THIS HARD LAND

Live 28 Oct 1995 version

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
Yeah 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
Well we made our beds, sir, from the rock on the mountain side
We've been blown around from town to town looking for a place to land
Where the sun breaks 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 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

Yeah from a building up on the hill I can hear a tape deck blasting "Home On The Range"
I can see them bar rim choppers swooping low across the plain
And it's me and you Frank, we're looking for lost cattle, our hooves twisting churning up the sand
Yeah we're riding in the whirlwind, searching for lost treasure way down south of the Rio Grande
Yeah 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
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

[Spoken outro:] Thanks a lot.

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 28 Oct 1995 performance of THIS HARD LAND at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, during the ninth Bridge School Benefit concert. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement.

The 28 Oct 1995 Show

The Bridge School Benefit is an annual charity concert organized by Neil Young's wife (until 2014) Pegi Young. Almost every one of the concerts, which started in 1986 and were held every year since 1998, has taken place at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Proceeds from the concerts benefit the Bridge School, a non-profit organization in Hillsborough, CA, for children with severe speech and physical impairments. The school aims to help the children achieve full participation in their communities through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Assistive Technologies (AT). It was founded in 1986 by Pegi Young, Jim Foreder and Dr. Marilyn Buzolich. Bruce Springsteen has performed at two of these benefits: the first edition in 1986 and the ninth edition in 1995.

The ninth annual concert took place on 28 Oct 1995 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA, and featured in the line-up Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Beck, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, The Pretenders, and Hootie & The Blowfish. Springsteen performed solo during his set.

Promotional poster for the 28 Oct 1995 Bridge School Benefit concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

Ticket stub for the 28 Oct 1995 Bridge School Benefit concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

Pass for the 28 Oct 1995 Bridge School Benefit concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
(Taken from Brucebase)

Available Versions

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

Page last updated: 06 Jun 2015