The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
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, and 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, and it's a hard, it's a hard, 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'
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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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, and 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, and it's a hard, it's a hard, 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'
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
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 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
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 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
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 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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Light Up The Sky
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Lord Huron
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
This song could well be a conversation between God and Jesus, the 'blue-eyed son'. He is reporting on what mankind has proven himself to be all about. God has given mankind the intelligence, the hands and the free choice to live in paradise, and this is what he has done with it. In the process, God has also given mankind enough rope to hang himself good and proper, for all time.
The last stanza is not meant as 'Jesus' going back to tell mankind about the error of its ways and try for better things: It is long, long past too late for that, and nothing can be done to forestall the inevitable anyway. No, the last stanza is about sending the Prophet of God down to tell mankind to prepare for the Holocaust; it is coming. It is here. This song is about the coming Apocalypse, and the hard rain is the shitstorm man has brought down upon himself with his wars, his inhumanity to all life, his pollution, his wasteful and profligate ways with fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
Read the fucking words, people:
'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,'
The twelve misty mountains are volcanoes, the six crooked highways are mankind's dishonesty, the seven sad forests are the dying trees due to changing climates, the dozen dead oceans; have you read about what's happening right now to the world's oceans??
'I heard the sound of a thunder that roared out a warnin', Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,'
Have you ever heard and seen a tsunami? More are coming, all over the world.
'I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children' is a reference to the child soldiers in Africa. They carry automatic weapons and machetes, supplied by the West, and doing the bidding of the Masters of War, rich white people. Child soldiers are now, not in 1962. This is all prophesy, 50 years on.
'And I'll tell it 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.'
Mankind has shit the bed, and I am here to tell you about the Fall. The rain that is coming is gonna be one hard motherfucking rain. Think white hot volcanic ash, landing with the impact of machine-gun bullets, covering the earth. Think earthquakes and tsunamis wiping out every part of civilization, think dead oceans, dead forests, worldwide starvation, disease and horror.
I like your first paragraph. Sounds good to me. And blue eyes would represent the privileged, I believe.
@absoftitanium it's just the light and the darkness.
@absoftitanium Not sure what the other two replies are about. @funnyguy: Blue eyes representing the privileged? Huh? Did you actually read his first paragraph? Or listen to the song, for that matter? And @gazza: What's just the light and the darkness? <br /> <br /> Anyway back to @abs. This is the best interpretation I've read of this song. It was my hope that the last stanza meant that some of the most victimized areas would have half a chance of being salvaged, but you're probably right that it's far too late for that. Maybe the prophet is going down with them to bring the souls worth saving up to God in the end. In any case Dylan definitely meant it to refer to the end times, since he once gave this response to a question:<br /> <br /> "No, it's not atomic rain, it's just a hard rain. It isn't the fallout rain. I mean some sort of end that's just gotta happen..."
@absoftitanium This has to be the best comment in all of songmeanings, I keep coming back to it and feel the same awe every time.
@absoftitanium I also have to add that even these dark stormy clouds have a silver lining. The Last Poets tell us about it in "Mean Machine":<br /> <br /> For it was prophesized many centuries past <br /> That the end will come in a fiery holocaust <br /> And only the righteous people will survive the blast <br /> And the Devil's machine will bring about its own end <br /> And peace, love and joy will reign once again.
@absoftitanium <br /> <br /> Manmade global warming wasn't common knowledge in the sixties, but maybe he is some kind of prophet (unlikely).<br /> <br /> But I too interpret blue-eyed son as Jesus.<br /> <br /> The blue-eyed son could be Dylan himself, who had blue eyes. It could be his conversation with God. Or it could even be his literal father. He is telling him what he has seen of the world in his travels. Dylan's real father didn't get out much.<br /> <br /> A hard rain, could mean that difficult times are ahead. But maybe that better times are ahead when the rain washes away so much trouble.<br /> <br /> The numbers 12, 6, 7 all have biblical meanings.<br /> <br /> The natural things, mountains, oceans are in 12s representing God's majesty.<br /> <br /> The number six represents sin and human nature. Highways come up twice in the song. Once again with "highway of diamonds with nobody on it." Highways represent a construction of man, that parts nature. The highways of diamonds is a wasteful and ostentatious display of the wealth of a few.
This song makes me cry probably half the time i hear it. Especially the version from The Concert For Bangladesh in 1971. It's just so beautiful and is pure genius.
Concerning the blue eyed son, I think it is symbolic of a bright eyed and inocent child witnessing all these terrible events. As far as the white latter covered in watter is concerned, I think jerrybear got it with an escape route that cant be used because it is either flooded or too slippery to climb. I also think it can sybolize progress and the fact that it will be imposible to continue up the ladder since we have flooded it over with wars and destruction.
The sybolism in this song is absolutely amazing. Also, some lines can even be interpreted literally as well as sybolically, like the line about highways with no one on them.
Of all the verses though the last is probably my favorite. The first four are a vision of the end of the world before it happens but the last verse is one of hope. It tells of going into the depths of the ugly things in the world and exposing them to as many as you can. It tells of standing up for what you know is right until you go down and that you will know all sides before you tell the story.
This is personal to Dylan since he went to the protests and sang at the marches in the early sixties. It also seems to be an example he is trying to set to who ever is listening. I think this song should be played for everyone at certain points in their life. Especially while growing up.Perhaps it could instile some sensitivity towards the harsh realities of war into everyone.
The young woman whose body is burning is Kim Phuc, the naked little girl running from her napalmed village in the photo everyone remembers. She's still alive today, speaking out about the end to war. It will never come. She still lives in pain every day of her life. Dylan wrote about it almost exactly ten years to the day before it happened on June 8, 1972.
it happened in 1972 and Bob was singing this song in 1963?
I think the white ladder line refers to an escape route that has been rendered useless. The ladder cannot be used because it is all covered with water.
This is one of my favorite Dylan songs, and it seems to get more relevant all the time. Doesn't the line "I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children" make you think of Columbine and all the other school shootings that have been happening lately? The "white man who walked a black dog" and "black branch with blood that kept drippin'" would seem to refer to racism. The "young woman whose body was burnin'" reminds me of the famous photo of the Vietnamese girl running from a napalm attack.
This is such a powerful song, with so much symbolism. A prime example of why Bob Dylan is so highly thought of in the rock/folk music field.
Yes, this was written and released before Bob Dylan was 22, so this was well before Jakob was born, and I do think it's weird, but of course Bob himself has blue eyes, so maybe he's talking to himself, or to the idea of his unborn child. (He also talks about his unborn children in Masters of War, another song off this album. I think while writing these songs he was really fearing for the future of the world.) In the liner notes of The Freewheeling Bob Dylan it says, "[Hard Rain] was written during the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 when those who allowed themselves to think of the possible results of the Kennedy-Khrushchev confrontation were chilled by the imminence of oblivion. 'Every line in it,' says Dylan, ' is actually the start of a whole song. But when I wrote it, I thought I woudln't have enough time alive to write all those songs so I put all I could into this one.'"
The line I really really don't get is "I saw a white ladder all covered with water." Does anyone know what that means?
White ladder all covered with water has also always stumped. Last night I dreamed that I was singing the song and when I woke up I visualized the white ladder (height) covered in water. I thought of climate change and the melting of the ice caps. The last line before the chorus - I'll know my songs well before I start singing - to me refers to getting facts straight before shooting off at the mouth. <br /> Just a thought
I think that the white ladder is the way to climb up and lift the world out of the mess, but as it's covered in water, it's slippery and so we fall off over and over again.
Greatest song ever written. Period.
Nope. Hotel California; Dust In The Wind; and Stairway To Heaven got it beat:) Besides, if Bob Dylan's singin' it the sound's gotta suck (although not the songwriting!)
Dude, please. <br /> Dust in the wind? Should we add (Don't fear) the Reaper? (More Cowbell)<br /> Hotel California? Why not Life in the Fast Lane, Don Johnson? <br /> Stairway to Heaven?? Whole lotta love for you, Bro.<br /> <br /> A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall is not just a hollow collection of cliches' thrown together to sell albums, Dylan is a poet making a profound commentary on life. <br /> <br /> Greatest song ever, though? Musically no way, Dylan himself preferred Cohen's Hallelujah, and we have centuries of classical that blows it away. Lyrically it could be in the running, what song has more powerful and beautiful lyrics? Personally I think you need both. <br /> It's always impossible but I nominate "Let it Be", "Ripple", and "Time", (rock genre).<br />
@HyperBully Certainly one of the best, but I consider It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) to be the apex of songwriting.
When i first started to interpret this song i had no idea what he was talking about but now i believe i have found something.
What if the blue eyed son was Jesus and the Narrator was God. This could be God talking to Jesus before he sent him down here in human form.
"I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it," might be a path of riteuousness and the new born baby with wolves all around it could be someone who wants to follow God but is hampered by people around him. the list would go on if i had time.
I think the main thing that makes me believe this interpretation is that when the narrator asks what the son is going to do next the son replys that he will go baack to the worst places and help.
And I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin', Jesus stood on the ocean. But I'll know my song well before I start singin' jesus waited 30 years before he started to minister fully
anyway let me know what you think
I had the same idea, guess it's about Jesus and God, but I think it's after Jesus "died".<br /> I like your interpretation of the highway-line. Think the "baby with wolves around" line is about Jesus too - it's not the typical crib, but the wolves could stand for human beings, which raised him as their own and killed him despite that too.<br /> the hard rain itself could be a metaphor for noah's ark..<br /> <br /> the last verse: And what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?<br /> "And what'll you do now, my darling young one?<br /> I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',<br /> I'll walk to the depths of the deepest dark forest etc." now he asks him whats he wants to do, jesus wants to go back (which he did) and now he's going back after 3 days:<br /> <br /> And I'll tell it and speak itand think it and breathe it,<br /> And reflect from the mountain so all souls can see it, MOSES WAS ON A MOUNTAIN TO RECEIVE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS<br /> And I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin' - OBVIOUSLY JESUS LINE<br /> <br /> I have to say I'm not "religous" but I really see hear an analogy
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin' - I thought about the thorn crown jesus had worn on the crux which is always shown with blood on it<br /> <br /> <br /> I saw a white ladder all covered with water, -> mary and mary magdalena took the body of jesus down with a ladder after he died, water could represent tears
This song is a testament to the poetic and prophetic genius of Bob Dylan. For a man of less than 22 years to be so socially conscious and aware is amazing. Now add deep and meaningfully poetic ability and you get the greatest American song writer of all time. Bob Dylan.
This song is saturated with metaphors about the human condition and the state of the world. “My blue eyed son” is Bob himself or any young man who has eyes to see the world around.
The song asks: Where have you been; what have you seen; what have you heard; who have you met? And then it asks the question that matters most: What are you gonna do about it.
Through brilliant imagery and language that few can match, Bob Dylan paints a portrait of society riddled with both internal and external turmoil. Lines like “I saw a white man who walked a black dog” drive home the cold reality of racism. “I saw guns and sharp sword in the hands of young children” remind us of how we continue to send our children to die in wars.
All in all he makes it very clear that something big is coming, that bad times are here and more are headed our way: “A hard rain is gonna fall”, and we better be ready to do something about it.
After expounding upon all he has seen and done, he replies in true Dylan fashion:
“And I'll tell it and speak it and think it and breathe it, And reflect from the mountain so all souls can see it”
Bob Dylan didn’t simply criticize and complain without actively taking steps towards being part of the solution. In fact, his career is proof that he spent much of his life trying to raise awareness of the atrocities in the world, hoping that people would listen and maybe make a difference on a personal level.
I guess one could say that this song is very autobiographical. Or, since it was written early in his career, maybe it would be more true say it was a foreshadowing of his life’s work.
I could go into greater detail if I really picked apart the meaning of every line, but many of them are self sufficient at driving the point home. Just let me know if care to hear more.
Note: A perfect companion to this song is “The times they are a changing” (Yet another example of Dylan’s eternal concern and critique concerning the state of the world and the human condition)
anyone who likes this song should check out the song 'dylan's hard rain' by ryan bingham. it is a great song and he is a badass artist with a very unique sound, a lot like dylan in his own right.
hey im new here, 24, im from austria and i got a question for the native speakers: a hard rain was the first song i ever heard from bob dylan, after years of loving this special song i want to do something with it: a retro photo project for homeles peaple. the thing is: my english is not the best so i would thank everyone who could explain me why - it
s a hard rainS A gonna fall ??? please help me out, i know the meaning, but i cant do a project not knowing the gramar...... thanx for helping me out!Hello!<br /> Bob Dylan often would use contractions like that in his songs, I guess to shorten the line of the song or to make it easier to sing. If it were written correctly, it would be, "It is a hard rain that is going to fall". The word "rain" is very rarely pluralized with an apostrophe and an 'S' like it is here, even when it is being used as a verb. It was in this sentence though to replace the word "is" to simply it.<br /> <br /> I hope this makes sense! Best of luck with your project, it sounds like a great idea!
@flotschi Hi A hard rain means a destructive consequence will happen.