Thunder road

You will recall one of our definitions of The promised land was;
a place or situation believed to hold ultimate happiness.

Thunderoad
The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely,
Hey that's me and I want you only.
Don't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone again.
Don't run back inside, darling you know just what I'm here for.
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore .
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night;
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright.
Oh and that's alright with me.
You can hide `neath your covers and study your pain;
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain.
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a saviour to rise from these streets.
Well now I'm no hero, that's understood,
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood.
With a chance to make it good somehow,
Hey what else can we do now?
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair.
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes can take us anywhere.
We got one last chance to make it real,
To trade in these wings on some wheels.
Climb in back, Heaven's waiting on down the tracks .

Oh-oh come take my hand,
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land.
Oh-oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road.
Lying out there like a killer in the sun,
Hey I know it's late we can make it if we run.
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road.

Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk,
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk,
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride it ain't free.
And I know you're lonely and there's words that I ain't spoken,
But tonight we'll be free, all the promises'll be broken .
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets.
They scream your name at night in the street,
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet.
And in the lonely cool before dawn
you hear their engines roaring on,
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win.


For those of you who have not heard this song, I can only ask, have you truly lived?
What is noteworthy for our purposes is The Boss's treatment of 'The promised land'. It is a reference to a local drag racing spot (likely illegal). More than that, as the song reveals, it is a memory of youthfulness and life free from care. An opportunity to fulfill dreams, to be a hero. It's a place to show off your girl, show off your 'wheels', break away from the drudgery of daily life. I think he speaks deeply about a common human sentiment; the disappointment with what life has become, the romanticising of the past or other peoples experiences and the desire to escape.
Is this really the way to the promised land?