"Broken Promise Land" is a song written by

Bill Rice Wilburn Steven "Bill" Rice (April 19, 1939 – October 28, 2023) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Rice charted six singles between 1971 and 1978, including the Top 40 hit "Travelin' Minstrel Man", but is better known for his ...

and

Sharon Vaughn Mary Sharon Vaughn (born May 2, 1947) is an American songwriter who was previously based in Sweden. She has written hits for artists such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire, The Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Keith W ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

in 1985 for his album '' Turn the Page'' as "The Broken Promise Land". It was released as a single from Jennings' compilation album '' The Best of Waylon'' in December 1986. John Schneider recorded a cover of the song, also titled "The Broken Promise Land," on his 1986 album ''Take The Long Way Home'' on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. In 1990,

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...

recorded his cover of the song but without "The" in its title. It was Chesnutt's fifth and final single released from his debut album ''

Too Cold at Home ''Too Cold at Home'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt, released in 1990 on MCA Records. Certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of one million copies, the album produced five Top Ten singles for Chesnutt ...

''. It peaked at number 10 in the United States, and number 7 in Canada in their respective country music charts.

Content

The song begins with the narrator in a motel room with a woman he shouldn't be with. He calls his wife, who believes he's on a business trip, out of guilt and tells her he'll be gone a bit longer. In the chorus the narrator refers to where he's at is called Broken Promise Land. When the narrator returns home, he finds his wife has left, her wedding ring on the floor. He says that she's going to Broken Promise Land as well.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1985 songs 1986 singles 1991 singles Waylon Jennings songs John Schneider (screen actor) songs Mark Chesnutt songs Songs written by Bill Rice Songs written by Sharon Vaughn Song recordings produced by Mark Wright (record producer) MCA Records singles RCA Records singles