LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND^©

Studio rehearsal version

Well I dreamed I was a gypsy riding the land
With a tambourine and a gypsy queen and a rainbow caravan
Happy old land sailor, that's what I wanna be
Stealing diamonds from the rich men to throw in the sea

Singing look toward the land
'Cause the land holds the key
Keep an eye on the land
And an eye on the sea

Yes I dreamed I was the cabin boy on an American clipper line
Stealing cargo to colonies of South Caroline
Watering flowers for the captain that they may not wilt
On the best ol' clipper Donald McKay ever built

Singing look towards the land
'Cause the land is the key
Keep an eye on the land
And an eye on the sea

Whoa alright

Yes I dreamed I was the captain of the river queen
Caressing Mississippi waters down to New Orleans
Just a riverboat captain, that's what I wanna be
Won't you come – come on now, I'd let you ride my mama for free

Singing look towards the river
'Cause the river's the key
Keep an eye on the river
And an eye on the sea

And you know it's all right

Where the river flows, I'll follow
Where the sun shines, I will go
Mama take my hand, I want to bring you to the land
Where the wild wind blows
And the mountains grow
And the people know
Yes they know
You must let the river flow
Let the river go

Where the river flows, I will follow
Where the sun shines, I must go
And mama take my hand, I want to bring you the land
Where the wild wind blows
And the people know
And the mountains grow
Yes they grow
And the river flows
Gotta let the river flow

Yes I dreamed I was a river flowing free
And I dreamed that everybody just flowed naturally
Yes I dreamed I was a crystal mountain stream
Running down the biggest mountain you ever seen

Singing look towards the river
For they are the key
Keep an eye on the river
And an eye on the sea

Dreamed I was your lover 'cause that's what I wanna be
I dreamed that every night you dreamed only of me
We walked together by the sea, a hand in hand
I'm telling you were my only woman and I'd be your only man

Singing look toward the lovers
For they are the key
Keep an eye on the lovers
And an eye on the war machine

Page last updated: 01 Feb 2009

Intro

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND was written in early 1971 and performed live between mid-1971 and early-1972 [more details below].

Studio Recording

Springsteen wrote numerous songs in 1971, but did not record any material in a professional recording studio during that period. However, studio rehearsal sessions were frequently conducted at the Challenger Eastern Surfboards factory in Highlands, NJ, in 1971 and early 1972. The primary purpose of the sessions was to prepare for live shows, not to make audio recordings. So only a fraction of this extensive body of rehearsal sessions was ever recorded, and when they were, it is an unfortunate reality that the reel-to-reel tapes made at Challenger Eastern were often erased and reused as part of the recording of live shows.

Fortunately, audio of only one Challenger East session is known to exist – a continuous 6-song, 61-minute segment of a rehearsal that took place in early 1972 at Challenger Eastern Surfboard Factory, Highlands, NJ. The recording is engineered and produced by Carl "Tinker" West. The session lineup was Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, David Sancious, Gary Tallent, and Vini Lopez.

- DON'T YOU WANT TO BE AN OUTLAW
- IT'S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE
- WHEN YOU DANCE
- LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND
- I'VE GOT TO HAVE YOU BABY
- FUNK SONG

The original tape notes the audio as emanating from 1972, but does not mention the exact date. However, according to Brucebase, this session is most definitely from very early in the year, prior to Springsteen's March 1972 contract signing with Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos. Bearing in mind that The Bruce Springsteen Band had been idle for over a month due to Springsteen's trip to California, it's likely this rehearsal took place in order to prepare for the numerous shows scheduled for late Jan thru early Mar. Indeed, the arrangements of these songs are remarkably similar to those that have surfaced from live gigs during this specific period. Brucebase lists the recording under its "14 Mar 1972" entry.

In addition to the 55 minutes of music noted above, there are nearly 7 minutes of between-song studio chat, much of it between Springsteen and sound recorder Tinker West, who Bruce refers to as "Stinky". The discussions seem to indicate that the primary intent of the session is for rehearsing, not recording, with the recording merely being done because Tinker wants to test some new recording equipment. The sound quality is uniformly excellent. Although all the audio is from the same night, it is evident from the discussions that the rehearsals had been going on for some hours before the recording starts. It should be noted that this is not Challenger's more famous Wanamassa, NJ factory location, the one that Springsteen had lived and rehearsed in during the 1969–1971 Child-Steel Mill era. Tinker West had relocated that factory to Highlands, NJ in mid-1971 and had then constructed a more professional rehearsal room (which included a control room like a normal studio) for the various bands he managed.

LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND is one of the 6 tracks caught on this studio rehearsal tape, and the above lyrics are for that version of the song.

Live Performances

LOOK TOWARDS THE LANDS is known to have been performed live twice, once with Dr. Zoom And The Sonic Boom, and once with The Bruce Springsteen Band:

• 15 May 1971 at Newark State College, Union, NJ, with Dr. Zoom And The Sonic Boom. Check out the live 15 May 1971 version for more details.
• 17 Mar 1972 at Richmond Arena, Richmond, VA, with the Bruce Springsteen Band. Check out the live 17 Mar 1972 version for more details.

Available Versions

List of available versions of LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND on this website:

• Studio rehearsal version
• Live 15 May 1971 version
• Live 17 Mar 1972 version

Credits / References

Most of the above info are taken from Brucebase. Thanks Albee Tellone for the help.