL [2009, Giants Stadium]

Blu-ray format:

  • All 30 tracks on a single disc

Available Versions

List of available versions of AMERICAN LAND on this website:

AMERICAN LAND [Album version]
AMERICAN LAND [Live 22 Jun 2006 version]
AMERICAN LAND [Live 25 Jun 2006 version]
AMERICAN LAND [Live 18 Nov 2006 version]
AMERICAN LAND [Live 28 Jun 2009 version]
AMERICAN LAND [Live 29 May 2020 version]

Page last updated: 24 Jan 2012