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Lyrics to A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Lyrics to the song A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall as recorded by Bryan Ferry.

Oh where have you been, my blue eyed son?
Where have you been, my darling young one?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
Walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways
Stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
Been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I've been ten thousand miles in a mouth of a graveyard

It's a hard and it's a hard and it's a hard and it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall

Oh what did you see, my blue eyed son?
What did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves 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'
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 and it's a hard and it's a hard hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall

And what did you hear, my blue eyed son?
What did you hear, my darling young one
I heard the sound of thunder that roared out a warning
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a blazin'
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin'
Heard one person starve, 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 and it's a hard and it's a hard hard hard hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall

A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall (Page 2 of 2)
(Dylan)


Oh who you did 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 girl whose body was burning
A young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
Another man who was wounded with hatred

And it's a hard and it's a hard and it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall

Oh what'll you do now, my blue eyed son?
What'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm goin' back out 'fore the rain starts fallin'
Walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where people are many and their hands are all empty
Where pellets of poison are flooding the waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the colour, and none is the number
And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountains so all souls can see it
Then I'll stand in the ocean until I start sinking
But I'll know my song well before I start singing

And it's a hard it's a hard and it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall
And it's a hard and it's a hard and it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall
And it's a hard and it's a hard and it's a so hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall


A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Single

Words & Music by Bob Dylan

Bryan Ferry released 'the single 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall on 17th September 1973. This was Bryan's first solo record.

His version of the Bob Dylan track raised a few eyebrows with its completely new interpretation. Bryan took the 3/4 acoustic track and turned it into a 4/4 stomping rock track. The single was backed with a re-recorded version of the Roxy Music track 2HB and reached number 10 in the UK charts in October 1973. This was the first single from the These Foolish Things album and was the first of over 80 songs to date written by other people to be released by Bryan Ferry.

Bryan performed this song during his 1974 mini tour and also at some shows during the As Time Goes By, Frantic & Dylanesque tours. Roxy Music also performed this Ferry solo track during their 'Siren' tour when the set list also included Diamond Head & Wild Weekend from the Phil Manzanera & Andy MacKay solo albums.
A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall was also used 20 years later as a B-side to the single Will You Love Me Tomorrow.

The song was originally cut down to a 3:22  version but the album version was eventually used on the 7". This short version was available on a USA  7" and was this version was eventually released on CD for the first time on The Best Of Bryan Ferry in 2009..

What Bryan Says.....
"It's not meant to be jokey," Bryan insists, anxiously. "It's very serious. I think it's a beautiful song, although I can't be bothered with all that Cuba Crisis stuff but his intentions where completely sincere.  Dyan's original was a poem with guitar backing but there are a hell of a lot of images in that song that I wanted to emphaisize muiscially . I thought it would sound good as a rock number...but the simple fact that it was controversial was a good thing"

Song Musicians

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall is on the following Roxy Music and Solo Albums

Chart Info


CHART HISTORY

25 Sep 73 45
02 Oct 23
09 Oct 14
16 Oct 11
23 Oct 10
30 Oct 13
06 Nov 18
13 Nov 31
20 Nov 43
(Chart run of 9 weeks)

Thanks to Johnny Reece for the research.

Discography:

Format Country A-Side B-Side Details Label Cat. No
             
7" UK A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall 2HB   Island WIP 6170
7" Belgium A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall 2HB Picture Sleeve Island 6138 038
7" Holland A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall 2HB Picture Sleeve Island 12982 AT
7" Spain A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall 2HB Picture Sleeve Island 12982A
7" Germany A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall 2HB Picture Sleeve Island 12982 AT
7" USA A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall Mono/Stereo Promo Atlantic 45-3017
7" UK A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall One Sided Promo Island WIP 6170DJ
7" Italy A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall 2HB Picture Sleeve Island WIP26170
7" Denmark A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall 2HB Picture Sleeve Island WIP6170
7" Germany A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Titles Sleeve Polydor 2002 080