Promised Land (song)

For The song by Vesuvius, see The Rocker (film)#Promotion.

"Promised Land"
Single by Chuck Berry
from the album St. Louis to Liverpool
Released	1965
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:24
Label	Chess Records
Writer(s)	Chuck Berry
Producer	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 1965, 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", California, mentioning various cities along the way. It has subsequently been covered by numerous other artists.

Background

Berry wrote the song while still in prison and borrowed an atlas from the prison library to plot the itinerary. The poor boy boarded a Greyhound bus that stopped in Charlotte, NC but "bypassed Rock Hill", which may have been a sly reference to Rock Hill, South Carolina where Civil Rights leader John Lewis and others were brutally beaten when their Freedom Rider bus stopped there in 1961. The bus rolls on through Atlanta but breaks down in Birmingham. The poor boy boards a train "across Mississippi clean" to New Orleans. He makes it to Houston, where friends stake him to a silk suit, luggage and plane ticket to Los Angeles. Once arrived, he phones home ("Tidewater four, ten-oh-nine") to let the folks back in Norfolk know he's made it to the "promised land".

Cover versions

There are numerous cover versions of this song:

• In 1964 Johnny Rivers released his live album In Action including this song.
• In 1971 Johnnie Allan released a cajun version in the US. It was released in 1974 in the UK.
• In 1972 Freddy Weller released a version on an album of the same name. It was a Top 5 country hit.
• In 1972 The band Juicy Lucy recorded a version on their album Pieces.
• In 1972 Dave Edmunds recorded a cover on the release his album Rockpile, released also as a single in 1972, it reached number 5 in the Australian charts.
• From 1972 to 1995 the Grateful Dead covered this song extensively with vocals by rhythm guitarist Bob Weir. The version from Steal Your Face is noted for its driving cowbell-dominated beat.
• In 1973 the Canadian-American rock group The Band recorded "Promised Land" for their sixth studio LP Moondog Matinee.
• In December 1973, Elvis Presley recorded a powerful, driving version. Presley's version of "Promised Land" was released as a single on September 27, 1974. It peaked at number 14 on the charts in the fall of 1974.^{[citation needed]} It was included on his 1975 album Promised Land. The Presley version was used in the soundtrack of the 1997 motion picture Men in Black.
• In 1974 James Taylor recorded a version on his album Walking Man.
• In 1977 it was recorded by country singer Billy "Crash" Craddock on his album Live!.
• In 1979 Bill Haley & His Comets performed the song live with vocals by Sha Na Na member David "Chico" Ryan.
• In 1982 Meat Loaf sang the song on Saturday Night Live. After covering Johnny B. Goode throughout the late 70s, he performed this song regularly throughout the early 80s. He stopped its run on his set list when he started touring in support of the Bad Attitude album. In 1983 he recorded it for his Midnight at the Lost and Found album.
• In 2007 Geno Delafose released a zydeco version on his album Le Cowboy Creole.
• In 2009 W.A.S.P. recorded a version of this song on the album Babylon.

Popular Culture

• In Men In Black, K, (Tommy Lee Jones) plays "Promised Land" while driving in the tunnel. J, (Will Smith), then exclaims "You do know Elvis is dead right?". K then explains to J, that; "Elvis is NOT dead. He just went home."