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Live 21 Feb 1995 version
[Spoken intro:] Alright. We got a G-harmonica with a rack on it? A "G"? Yeah.
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
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
Come on boys!
Well me and my sister, from Germantown yeah we did ride
Yeah we made our beds, sir, from the rock on the mountain side
We've been blown around from town to town just 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
Well 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 slamming that back porch door
It just stirs you up like it wants to blow you down, twisting and churning up the sand
Leaving all them scarecrows lying face down, face down in the dirt of this hard land
All right!
Yeah from a building up on the hill I can hear a tape deck blasting "Home On The Range"
I can feel 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 way up onto the banks of this hard land
Hey Frank, won't you pack your bags and meet me tonight down at Liberty Hall
And I just want a kiss from you my brother and we'll ride until 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
Come on!
[Spoken outro:] Thanks. We're gonna take on more break, they're gonna do a little bit more re-lighting, we'll be back one more time, alright.
The above lyrics are for the live 21 Feb 1995 performance of THIS HARD LAND at Tramps in New York City, NY, during a reunion gig with the E Street Band. The song was played in a full-band arrangement.
On 21 Feb 1995, Bruce Springsteen performed an unannounced show with the E Street Band at Tramps nightclub in New York City, NY, in front of an audience of about 300 invitees. This was a reunion gig with the band intended for the shooting of the MURDER INCORPORATED music video and to promote Springsteen's upcoming Greatest Hits album. This was the first time Springsteen has performed with the E Street Band in more than six years; their last show together was on 15 Oct 1988 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The taping at the nightclub lasted five hours, from around 8:00PM to around 1:00PM, though there was only about an hour and a half of music. For the video, which was directed by Jonathan Demme, Springsteen and the band performed six takes MURDER INCORPORATED, in addition to the two takes they had practiced prior to the taping. They also treated the audience with 12 additional songs. Some footage from the 21 Feb 1995 evening was included on Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's 1996 documentary Blood Brothers.
Sound-check prior to taping:
Taping:
List of available versions of THIS HARD LAND on this website:
THIS HARD LAND [Official 1982 studio version]