THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD

Live 09 Dec 1995 version

Men walking 'long the railroad tracks
Going someplace and there's no going back
Highway patrol choppers coming up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretching 'round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleeping in their cars in the southwest
No home, no job, no peace, no rest

Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kidding nobody about where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
Searching for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and he takes a drag
Waiting for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
You got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
You're bathing in the city aqueduct

Well the highway is alive tonight
Where it's headed everybody knows
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
Waiting on the ghost of Tom Joad

Well now Tom said, "Mom, wherever there's a cop beating a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me, Mom, I'll be there
Wherever somebody's fighting for a place to stand
Or a decent job or a helping hand
Wherever somebody's struggling to be free
Look in their eyes, Mom, you'll see me"

Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kidding nobody about where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 09 Dec 1995 performance of THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD at Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA, during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour.

Ticket stub for the 09 Dec 1995 show at Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA

Columbia Records Radio Hour

A selection of four studio tracks from The Ghost Of Tom Joad album (see track list below) intercepted with interview segments with journalist Bob Costas were originally broadcast on the 21 Nov 1995 edition of the syndicated Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show which aired on U.S. album oriented rock stations. Costas conducted the interview with Bruce Springsteen that same day (21 Nov 1995) either prior to or following Springsteen's public warm-up show at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ. A total of 35 minutes of the 90-minute interview were used in the radio show.

Additionally, three songs from Springsteen's 08 Dec 1995 show and seven from his 09 Dec 1995 show at Upper Darby's Tower Theater (see track list below) were broadcast on the 14 Dec 1995 edition of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

The complete Columbia Records Radio Hour show was officially issued in December 1995 on cassette and reel-to-reel tapes for promotional use in the United States. Six of the ten live tracks from part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) were never made available in commercial form.

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour Part 1 & 2

MC - Columbia (CAT 7698) - USA, 1995

This Promotion-only cassette tape contains both part 1 (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast) and part 2 (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) of the radio show.

Side A: part 1
Side B: part 2

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast).

Side A: part 1
Side B: blank

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast), with commercials.

Side A: part 1
Side B: blank

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia

MC - NOW! Recording Systems (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only cassette tape contains part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast), with commercials.

Side A: part 2
Side B: blank

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Interviewed By Bob Costas

Reel-to-reel - Columbia (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only reel-to-reel tape contains part 1 of the radio show (the 21 Nov 1995 broadcast), with commercials. This is one of two reel-to-reel tapes that were distributed together but each was housed in a separate box. These are 10.5-inch reels with 1/2" tape, with a running speed of 7.5 ips.

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour - Bruce Springsteen Live From The Tower Theatre In Philadelphia

Reel-to-reel - Columbia (no catalog number) - USA, 1995

This promotion-only reel-to-reel tape contains part 2 of the radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast), with commercials. This is one of two reel-to-reel tapes that were distributed together but each was housed in a separate box. These are 10.5-inch reels with 1/2" tape, with a running speed of 7.5 ips.

Part 2 of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show (the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast) was commercially released in Europe. Since 2005 some enterprising record labels in Europe (mostly in the UK) have been releasing Bruce Springsteen radio and TV broadcasts (and some soundboard recordings) from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Though these releases are not authorized by Bruce Springsteen or his record company, they are lawful due to a legal loophole in Europe.

Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions

CD - Good Ship Funke (GSF020) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- Upper Darby Theater '95

CD - Rox Vox (RVCD2045) - UK, 2016

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- Columbia Records Radio Hour

Digital album - Lilith Records (no catalog number) - UK, 2016

This is a download-only digital album. It contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- 1995 Radio Hour - The Tom Joad Sessions

2xLP - Parachute Recording Company (PARA155LP) - UK, 2018

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- Youngstown

LP - Roxborough Music (ROXMB018) - UK, 2018

This release contains the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Broadcast Collection 1975-1995

5xCD - Cult Legends (CL93154) - Europe, 2023

This release contains the 05 Feb 1975 broadcast from The Main Point, the 15 Dec 1978 broadcast from Winterland Ballroom, and the 14 Dec 1995 broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour radio show.

Available Versions

List of available versions of THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD on this website:

Page last updated: 05 Sep 2016