"I left my home in Norfolk Virginia, California on my mind,
straddled that Greyhound, rode him past Raleigh, on across Caroline...."
straddled that Greyhound, rode him past Raleigh, on across Caroline...."
The Promised Land, or: let´s hear it for a classic song about the American dream. It was written in ´65 by the mighty Chuck Berry, and his recording of course features that trademark guitar you can do the duckwalk to. In the tradition of Bobby Troup´s Route 66 or James Brown´s Night Train, the clever lyrics mention a load of cities as stopovers on the way to the promised land: sunny California. A cynic might call this Chuck-by-numbers, and it sure is no Maybelline, but it definitely beats My Ding-A-Ling.
"Straight off I bought me a through train ticket, ridin' cross Mississippi clean,
and I was on that midnight flyer out of Birmingham, smokin´ into New Orleans...."
and I was on that midnight flyer out of Birmingham, smokin´ into New Orleans...."
Johnnie Allan released his cajun-flavored version in ´71, dropping Chuck´s the in the process. The rather obscure Allan, who nevertheless managed to aquire the title ´ambassador of swamp pop´ somewhere down the line, recognized the potential of Chuck´s ditty and boy did he do a great job with it. By trading in the guitar solos for a juicy accordeon, he made the song his own. Commercially, it didn´t do a lot at first, but re-released in ´74 it was a surprisingly big hit in the UK.
"Somebody help me get out of Louisiana, just to help me get to Houston Town,
there are people there who care a little about me, and they won't let the poor boy down..."
there are people there who care a little about me, and they won't let the poor boy down..."
The much better known Elvis version stems from ´74, and managed to climb to number 14 in the American hit parade. It´s easy to see why, as the Memphis Flash sings it with conviction, which didn´t happen very often in this stage of his career. Compared to Allan´s interpretation though, Elvis simply doesn´t stand a chance. Should have kept that accordeon, big guy...
"Swing low sweet chariot, come down easy, taxi to the terminal gate...
cut your engines and cool your wings, and let me make it to the telephone."
cut your engines and cool your wings, and let me make it to the telephone."
Over the years, Promised Land has been covered by The Band, James Taylor, The Grateful Dead, Meatloaf and Dave Edmunds, to name but a few. Springsteen didn´t, he wrote his own Promised Land. But no matter how many heavyweights have interpreted it, and no matter how many more will in the future, for me Johnnie Allan´s version will always remain the one and only.
"Tell the folks back home this is the promised land calling...
poor boy´s on the line."
Johnnie Allan - Promised Land MP3
Chuck Berry - The Promised Land MP3
Elvis Presley - Promised Land MP3
