A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL

OH, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, MY BLUE-EYED SON? OH, 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, AND IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD, AND IT'S A HARD, AND IT'S A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL.
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NOT DARK YET - HOME PAGE
A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL



Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?

Oh, 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, and it's a hard, 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?

Oh, 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, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,

And 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, it roared out a warnin',

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, 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, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,

And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, who 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 with 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.

Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?

Oh, 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 black 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,

Where 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 it and think it and speak it and breathe it,

And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,

Then 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, it's a hard,

It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

OH, WHAT'LL YOU DO NOW, MY BLUE-EYED SON? OH, 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 BLACK 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, WHERE 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 IT AND THINK IT AND SPEAK IT AND BREATHE IT, AND REFLECT IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN SO ALL SOULS CAN SEE IT, THEN 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, IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL.
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PERFORMANCES SINCE 1998


1998.01.20, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

1998.01.24, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

1998.06.02, LEIPZIG, GERMANY

1998.06.20, NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND

1998.06.27, LONDON, ENGLAND

1998.07.01, DIJON, FRANCE

1998.07.06, LUCCA, ITALY

1998.11.02, SYRACUSE, NEW YORK

1999.01.30, TAMPA, FLORIDA

1999.04.21, ZARAGOZA, SPAIN

1999.04.25, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

1999.04.28, LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA

1999.04.30, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

1999.06.14, EUGENE, OREGON

1999.07.06, DETROIT, MICHIGAN

1999.07.27, NEW YORK CITY

1999.11.03, COLUMBUS, OHIO

1999.11.14, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

1999.11.19, ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY

2000.04.05, SALINA, KANSAS

2000.05.21, HORSENS, DENMARK

2000.07.11, CINCINNATI, OHIO



This is the only song from the sixties in my short list on this site. It is one of the songs Bob reinvented in 1980 and especially in 1981 (just listen to the performance of this gem in Houston).

Bob is conveying a very grave warning with this brilliant song. I have seen Bob perform it masterfully in Zurich in April 1999 and have listened to even newer performances since.

This song does paint a vivid picture of a very desolate "world gone wrong", which "can't stand long" and which "will be destroyed" by its maker, "because it is too full of sin".

The picture of "a hard rain" is retained, however "there's gonna be no more water but fire next time".

But for now Bob Dylan is "a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'", telling his audience not to "wait too late" and pointing to his wonderful Savior who "will lead us beyond the burning sand", if we only take his nailscared hand.

"God knows there's a heaven, God knows it's out of sight, God knows we can get all the way from here to there even if we've got to walk a million miles by candlelight."