THIS HARD LAND

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've never grown
They've just blown around from town to town
Back out on these fields
Where they fall from my hand
Back into the dirt of this hard land

Well me and my sister
From Germantown we did ride
We made our bed, sir
From the rock on the mountainside
We been blowin' around from town to town
Lookin' for a place to stand
Where the sun burst through the clouds and fall like a circle
A circle of fire down on this hard land

Now even the rain it don't come 'round
Don't come 'round here no more
And the only sound at night's the wind
Slammin' the back porch door
Yeah it stirs you up like it wants to blow you down
Twistin' and churnin' up the sand
Leavin' all them scarecrows lyin' facedown
In the dirt of this hard land

From a building up on the hill
I can hear a tape deck blastin' "Home on the Range"
I can hear them Bar-M choppers
Sweepin' low across the plains
It's me and you, Frank, we're lookin' for lost cattle
Our hooves twistin' and churnin' up the sand
We're ridin' in the whirlwind searchin' for lost treasure
Way down south of the Rio Grande
We're ridin' 'cross that river in the moonlight
Up onto the banks of this hard land

Hey, Frank, won't you pack your bags
And meet me tonight down at Liberty Hall
Just one kiss from you, my brother
And we'll ride until we fall
Well 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

Born In The USA / Nebraska outtake written in the early 80's, recorded on 11 May 1982 at The Hit Factory. This recording was included on Tracks. Also recorded and included on Greatest Hits in 1995.

Played acoustically during the second leg of the Human Touch tour and during almost every show of The Ghost Of Tom Joad tour. Appeared in a full band version during the Reunion and The Rising tours. Also played acoustic during the Devils & Dust tour.

Reported to be rehearsed by Bruce with his Seeger Sessions Band on 12 Apr 2006 at the Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ. Some comments from the people who listened to the rehearsals:

• "Nice violin and harmonica at the end. They played this twice." [12 Apr]

The 09 Dec 1995 performance appeared on European singles in 1996 with DEAD MAN WALKIN', HIGHWAY 29, DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? (08 Dec 1995). The 05 Apr 1995 performance was supposed to be released on a promo single in 1995 with HUNGRY HEART (both studio and 09 Jul 1995 versions), BLOOD BROTHERS (05 Apr 1995), and THUNDER ROAD (05 Apr 1995), but that single was never released for some reasons.

Liner notes by Bruce Springsteen in the Greatest Hits booklet:

I guess this kinda sums if up with one of the ones that got away. Cut in the frontier town of N.Y.C. in Tan. '95 + featuring me + the band + one of my favorite last verses.