THE PROMISE

Official studio version

Johnny works in a factory, Billy works downtown
Terry works in a rock and roll band lookin' for that million-dollar sound
I got a job down in Darlington but some nights I don't go
Some nights I go to the drive-in and some nights I stay home
I followed that dream just like those guys do up on the screen
I drove my Challenger down Route 9 through the dead ends and all the bad scenes
And the promise was broken, I cashed in a few of my own dreams

Well now I built that Challenger by myself, but I needed money and so I sold it
I lived a secret I should'a kept to myself, but I got drunk one night and I told it
All my life I fought that fight, a fight that you can never win
Every day it just gets harder to live a dream you're believing in
Thunder Road, oh baby you were so right
Thunder Road, there's something dyin' down on the highway tonight

Well I won big once and I hit the coast, hey but I paid the big cost
Inside I felt like I was carryin' broken spirits of all the other ones who lost
When the promise is broken you go on living, but it steals something from down in your soul
Like when the truth is spoken and it don't make no difference, something in your heart runs cold
I followed that dream through the southwestern tracks, that dead ends in two-bit bars
When the promise was broken I was far away from home sleepin' in the backseat of a borrowed car
Thunder Road, here's for the lost lovers and all the fixed games
Thunder Road, here's for the tires rushing by in the rain
Thunder Road, remember Billy what we'd always say
Thunder Road, we were gonna take it all then throw it all away

Page last updated: 27 Aug 2010

Intro

Music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen, THE PROMISE is a Darkness On The Edge Of Town outtake that was played live between 1976 and 1978 with some lyrics variations. The song was re-recorded in 1999 and released on 18 Tracks in April of that year. It would reappear live a few times during subsequent tours. The above lyrics are for the version that was released on 18 Tracks.

Writing Date

THE PROMISE appeared for the first time on 03 Aug 1976 when it was performed live in concert at Monmouth Arts Center in Red Bank, NJ. The song would disappear from subsequent shows, returning in late September with rewritten lyrics (see the live 03 Aug 1976 version and the live 29 Sep 1976 version). This leads to the conclusion that THE PROMISE was written most probably shortly before 03 Aug 1976.

However, during the first few months of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour, Springsteen was introducing the song by saying it was written "just after [he] wrote 'Born To Run'." In one particular show (29 May 1978 in Boston), he says, "This is the first song I wrote after uh... two years ago... right after we recorded 'Born To Run'." However it is a bit unclear if Bruce is referring to the song "Born To Run" (mid-1974) or the album "Born To Run" (mid-1975). That it might have been written in 1974 made some wonder if just maybe THE PROMISE had been recorded as an outtake during the Born To Run sessions. That led Backstreets Magazine editor Charles Cross to ask Mike Appel about this very matter during a 1990 interview. Appel seemed adamant that it was not a song that Bruce had introduced to the Born To Run recording sessions, let alone recorded. This tends to support the idea that THE PROMISE was something Bruce wrote after mid-1975.

The Story Behind the Song

Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original agreement. Bruce replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of trust, and undue influence. Appel countersued on 29 July in New York State Supreme Court, asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This would drag for about a year.

THE PROMISE gained considerable reputation as Springsteen's ultimate tale of betrayal following live performances beginning in 1976 and even more so in 1977 and 1978. Fans and critics alike have speculated over whether it is about the infamous lawsuit that kept him from the recording studio. When he heard the song for the first time in South Bend, IN, (on 09 Oct 1976 at Notre Dame University) the Chicago Reader critic John Milward was moved to write: "The song's metaphor is 'The Challenger,' a race car that the singer has built by hand 'to carry the broken dreams of all those who have lost.' But the real twist comes during the song's bridge, when he sings the words 'thunder road' and immediately transforms his car into his rock and roll dreams. In 'The Promise,' Springsteen mythologizes himself and compares his struggle to be true to his art to the desperate struggle of the young racer. He sings in 'Thunder Road' that 'tonight's the night all the promises will be broken,' but the dream etched in 'The Promise' and put into perspective by Springsteen's own experience is clearly a romantic notion that is not easily shattered. Despite a landscape filled with losers – the singer eventually sells his car when he needs money – it's clear that in Springsteen's heart the Challenger's potential will never die."

Dave Marsh writes in his Springsteen biography Born To Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story that "when Milward refers to 'Springsteen's own experience,' he is clearly alluding to the lawsuit, but Milward is canny enough to know that the lawsuit itself is only a symbol of what Bruce had undergone since Born To Run catapulted him to fame. 'The Promise' is rather about the price everyone pays for success – and the dangers of settling for anything less."

The lawsuit began in July 1976 and Springsteen debuted the song only a week or two later at an early August show in Red Bank, NJ (see "Live History" section below). One does wonder if his decision to debut the song in concert might have been influenced by the just-unfolding litigation. Springsteen has publicly denied that THE PROMISE is about the Laurel Canyon debacle. "I don't write songs about lawsuits," Springsteen said, and the fact that people might think that "The Promise" was concerned only with legalities kept it off his fourth album.

It is believed that this whole "debacle" at least influenced the feel and lyrics of the song – the timing and some of the topics discussed in the song make the connection pretty obvious. By 1978, Springsteen was singing the song with a rewritten final verse (check out the live 23 May 1978 version for example):

Well now my daddy taught me how to walk quiet and how to make my peace with the past
I learned real good to tighten up inside and I don't say nothing unless I'm asked

Prequel

Bruce Springsteen played two benefit solo acoustic shows for DoubleTake Magazine, on 19 and 20 Feb 2003 at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA. He closed out each night with a Q&A session, taking questions from the audience. On the first night, a fan asks him "what was 'The Promise' about?" Springsteen answers that "after Born To Run, I wrote that [the Promise] for Darkness I think. And I was reflecting on sort of the flip side of 'Thunder Road' I think. I was reflecting on the responsibilities that I thought came with my fortune at that time and how it sort of fitted into my life and... that's generally what I remember it, it being about in some fashion."

THE PROMISE explicitly mentions the song THUNDER ROAD by name but reveals a far more pessimistic outlook on the narrator's life and future. Introducing the song during the 23 Oct 1999 show at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, Springsteen says that "this is a song I wrote as a kind of a follow-up to 'Thunder Road'."

Studio Recording

Springsteen reached a final settlement in his yearlong litigation with Mike Appel on 28 May 1977. Effectively this meant that for the first time in a year Springsteen was able to go into a studio and record. The Darkness On The Edge Of Town recording sessions kicked off in early June 1977 at Atlantic Record Studios in, New York City. Springsteen had a considerable amount of new material, but the songs were in various stages of writing completion. Consequently many of the songs were shaped over the course of numerous sessions spanning several months.

According to Dave Marsh, "the first evening [of the album's recording sessions] was spent spent laying down demos of about twenty songs Bruce had written and more or less completed during the lawsuit. They included [...] 'The Promise' [...] from the live shows of the previous year."

From the Darkness On The Edge Of Town recording sessions, three takes of THE PROMISE are in circulation:

• One that was recorded in June or July 1977 at Atlantic Record Studios, New York City, NY. See the Jun-Jul 1977 studio take for more details.
• One that was recorded in August 1977 at Atlantic Record Studios, New York City, NY. See the Aug 1977 studio take for more details.
• One that was probably recorded in September or October 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY. See the Sep-Oct 1977 studio take for more details.

THE PROMISE was slated to appear on the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album, but too many reviewers of the live shows had considered the song as being "about" the lawsuit with Mike Appel. Fearing that this would cause a misinterpretation of the message he meant to convey, Springsteen held it back and replaced it with RACING IN THE STREET.

According to interview comments made by engineer Toby Scott (Springsteen's audio archivist and recording engineer), it was in February 1998 during solo sessions being conducted at Thrill Hill East (Bruce's home studio in Colt's Neck, NJ) that Springsteen told Scott that the time was right to proceed with the long-anticipated box set of archived, unreleased studio takes. THE PROMISE was going to be included on the box set in 1998, but Springsteen said that he didn't have a version that he liked enough to release. He rejected it opting to record a new version in 1999 that would be issued on 18 Tracks. Apparently, it is the Sep-Oct 1977 studio take that Bruce rejected for the Tracks box set; see the Sep-Oct 1977 studio take for more details on the subject.

Although the Tracks project dominated activities during the remainder of 1998 Springsteen also recorded numerous new songs at his home studio during the between Feb 1998 and Feb 1999, although little has been released. THE PROMISE was recorded on 12 Feb 1999 at Thrill Hill East, Bruce's home studio in Colt's Neck, NJ. The song is produced by Springsteen alone, and features him solo on vocals and piano. It was specifically recorded for its inclusion on the 18 Tracks compilation album which was released on 13 Apr 1999. It was one of the 3 "bonus" tracks on 18 Tracks that don't appear on Tracks.

Official Releases

Besides its release on 18 Tracks, THE PROMISE was included on "SAD EYES - THE FEVER - THE PROMISE", a rare 1999 Argentina-only promotional single tying with the release of 18 Tracks. The single was reportedly limited to 100 copies. The disc comes in a plain PVC sleeve and bares catalogue # COL 2-000510.

Video of the live 01 Jul 2000 performance of THE PROMISE in New York City was included on the Live In New York City DVD in 2001. See the live 01 Jul 2000 version for more details.

A studio recording of THE PROMISE from the Darkness On The Edge Of Town studio sessions will be released on The Promise, a 2-disc set of Darkness on The Edge Of Town out-takes accompanying the 2010 reissue of the 1978 album. Possibly this is one of the takes that have been ciculating on bootlegs (Jun-Jul 1977 studio take, Aug 1977 studio take, Sep-Oct 1977 studio take).

Video footage of an "NYC 78" performance of THE PROMISE will be included on the upcoming 2010 box set reissue of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album.

Live History

In 1976 and 1977, as the Born To Run Tour dragged on with Springsteen's continuing frustration with his legal situation, the shows became his only outlet. Horn sections were added, songs further arranged, more oldies pulled out, performances sometimes reached the three- or four-hour mark. New material such as the bitter THE PROMISE would appear out of nowhere, then disappear again.

THE PROMISE debuted live on 03 Aug 1976 at the Monmouth Arts Center in Red Bank, NJ, during what was later known as the "Lawsuit Tour". This live debut featured different lyrics to later versions. See the live 03 Aug 1976 version for more details. THE PROMISE would disappear from subsequent shows, returning in late September with rewritten lyrics (see the live 29 Sep 1976 version). During the 1st leg of the "Lawsuit Tour" (29 known dates, between August and November 1976), THE PROMISE is confirmed to have been performed on 15 shows. Note that some setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore the song might have been played on more dates.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Lawsuit Tour 1st leg confirmed performances list]

During the 2nd leg of the "Lawsuit Tour" (33 known dates, between February and March 1977), THE PROMISE is confirmed to have been performed on 7 shows. Note that some setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore the song might have been played on more dates.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Lawsuit Tour 2nd leg confirmed performances list]

The actual recording sessions for Darkness On The Edge Of Town were completed by early January 1978, and the mixing sessions dragged until early April. Bruce and the band started preparing for the upcoming tour, and the only known/confirmed pre-tour rehearsal was on 19 May 1978 at Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, NJ. THE PROMISE was one of the songs performed during that private rehearsal (audience tape available - see the live 19 May 1978 version). This was the full E Street Band arrangement of the song only played this way during these rehearsals and on the opening night of the Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour. In 1978, Springsteen was singing the song with a rewritten final verse.

[Click here to display/hide detailed 1978 pre-tour performances list]

The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour kicked-off on 23 May 1978 in Buffalo, and THE PROMISE was performed that night in the full E Street Band arrangement that would never be used in any future show (see the live 23 May 1978 version). The song was played a total of 20 times out of the 111 shows of the tour, all of which in the tour's first three months. It should be noted that a few setlists from this period are incomplete or unknown, and therefore some performances of the song on this tour remain unconfirmed. The 15 Jul 1978 show at The Coliseum, Houston, TX, featured the last known performance of THE PROMISE on this tour and the last until it's reappearance more than two decades later, when it was released on 18 Tracks and performed during The Reunion Tour.

[Click here to display/hide detailed Darkness On The Edge Of Town Tour performances list]

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band embarked on The Reunion Tour in April 1999, and THE PROMISE made three apparitions only during that tour, played solo on grand piano. In addition, the song was also played during the second of the two tour's public warm-up rehearsal shows on 19 Mar 1999 in Asbury Park. The 01 Jul 2000 performance of THE PROMISE was officially released in 2001 on the Live In New York City DVD. See the live 01 Jul 2000 version for more details. THE PROMISE was reported to have been sound-checked on 26 Jun 2000 at Madison Square garden in New York City, but it was not performed on that night's show.

[Click here to display/hide detailed The Reunion Tour performances list]

On The Rising Tour, THE PROMISE appeared only twice, played solo on grand piano.

[Click here to display/hide detailed The Rising Tour performances list]

THE PROMISE appeared 7 times during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, played solo on grand piano:

[Click here to display/hide detailed Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour performances list]

By the time this page was last updated, the 20 Oct 2005 show in Worcester was the last time THE PROMISE was performed.

Awards

THE PROMISE was nominated for two 1999 Grammy Awards: "Best Rock Song" and "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance". It lost for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' SCAR TISSUE and Lenny Kravitz's AMERICAN WOMAN respectively. Springsteen did not attend the award ceremonies which took place on 23 Feb 2000 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Appearance in Movies

THE PROMISE was used in the Erik Skjoldbjærg directed 2001 film Prozac Nation; no soundtrack album was released for this film. At the beginning of the movie, Christina Ricci's character Elizabeth remembers when she was sitting on the floor in her school's lockers room, holding a cassette player to her ear and listening to Springsteen's THE PROMISE. Elizabeth obviously is a Springsteen fan. A little later in the movie she goes to Harvard and says to herself, "[...] Harvard, a place where I would finally be surrounded by people I had something in common with. I'm not gonna ask for much – they don't have to be a Springsteen fan." When she gets to her new dorm room, she starts unpacking and Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark 12-inch single and Darkness On The Edge Of Town and The River LPs are among the records she's holding on her lap. The Tunnel Of Love LP can be seen later on the wall behind her bed. THE PROMISE appears again in the movie, playing in the background while Elizabeth is writing a novel. She writes, "Springsteen's like this garage mechanic poet. You can feel the sweat in his voice, the grime in his guitar. I see steamy streets, lovers groping hands, busted Fenders, the dirt is under his nails and the clairvoyance in his eyes..." Strangely, the Born To Run album is seen turning on a record player during the montage.

The film is set in 1985 when Elizabeth is 19 and goes to Harvard, but Tunnel Of Love wasn't released until two years later. It was no later than the late seventies when she was in school listening to THE PROMISE. The song hadn't been released until 1999, and it couldn't have been a bootleg recording of one of the 1977 studio takes because she was listening to the version that was re-recorded in 1999.

Plot: When talented young writer Elizabeth Wurtzel (Christina Ricci) earns a scholarship to Harvard, she sees it as her chance to escape the pressures of her working-class background and concentrate on her true talent. But what starts out so promising leads to self-destructive behavior and paralyzing depression that reflects an entire generation's struggle to navigate the effects of divorce, drugs, sex, and high expectations. Starring: Christina Ricci, Jessica Lange, Michelle Williams, Jason Biggs, Anne Heche Directed by: Erik Skjoldbjærg Produced by: R. Paul Miller et al. Written by: Galt Niederhoffer, Elizabeth Wurtzel, Frank Deasy, Larry Gross Distributed by: Miramax Films Release date: 08 Sep 2001

Covers

A few artists covered THE PROMISE, most of which on Bruce Springsteen tribute albums:

Various artists -- Light Of Day: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen 3 CD - Good Sounds (DM 797-02) - Spain, 2003 2 CD - Good Sounds (DM 797E-02) - Spain, 2003 2 CD - Schoolhouse Records (SHR0022-2) - USA, 2003 2 CD - Sony (MHCP-928/9) - Japan, 2005 2 CD - Revolver (REVXD 244) - UK, 2005 This is a various artists Bruce Springsteen tribute album. THE PROMISE is performed by Graziano Romani.

Saffer -- Worksheet 05/06 CD EP - unknown label (unknown catalogue number) - Germany, 2005 4-track EP containing two Bruce Springsteen cover songs

Andrew Nicholson -- Lost Highway: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen CD - no label (no catalogue number) - UK, 2008 Tribute album consisting of 10 Bruce Springsteen cover songs performed by Andrew Nicholson

Mark Wright -- Real World: The Bruce Springsteen Project CD - Revolver (REV XD 271) - UK, 2008 Tribute album consisting of 10 Bruce Springsteen cover songs performed by Mark Wright

Available Versions

List of available versions of THE PROMISE on this website:

• Official studio version
• Jun-Jul 1977 studio take
• Aug 1977 studio take
• Sep-Oct 1977 studio take
• Live 03 Aug 1976 version
• Live 29 Sep 1976 version
• Live 30 Oct 1976 version
• Live 19 May 1978 version
• Live 23 May 1978 version
• Live 01 Jul 2000 version
• Live 20 Jul 2005 version

Credits / References

Some of the above info about the studio sessions and the live performances are taken from Brucebase. Scans and info for the above Argentina promo single are taken from the Lost In The Flood website. Info for some of the above THE PROMISE cover releases are taken from the Nebraska website.