Official 1982 studio 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 back out on to these fields
Where they fall from, from my hand back into the dirt of this hard land
Come on!
Well me and my sister, from Germantown yeah we did ride
And we made our beds, sir, from the rock on the mountain side
We've been blowing around from town to town looking for a place to land
Where the sun could break through the clouds and fall like a circle, like a circle of fire down on this hard land
Well 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
Yeah it stirs you up like it wants to just blow you down, twisting and churning up the sand
Leaving all them scarecrows lying face down into the dirt of this hard land
Well from a building up on the hill I hear a tape deck blasting "Home On The Range"
And I can hear them bar rim choppers sweeping low across the plains
It's me and you Frank, we're looking for lost cattle, our hooves twisting and churning up the sand
Yeah we're riding in the whirlwind, searching for a treasure way down south of the Rio Grande
We're riding cross that river in the moonlight way up onto the banks of this hard land
Well 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 out 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
Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa!
THIS HARD LAND is a song written by Bruce Springsteen. It was originally recorded during the Born In The U.S.A. sessions and was later included on the Tracks box set in 1998. The song was re-recorded in 1995 and included on the Greatest Hits (1995 edition) compilation album (see the official 1995 studio version).
The above lyrics are for Bruce Springsteen's official 1982 studio version of THIS HARD LAND that was released on Tracks.
"Home On The Range", mentioned in the fourth verse, is the state song of the American state of Kansas.
Bruce Springsteen wrote in his 1998 book Songs: "'This Hard Land' traces the search for 'home' against the restlessness and isolation that is at the heart of the American character. It's about friendship and survival and ends the album with a shot of idealism."
According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, THIS HARD LAND was recorded on 11, 13, and 14 May 1982 at The Power Station in New York City, NY. The song was planned for release in 1982 had a band album seen the light that year. See the "Unreleased 1982 and 1983 Albums" section below for more details.
The above lyrics are for the official 1982 studio version of THIS HARD LAND that was released on the Tracks box set. According to the box set's liner notes, the song was recorded on 11 May 1982 at The Hit Factory in New York City, NY. This conflicts with Sony's records and is probably a typo. The correct date and location would be 11 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY.
In his 2012 book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Clinton Heylin wrote that COMMON GROUND (STAY HUNGRY) was ultimately replaced by THIS HARD LAND. "The 'stay hungry' motif, 'Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can', would re-emerge there," he wrote. Interestingly, according Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, both songs were recorded on the same day, on 11 May 1982 at The Power Station.
Some of the lyrics to THIS HARD LAND appeared in an early home demo version of OPEN ALL NIGHT.
According to Sony's logs of Bruce Springsteen's studio sessions, THIS HARD LAND was also recorded on 03 and 15 Feb 1983 at Thrill Hill West, Springsteen's home studio in Los Angeles, CA. Springsteen recorded more than an album's worth of songs by himself between mid-January and mid-February 1983 at Thrill Hill West. He played all the instruments himself, with the help of a drum machine only, and overdubbing to create the final product. No recording of THIS HARD LAND from these sessions is in circulation among collectors. Again, the song was planned for release in 1983 had a band album seen the light that year. See the "Unreleased 1982 and 1983 Albums" section below for more details.
The song was recorded again during the Greatest Hits sessions with the E Street Band in January 1995 at The Hit Factory in New York City, NY. Two different complete studio takes of THIS HARD LAND from these 1995 sessions are circulating among collectors. The official 1995 studio version was released on the Greatest Hits compilation album in 1995 and an unofficial 1995 studio version is circulating on bootlegs. The two are very similar but the latter is more guitar driven. According to Brucebase, an additional full take of THIS HARD LAND from the 1995 sessions is in very limited circulation; it's "take #3" and features mandolin and accordion and an extended coda.
Bruce Springsteen recorded a bulk of solo demoes at his Colts Neck, NJ home studio in early January 1982. His intention was to demonstrate them to The E Street Band when they enter the studio later that month so that the recording sessions for their next album would progress faster. These studio sessions came to a halt in May when Springsteen decided to release Nebraska, an album consisting of the original solo demoes without the band treatment.
For the next month or two the focus turned to overseeing final preparations of Nebraska. However, Springsteen had already made up his mind that a few of the January home demoes should be on an E Street Band album, in addition to some more songs he recorded with the band when they were in studio. Mixing of the band material continued through June, alongside the Nebraska tracks. In fact, Springsteen even considered putting both albums out as a double record. "I had these two extremely different recording experiences going," Springsteen told Mark Hagen in an interview for Mojo magazine published in January 1999. "I was going to put them out at the same time as a double record. I didn't know what to do."
In his 2012 book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Clinton Heylin revealed that the track sequence for the band album was compiled (see list below). These tracks were all recorded with the E Street Band between January and May 1982 at The Power Station and The Hit Factory in New York City, NY.
Side 1:
Side 2:
In early October 1982, soon after the release of Nebraska, Springsteen moved to Los Angeles where he spent much of the following five months. He had recording engineer Mike Batlan install a home recording studio at his house in Los Angeles where he recorded more than an album's worth of songs over the early months of 1983, playing all the instruments himself except for a drum machine.
According to Brucebase, Springsteen has mentioned that sometime in early 1983 he also gave consideration to releasing the best of the Los Angeles home studio recordings as a thematic follow-up to Nebraska. This album concept is not known to have ever been given a working title because Springsteen quickly abandoned the concept.
A document from around March 1983 reveals that at the time Springsteen briefly considered releasing an album tentatively titled "Murder Incorporated" and consisting of eleven tracks. The document also lists six additional tracks that apparently were selected for B-sides. All these tracks were cut during two phases of recording sessions, the early 1982 sessions with the band and the early 1983 solo sessions.
Album:
B-sides:
Springsteen disregarded the album and opted for another round of recording session. These sessions took place between April and June 1983 at The Hit Factory in New York City, NY, and featured the E Street Band, apparently minus Steven Van Zandt who was busy at the time recording his second solo album and touring with his own group. Following this third phase of recording sessions major mixing sessions took place and some in CBS were talking of a possible of a pre-Christmas release. In his book, Clinton Heylin revealed a track sequence for a band album that was compiled on 26-27 Jul 1983 (see list below). This new track sequence comprised of three songs carried over from the 1982 sequence, four from the early 1983, sessions and five from the recent E Street Band sessions.
Side 1:
Side 2:
As had been the case in March, Springsteen disregarded the album again and opted for another round of recording session. This final round was scattered from autumn 1983 to the early months of 1984.
In the liner notes of his Tracks box set, Bruce Springsteen introduces the box set as follows:
During long intervals between my record releases, as I was spending more and more time in the studio, when I met a fan out on the street I was often asked, "What are you guys doing in there?" I regularly pondered that question myself.
What we were doing in there was making a lot of music, a lot more music than I could use at any one time. As a result, my albums became a series of choices — what to include, what to leave out? I based my decisions on my creative point of view at the moment — the subject I was trying to focus on, something musical or emotional I was trying to express. In certain instances, as on Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska, and The Ghost of Tom Joad, these choices crystallized the album I was making. On some of my other records the reasons I had for choosing one song over another, in hindsight, feel a good deal less significant. One of the results of working like this was that a lot of music, including some of my favorite things, remained unreleased.
This collection contains everything from the first notes I sang in the Columbia recording studio, my early and later work with the E Street Band, through to my music in the 90s. It's the alternate route to some of the destinations I travelled to on my records, an invitation into the studio on the many nights we spent making music in search of the records we presented to you. I'm glad to finally be able to share this music; here are some of the ones that got away.
- Bruce Springsteen, September 1998
Bruce Springsteen's albums were thematically linked even if they were not strictly concept albums; so some tracks that didn't fit the theme of the album ended up orphaned, not necessarily because they didn't meet his high standards, but because, he says, they didn't fit in with the tone or themes he mined for each set. Many of these unreleased studio outtakes got under the hands of bootleggers. Discussing that issue in 1984, Springsteen told Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder, "We record a lot of material, but we just don't release it all. [...] I always tell myself that some day I'm gonna put an album out with all this stuff on it that didn't fit in. I think there's some good material there that should come out. Maybe at some point, I'll do that."
During a break in The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour, Springsteen thought that "if it's gonna be a year or longer in between records, I have all this music that I know is very good that I never released and I should release some of it whether it was just a CD or something. In that period of time, I should put something out because people would like to have it and I'd like to see it get out." He told Toby Scott (his audio archivist and recording engineer), "send me all the archives, send everything that we recorded". Scott then went to work gathering the potential material from Springsteen's massive audio library (located, along with Sony's sound archives, in the high-tech Iron Mountain facility near Buffalo, NY). "For a week or so," he told Billboard in a Nov 1998 interview, "I just listened to everything that I'd done that we hadn't put out. I made some very brief notes in a notebook, and then I just put it away. It was something that I could do at some point when I get to that place in a new project where I'm not sure how long it's going to take and it would be nice to sort of fill the gap so the fans wouldn't be so long without hearing any music from me".
Springsteen told Mark Hagen in an interview for Mojo magazine published in January 1999, "So it began just with that idea and we listened to about 250 songs, maybe more, I made quick notes in a notebook and put it away. A year went by, more maybe, and I came off the Tom Joad tour and I began to write acoustically again and I wrote about half a record. Then I got stuck and said, 'Well, I'm going to put this aside for a while.' Then I wrote half of an electric record, and hit the same place. So I thought, instead of waiting for another year to put something out I'll put some of this music together. So once again I went back to the archives." 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 Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Colts Neck, NJ, that Springsteen told Scott that the time was right to proceed with the long-anticipated box set of archived, unreleased studio takes. Thrill Hill Recording served as the main operational center for all Tracks project activities. Note that the "Thrill Hill Recording" name is used for whatever home studio Springsteen is recording at, whether it's in Rumson, NJ, Colts, NJ, or Beverly Hills, CA.
Springsteen told Billboard that the songs were culled from between 200 and 300 tunes. According to Toby Scott, the number was down to about 128 songs by late June 1998. It was then narrowed down yet again in July to about 100 songs that were prepped for the Tracks release. Although the project was originally projected to be a 6-disc set, there was a commercial decision made later in the summer to reduce the size of the release to a 4-disc (66-track) set. The package was delivered to Sony in mid-September in order to facilitate the mid-November 1998 release schedule.
Unreleased songs from the Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ sessions were not included on the box set due to ongoing and still-unresolved court proceedings involving most of these unreleased 1972 recordings. The court battle wasn't resolved until in 2001 (April 2001 in the UK and June 2001 in the U.S.), and those recordings are now free for release at any time. The opening four tracks of the box set — which were culled from Springsteen's 03 May 1972 Columbia Records audition — were not part of the court proceedings.
On 16 Jul 1998, Springsteen attended a convention for Sony Music Entertainment Inc. in Miami, FL, where he officially announced that a box set was the works and he played a tape of three songs: WHERE THE BANDS ARE, LOOSE ENDS, and I WANNA BE WITH YOU.
The Tracks box set was released on Columbia Records on 10 Nov 1998. It was issued on both compact disc and audio cassette formats. It's a 4-disc (or 4-cassette) set consisting of a total of 66 tracks (almost 4.5 hours long), 10 of which were heretofore unavailable single B-sides, 6 were demos and alternate versions of already-released material, and 50 (48 studio and 2 live) were never-before-released songs recorded during the sessions for Springsteen's many albums. Some tracks were treated with a recent touch-up here or there to give the older recordings a fresh polish.
Disc 1:
| 1. | MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 2. | IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 3. | GROWIN' UP | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 4. | DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? | Recorded on 03 May 1972 at CBS Studios, New York City, NY |
| 5. | BISHOP DANCED | Recorded live on 31 Jan 1973 at Max's Kansas City, New York City, NY |
| 6. | SANTA ANA | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 7. | SEASIDE BAR SONG | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 8. | ZERO AND BLIND TERRY | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 9. | LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE | Recorded on 28 Jun 1975 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 10. | THUNDERCRACK | Recorded on 28 Jun 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY |
| 11. | RENDEZVOUS | Recorded live on 31 Dec 1980 at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY |
| 12. | GIVE THE GIRL A KISS | Recorded on 10 Nov 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 13. | ICEMAN | Recorded on 27 Oct 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 14. | BRING ON THE NIGHT | Recorded on 13 Jun 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 15. | SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE | Recorded on 06 Jan 1974 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 16. | HEARTS OF STONE | Recorded on 14 Oct 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 17. | DON'T LOOK BACK | Recorded on 02 Jul 1977 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
Disc 2:
| 1. | RESTLESS NIGHTS | Recorded on 11 Apr 1980 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 2. | A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH) | Recorded on 05 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 3. | ROULETTE | Recorded on 03 Apr 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 4. | DOLLHOUSE | Recorded on 21 Aug 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 5. | WHERE THE BANDS ARE | Recorded on 09 Oct 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 6. | LOOSE ENDS | Recorded on 18 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 7. | LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD | Recorded on 07 Dec 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 8. | WAGES OF SIN | Recorded on 10 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 9. | TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME | Recorded on 10 Apr 1980 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 10. | BE TRUE | Recorded on 21 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 11. | RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN | Recorded on 16 Jul 1979 at The Record Plant, New York City, NY |
| 12. | I WANNA BE WITH YOU | Recorded on 31 May 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 13. | MARY LOU | Recorded on 30 May 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 14. | STOLEN CAR | Recorded on 26 Jul 1979 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 15. | BORN IN THE U.S.A. | Recorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ |
| 16. | JOHNNY BYE-BYE | Recorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA |
| 17. | SHUT OUT THE LIGHT | Recorded in January 1983 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA |
Disc 3:
| 1. | CYNTHIA | Recorded on 20 Apr 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 2. | MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN | Recorded on 05 May 1982 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 3. | THIS HARD LAND | Recorded on 11 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 4. | FRANKIE | Recorded on 14 May 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 5. | TV MOVIE | Recorded on 13 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 6. | STAND ON IT | Recorded on 16 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 7. | LION'S DEN | Recorded on 25 Jan 1982 at The Power Station, New York City, NY |
| 8. | CAR WASH | Recorded on 31 May 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 9. | ROCKAWAY THE DAYS | Recorded on 03 Feb 1984 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 10. | BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGES ('83) | Recorded on 04 Sep 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 11. | MAN AT THE TOP | Recorded on 12 Jan 1984 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 12. | PINK CADILLAC | Recorded on 31 May 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 13. | TWO FOR THE ROAD | Recorded in February 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ |
| 14. | JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART | Recorded on 16 Jun 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 15. | WHEN YOU NEED ME | Recorded on 10 Jan 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 16. | THE WISH | Recorded on 22 Feb 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 17. | THE HONEYMOONERS | Recorded on 22 Feb 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 18. | LUCKY MAN | Recorded on 04 Apr 1987 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
Disc 4:
| 1. | LEAVIN' TRAIN | Recorded on 27 Feb 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 2. | SEVEN ANGELS | Recorded on 29 Jun 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 3. | GAVE IT A NAME | Recorded on 24 Aug 1998 at Thrill Hill Recording, Colts Neck, NJ |
| 4. | SAD EYES | Recorded on 25 Jan 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 5. | MY LOVER MAN | Recorded on 04 Dec 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 6. | OVER THE RISE | Recorded on 07 Dec 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 7. | WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT | Recorded on 06 Dec 1990 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA |
| 8. | LOOSE CHANGE | Recorded on 31 Jan 1991 at Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA |
| 9. | TROUBLE IN PARADISE | Recorded on 01 Dec 1989 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 10. | HAPPY | Recorded on 18 Jan 1992 at A & M Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 11. | PART MAN, PART MONKEY | Recorded in January 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles, CA |
| 12. | GOIN' CALI | Recorded on 29 Jan 1991 at A & M Studios, Los Angeles, CA |
| 13. | BACK IN YOUR ARMS | Recorded on 12 Jan 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City, NY |
| 14. | BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGE | Recorded on 22 May 1995 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, CA |
Before its official release on the Tracks box set in 1998, a different mix (but same recording) of this official 1982 studio version of THIS HARD LAND has been circulating on several bootleg releases, including Murder Incorporated (Flamingo Records).
Other versions of THIS HARD LAND were also officially released.
SECTION NOT YET COMPLETED
In preparation for World Tour 1992-1993, THIS HARD LAND was performed during the tour's public warm-up rehearsal show that took place on 23 Mar 1993 at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ (see the live 23 Mar 1993 version). It was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. The song is also known to have been practiced during the private rehearsal that took place in March 1993 in Glasgow, Scotland, the day before the tour's 1993 leg kicked off.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 29 times during World Tour 1992-1993 (104 dates, June 1992 to June 1993). At the beginning of each show during the 1993 leg of the tour, Bruce Springsteen took the stage and performed a three-song (and one time a four-song) solo acoustic set before the rest of the band joins him on stage. THIS HARD LAND was performed during all 27 shows of the 1993 leg of the tour, always the last song of the solo acoustic mini-set. The 24 Jun 1993 show in East Rutherford, NJ, was billed as "Concert To Fight Hunger" and the 26 Jun 1993 show in New York City, NY, was billed as "Kristen Ann Carr Fund Benefit Concert". The live 24 Jun 1993 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the Brendan Byrne Arena, New Jersey June 24, 1993 official live download in 2018.
In preparation for The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour, THIS HARD LAND was performed during the tour's public warm-up rehearsal show that took place on 21 Nov 1995 at State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 127 times during The Ghost Of Tom Joad Solo Acoustic Tour (128 dates, November 1995 to May 1997); that is all of the tour's regular dates except one: 12 Feb 1997 in Sydney, Australia. On this tour, the song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. The live 09 Dec 1995 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the Columbia Records Radio Hour Part 1 & 2 radio show in 1995. The live 19 Mar 1996 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the King's Hall, Belfast March 19, 1996 official live download in 2017. The live 08 Nov 1996 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the Freehold, NJ 1996 Saint Rose Of Lima School Gym official live download in 2018. The live 24 Nov 1996 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the Asbury Park 11/24/96 official live download in 2019. The live 18 May 1997 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the Nice, France 1997 official live download in 2021.
In preparation for The Reunion Tour, THIS HARD LAND is known to have been practiced during at least one of the private rehearsals that took place in March 1999 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's first leg.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 10 times during what is known as The Reunion Tour (132 dates, April 1999 to July 2000). The song was played in a full-band arrangement. The 29 Jun 2000 performance of THIS HARD LAND was officially released in 2001 on the Live promo single. See the live 29 Jun 2000 version for more details.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 9 times during The Rising Tour (120 dates, August 2002 to October 2003). The song was played 7 times in a full band arrangement and two times in a solo acoustic arrangement.
In preparation for the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, THIS HARD LAND was performed during one of the tour's two public warm-up rehearsal shows that took place in April 2005 in Asbury Park. It was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. The song is also known to have been practiced during at least one of the private rehearsals that took place in March and April 2005 in Asbury Park prior to the tour's first leg.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 24 times during the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour (72 dates, April to November 2005). The song was played in a solo acoustic arrangement, except on 30 Apr 2005 in Glendale, AZ, when Nils Lofgren joined Springsteen on dobro. The live 25 Jun 2005 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the Stockholm 2005 official live download in 2020.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 4 times during the Magic Tour (100 dates, October 2007 to August 2008). The song was played in a full band arrangement. The live 19 Nov 2007 version of THIS HARD LAND was released on the TD Banknorth Garden, Boston 11/19/07 official live download in 2018.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 4 times during the Working On A Dream Tour (83 dates, April to November 2009). The song was played in a full band arrangement.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 13 times during the Wrecking Ball Tour (133 dates, March 2012 to September 2013). The song was played three times in a full band arrangement and ten times in a solo acoustic arrangement. When played solo, the song was either part of a solo acoustic pre-show or the opener or closer of the main show.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 3 times during the High Hopes Tour (34 dates, January to May 2014). The song was played in a solo acoustic arrangement and was the show closer of all three dates. Audio recordings for most High Hopes Tour shows are officially available for purchase. See the live 28 Jan 2014 version for more details.
THIS HARD LAND was performed 13 times during Springsteen On Broadway (268 dates, October 2017 to December 2018 and June to September 2021). On this tour, the song was played solo on acoustic guitar and harmonica.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 21 Feb 1995 at Tramps nightclub in New York City, NY, during a reunion gig with the E Street Band. The song was played in a full-band arrangement. See the live 21 Feb 1995 version for more details.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 05 Apr 1995 at Sony Music Studios in New York City, NY, during a gig with the E Street Band to promote the release of the Greatest Hits album. Two takes of the song were performed, played in a full-band arrangement. See the live 05 Apr 1995 (Sony Music Studios) version for more details.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 28 Oct 1995 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. See the live 28 Oct 1995 version for more details.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 11 Dec 1998 during an appearance on Italian TV and 14 Dec 1998 during an appearance on Spanish TV during a brief European media tour to promote the Tracks box set. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. See the live 11 Dec 1998 version and live 14 Dec 1998 version for more details.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 18 Aug 2001 at Asbury Park Waterfront in Asbury Park, NJ, during the 26th annual Clearwater Festival. The song was played in a solo acoustic arrangement.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 19 and 20 Feb 2003 at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA, during the DoubleTake Magazine benefit shows. The song was played in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement. See the live 19 Feb 2003 version and the live 20 Feb 2003 version for more details.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 02 Dec 2004 at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, PA, during the "Flood Aid '04" benefit concert. The song was played with a full-band arrangement.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 19 Dec 2004 at Harry's Roadhouse in Asbury Park, NJ, during both holiday jam shows that took place that day. The song was played solo on acoustic guitar and harmonica.
THIS HARD LAND was performed off-tour on 30 Jun 2005 at Keflavik International Airport in Keflavik, Iceland. On his way from Germany back to the US in the midst the Devils & Dust Solo Acoustic Tour, Springsteen's private plane stopped for refueling at Keflavik International Airport in the early hours of 30 Jun 2005. Having never set foot in the country, Springsteen just grabbed his guitar and walked into the small terminal and played a six-song set for the lucky late-shift workers at the airport. According to the Iceland Review, "The employees commented that Springsteen showed no pretense and was very down-to-earth, chatting away with them. His friend asked the airport employees if they would like to listen to a few tunes."
THIS HARD LAND was performed during the fifth (2004) and eleventh (2011) annual Light Of Day benefits. The song was played in a full-band arrangement in 2004 and in a solo acoustic guitar and harmonica arrangement in 2011.
Bruce Springsteen has been performing on almost all the annual Stand Up for Heroes benefits since 2007. THIS HARD LAND was performed during the first (2007), third (2009), and twelfth (2018) annual benefits.
THIS HARD LAND was performed on 16 Oct 2008 at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, NY, during the "Change Rocks" benefit show for Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The song was played in a solo acoustic arrangement.
Bruce Springsteen appeared at a total of six Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers concerts at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Pittsburgh, PA, in 2010, 2011, and 2014. THIS HARD LAND was performed on 04 Nov 2010 and 05 Nov 2010. The song was played in a solo acoustic arrangement.
At least 6 artists have recorded and released Bruce Springsteen's THIS HARD LAND.
If you have audio or any additional information about the 1995 studio take of THIS HARD LAND that is in very limited circulation, or if you have any corrections, additions, or comments to this page, please contact me via the below form or by email: .
List of available versions of THIS HARD LAND on this website:
THIS HARD LAND [Official 1982 studio version]
