Song of the Week: Bruce Springsteen's "Land of Hope and Dreams"

Diane and I were watching a DVD recording of Bruce Springsteen's 2001 concert in Madison Square Garden in NYC (before 9/11). I saw it on HBO in '01, but seeing it again reminded me how much I liked the Springsteen song I'm featuring this week. The only version of the song he's released is this live version. Powerful stuff. Listen to "Land of Hope and Dreams"--


"Thoughts of redemption, moral choices and invocations of God have been part of Springsteen songs throughout his career," the NY Times wrote, "but they have grown stronger and more explicitly Christian on his 21st-century albums. " He told the Times, "It was something I pushed off for a long time, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately."

Here's hoping:

Grab your ticket and your suitcase
Thunder's rolling down the tracks
You don't know where you're goin'
But you know you won't be back
Darlin' if you're weary
Lay your head upon my chest
We'll take what we can carry
And we'll leave the rest

Big Wheels rolling through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

I will provide for you
And I'll stand by your side
You'll need a good companion for
This part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there'll be sunshine
And all this darkness past

Big wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

This train
Carries saints and sinners
This train
Carries losers and winners
This Train
Carries whores and gamblers
This Train
Carries lost souls
This Train
Dreams will not be thwarted
This Train
Faith will be rewarded
This Train
Hear the steel wheels singin'
This Train
Bells of freedom ringin'
This Train
Carries broken-hearted
This Train
Thieves and sweet souls departed
This Train
Carries fools and kings
This Train
All aboard

This Train
Dreams will not be thwarted
This Train
Faith will be rewarded
This Train
Hear the steel wheels singin'
This Train
Bells of freedom ringin'