A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Song by Bob Dylan | ||
| from the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | ||
| Released | May 27, 1963 | |
| Recorded | December 6, 1962 | |
| Genre | Folk rock | |
| Length | 6:55 | |
| Label | Columbia/Capitol (US) | |
| Writer(s) | Bob Dylan | |
| Producer(s) | John Hammond | |
| The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan track listing | ||
| Bob Dylan's Blues (5) |
"A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" (6) |
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (7) |
"A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 in Chip Monck's apartment in the basement of the Village Gate (now The Village Theater) on the corner of Bleecker and Thompson Streets in Greenwich Village.
It was first recorded in Columbia Records' Studio A on 6 December 1962 for his second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The lyric structure is based on the traditional ballad "Lord Randall", Child Ballad No. 12.
Contents |
[edit] Analysis
The surrealistic lyrics of this song are usually construed as referring to the aftermath of a nuclear war.
The song premiered shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis, and drew many comparisons to it due to the the bleakness of the lyrics that reflected the worried mood of the time. However, the meaning behind the words has stayed relevant throughout the years as they seem to have a broader sweep in their descriptions of injustice, suffering and warfare.
Some have suggested that the refrain of the song refers to nuclear fallout, however Dylan himself refutes that this was a specific reference:
"It's not atomic rain, it's not fallout rain... I [just] mean some sort of end that's just got to happen"
[edit] Use in advertising
In 2006 Dylan drew criticism for allowing a hard rock cover version of the song to be featured in a television commercial advertising an SUV with the slogan 'Get hard'.
[edit] Live performance
Although Dylan may have first played the song to friends, "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" was formally premiered at Carnegie Hall on 22 September 1962 as part of a hootenanny organized by Pete Seeger. Although he was originally given a ten-minute set to do three songs, Dylan's set was extended to twenty minutes to make room for "Hard Rain's" six-and-a-half minutes of apocalyptic vision. Bob Dylan is quoted as saying "You know I've been asked that many times before but the song isn't about acid rain just hard rain."
[edit] References
Clinton Heylin (2001). Bob Dylan Behind The Shades: The Biography - Take Two: pp.101-102, 735
[edit] Covers
- Aviv Geffen Geshem Kaved Omed Lipol (in Hebrew: גשם כבד עומד ליפול)
- Pete Seeger: We Shall Overcome (1963); World of Pete Seeger (1973); We Shall Overcome: Complete Carnegie Hall Concert (1989); The Best of Broadside 1962-1988 (2000)
- Linda Mason: How Many Seas Must a White Dove Sail? (1964)
- Joan Baez: Farewell Angelina (1965); The First 10 Years (1970); 'Live -Europe '83: Children of the Eighties (1983); Rare, Live & Classic (1993)
- Rod MacKinnon: Folk Concert Down Under (1965)
- Per Dich: Surt og Soodt(1966)
- Leon Russell: The Shelter People (1971); The Songs of Bob Dylan (1993); Retrospective (1997)
- Bob Gibson: Bob Gibson (1971)
- John Schroder: Dylan's Vibrations (1971)
- The Tribes: Bangla Desh (1972)
- Bryan Ferry: These Foolish Things (1973); Street Life (1986); More Than This: The Best of Bryan Ferry (1999)
- The Staple Singers: Use What You Got (1973)
- Nana Mouskouri: À Paris (1979)
- Roxy Music: Street Life: 20 Greatest Hits (1986)
- The Texas Instruments: The Texas Instruments (1987)
- Ball: Bird (1988)
- Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians: Born on the Fourth of July (soundtrack) (1989)
- Barbara Dickson: Don't Think Twice, It's Alright (1992)
- Vole: A Tribute to Bob Dylan (1992)
- Melanie: Silence Is King (1993)
- Hanne Bol: Misty Parade (1994)
- Gerard Quintana and Jordi Batiste: Els Miralls de Dylan (1999)
- Andy Hill: It Takes a Lot to Laugh (2000)
- Both: Duluth Does Dylan
- Jason Mraz: Listen to Bob Dylan
- Billy Mystic: Is it Rolling Bob?: A Reggae Tribute to Bob Dylan (compilation) (2004)
