Bruce Springsteen The Promise 1st take

From the Darkness on the Edge of Town Sessions
Unreleased track "The Promise" (1st take)
I own none of this material. No copyright infringement intended. Made strictly for the enjoyment of Bruce Springsteen fans everywhere. Hope you like it.

[@lawrenceworthington5667]

I love many of Bruces songs but this song makes me sob in a way that very few other songs do. I have to pull the truck over if it comes on because it overwhelms me. Please don't explain why if you feel the same and know why.

[@KeesKouwenberg]

The 'Lost Masters' version, the absolute best version of The Promise, by far.. very very far. And his best song.....

[@sparkspark2314]

This is close to the original version I heard back when he wrote it and debut it on tour. I like the original 3rd verse which went some like “ I follow that dream me and some guys though the dead ends and all the two bit bars, but when the promise was broken I sleeping with stranger far away from home, in the backseat of a borrowed car… I always felt that the feel of this was more real. I wish I still had that recording. It was on a bootleg single I believe. That all said I do like this…anyhoo..thanks for posting.

[@712rocketman]

I first heard this song (and this particular version, although not nearly as clean as this one) on a bootleg outtake CD a friend had given to me, probably sometime around 1989 or so. It was during his stunning (no other word for it) output of absolutely incredible songs and music, too many to mention here. I remember it hitting me like a ton of bricks upon first listen. I stopped whatever it was I was doing and just laid down on the floor of my apartment and let the song take me in. I suppose the first version of any song that one hears and falls in love with is usually the one considered the best. For me THIS is the best and definitive version of this song. Thank you so much for the "cleaned up" cut that you posted here. It's so much better than the muddled one I've been listening to for years.

[@georgeziffo6412]

I thought I'd already heard the best version of this song, but I was wrong. Thanks for posting.

[@kallaskdkd6446]

Darkness would probably have been seen world widely as one the greatest records in history if Bruce kept The Promise and Independence Day on it

[@grindhousecartoons6896]

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HEARD THIS VERSION, AND I HAVE TO AGREE. ITS THE BEST!

[@Brucie4242]

I always felt like this was the only song he wrote that had any hint of bitterness (reality, but bitterness). Beautiful poet, beautiful man.

[@rws120]

Thanks Lori. Reality yes, but bitterness I'm not too sure. There is so much going on in the lyrics that is never really fully explained. Loss, regret, lost dreams, lost lovers, and on and on. It's mystery is was made such a huge impression on me. It's wide open to so many interpretations that I can relate to. That's why I love it so much. It holds a very special place in my heart.

[@Brucie4242]

@@rws120 This song is so beautiful.I felt he was reflecting feelings--and, ya, bitterness---at the legal mess that was unfolding...when the promise was broken... he is such an incredibly beautiful poet, and, honestly, this gorgeous, rich song is the one that (I feel) shows just a hint of bitterness (a shared reality----Well I won big once and I hit the coast, Yeah, but I paid the cost; Inside I felt like I was carrying the broken spirits
Of all the other ones who lost. ...........Take it all, and throw it all away (but he did not!),

[@rws120]

@@Brucie4242 I agree with everything you shared in your comment. I don't understand why he left The Promise off the final album release. It seemed to fit perfectly with the rest of the record. Let's face, the album was bleak in many respects, especially the end of the title song that closes the record: "Tonight I'll be on that hill cause I can't stop, I'll be on that hill with everything i've got, with lives on the lines where dreams are found and lost, I'll be there on time & I'll pay the cost, for wanting things that can only be found, in the darkness on the edge of town." Thanks again for your heartfelt comment.