Reply to ""The Promised Land""

I'm assuming you mean as a full band version--the Joad/Devils version is my favorite.

This is a good question, because although there hasn't been any structural change in the song its position in the show has changed its meaning over the years. In 78' it was much more of a defiant song to me, coming in the midst of Darkness, Streets, Prove It, etc. in the first set. On the River tour, it was part of the post-Independence Day/Who'll Stop the Rain upbeat section of the first set, usually teamed with Two Hearts and/or Out in the Street. The defiance turned to joy, which was immediately undercut on that tour by The River song.

By BITUSA it was pure celebration, bridging the gap between Glory Days and My Hometown. To me, it's pretty much stayed that way since. Live, the harmonica intro is a moment of recognition and the rest of the song is a celebration of the band--Clarence and Steve get solos, Roy has a chance to shine, and Springsteen has the harmonica solo. That's why I liked the refocus on the lyrics solo. But of the band versions, Darkness versions are closest to the tenor of the song as it was written originally: angry, wary, defiant, persevering.