About the song
Background of A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” is a landmark song, released in 1963 on his album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”. There’s some debate about the exact inspiration, but it definitely reflects the anxieties of the early 1960s:
- Cold War Tensions: The threat of nuclear war hung heavy during this time, and some interpretations see the “hard rain” as a metaphor for nuclear fallout. However, Dylan himself downplayed this specific meaning.
- General Unease: The song captures a broader sense of unease and social change. The Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and a growing counterculture movement were all brewing.
Themes in A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
The song uses a series of surreal and symbolic questions to explore these anxieties. Here are some key themes:
- War and Destruction: Many lyrics paint a picture of violence and destruction, like “who’ll tie your beard if I tear it all out?”
- Social Injustice: Lines like “who put the hambone on the table?” hint at issues of poverty and hunger.
- Loss of Innocence: The song mourns a lost sense of innocence and the complexities of the modern world.
- Uncertainty: The endless string of questions reflects a sense of confusion and a lack of clear answers.
Despite the bleakness, there’s also a sense of resilience in the song. The constant refrain “a hard rain’s a-gonna fall” can be seen as a call to prepare for whatever is coming.
Video
Lyrics
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
And where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, that roared out a warnin’
I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
I heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
I heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
I heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Oh, what did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded in hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall
And what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
And what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest dark forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
And the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell and speak it and think it and breathe it
And reflect from the mountain so all souls can see it
And I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall