Promised Land (Chuck Berry song)

"Promised Land"
Single by Chuck Berry
from the album St. Louis to Liverpool
Released 1964
Genre Rock and roll
Length 2:24
Label Chess Records
Songwriter(s) Chuck Berry
Producer(s) Leonard Chess, Philip Chess

"Promised Land" is a song lyric written by Chuck Berry to the melody of "Wabash Cannonball", an American folk song. The song was first recorded in this version by Chuck Berry in 1964 for his album St. Louis to Liverpool. Released in December, 1964, it was Berry's first single issued following his prison term for a Mann Act conviction.

In the lyrics, the singer (who refers to himself as "the poor boy") tells of his journey from Norfolk, Virginia, to the "Promised Land", Los Angeles, California, mentioning various cities in Southern states that he passes through on his journey. It has subsequently been recorded by numerous other artists.

Background

Berry wrote the song while in prison, and borrowed an atlas from the prison library to plot the itinerary. Describing himself as a "poor boy," the protagonist boards a Greyhound bus in Norfolk, Virginia. that passes Raleigh, N.C., stops in Charlotte, North Carolina, and bypasses Rock Hill, South Carolina. The bus rolls out of Atlanta but breaks down, leaving him stranded in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. He then takes a train "across Mississippi clean" to New Orleans. From there, he goes to Houston, where "the people there who care a bit about me" buy him a silk suit, luggage and a plane ticket to Los Angeles. Upon landing in Los Angeles, he calls Norfolk, Virginia ("Tidewater four, ten-oh-nine") to tell the folks back home he made it to the "promised land." The lyric: "Swing low sweet chariot, come down easy/Taxi to the terminal zone" refers to the gospel lyric: "Swing low sweet Chariot, coming for to carry me Home" since both refer to a common destination, "The Promised Land," which in this case is California, reportedly a heaven on earth.

Other versions

There are numerous other versions of this song:

Johnny Hallyday version (in French)

"La Terre promise"
Single by Johnny Hallyday
Released 1975 (1975) (France)
Label Philips
Johnny Hallyday singles chronology
"La Fille de l'été dernier"
(1975)		 "La Terre promise"
(1975)		 "Requiem pour un fou"
(1976)
Music video
"La Terre promise" (INA archive, 1975) on YouTube

The song was covered in French by Johnny Hallyday. His version (titled "La Terre promise") was released in 1975 and spent one week at no. 1 on the singles sales chart in France (from November 1 to 7, 1975).[6]

Charts

Chart (1975) Peak
position
France (singles sales)[6] 1

References

  1. ↑ "The SetList Program - Grateful Dead Setlists, Listener Experiences, and Statistics". Setlists.net. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Grateful Dead Family Discography - The Promised Land". deaddisc.com. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  3. ↑ 2nd to None (Media notes). Elvis Presley. Columbia Records. 2003.
  4. ↑ "Covered Berries". Official Chuck Berry Website. Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction on LP". musicdirect.com. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  6. 1 2 "La Terre promise - Johnny Hallyday - Hit-Parade.net". Retrieved 2017-11-13.
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