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Early Morning Rain Lyrics
In the early mornin' rain
With a dollar in my hand,
With an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home
Lord, I miss my loved ones so
In the early mornin' rain
With no place to go
Out on runway number 9,
Big 707 set to go
And I'm stuck here in the grass
With a pain that ever grows
Now the liquor tasted good
And the women all were fast
Now there she goes my friend
She'll be rolling down at last
Hear the mighty engines roar
See the silver wing on high
She's away and westward-bound
Far above the clouds she'll fly
Where the mornin' rain don't fall
And the sun always shines
She'll be flying o'er my home
In about three hours time
This old airport's got me down
It's no earthly good to me
And I'm stuck here on the ground
As cold and drunk as I can be
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
With a dollar in my hand,
With an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home
Lord, I miss my loved ones so
In the early mornin' rain
With no place to go
Big 707 set to go
And I'm stuck here in the grass
With a pain that ever grows
Now the liquor tasted good
And the women all were fast
Now there she goes my friend
She'll be rolling down at last
See the silver wing on high
She's away and westward-bound
Far above the clouds she'll fly
Where the mornin' rain don't fall
And the sun always shines
She'll be flying o'er my home
In about three hours time
It's no earthly good to me
And I'm stuck here on the ground
As cold and drunk as I can be
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
Song Info
Submitted by
me+you=us On Jul 16, 2002
More Gordon Lightfoot
If You Could Read My Mind
Sundown
The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
Carefree Highway
Summer Side Of Life
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Runway Number 9...the runway number corresponds to the compass. 9 = 90 = East.
Planes take off into whichever way the wind happens to be blowing, which is often in the opposite direction from where they're headed. If you have to drive south on a highway to reach your destination, but the only route to get to the highway means you have to drive north from your home for a few blocks, which direction do you start out in?
Planes take off into whichever way the wind happens to be blowing, which is often in the opposite direction from where they're headed. If you have to drive south on a highway to reach your destination, but the only route to get to the highway means you have to drive north from your home for a few blocks, which direction do you start out in?
Well, to me this is what he's saying. He is missing his lover and wants to go back to her. However, he doesn't have enough money to buy a plane ticket to her. Plane travel was a bit more expensive than it is today in the 1960's. However, as pointed out, he spent all his money getting drunk, and now regrets doing so.
@quamp yes. It’s too bad he couldn’t jump a train. When I first heard this people were still doing that. But if you have a long way to go it can be tough. Especially if you had the money to fly, and blew it
@quamp yes. It’s too bad he couldn’t jump a train. When I first heard this people were still doing that. But if you have a long way to go it can be tough. Especially if you had the money to fly, and blew it
Dynamite - leavin and lonesome in the rail
Great tune wonderfully written and performed (as always) by GL.
Hard-living man (after all, he's drunk in the morning!) is lonesome for his loved ones (kids?) 3 hrs away by plane. Perhaps a story of a musician on the road.
He's drunk and only has a dollar - no money to get home :( Just longingly watching planes take off from the airport, unable to buy a ticket. He's wishing he could jump the plane (like a hobo hoping on a train)
The 'Big 707' is a Boeing 707 jet - quite a large aircraft in its day (60's and 70's)
Some of the words are wrong .. but I don't know how to correct them:
"Where the cold wind a-blows" should be: "With a pain that ever grows"
"Well she's going down at last" should be: "She'll be rolling down at last"
"See the silver bird on high" should be: "See the silver wing on high"
@tsreyb Yes, you are correct.....I have heard GL sing it both ways.
@tsreyb Yes, you are correct.....I have heard GL sing it both ways.
Here is one version:
Here is one version:
But, I'm stuck here in the grass where the cold wind blows
But, I'm stuck here in the grass where the cold wind blows
https://youtu.be/YWRyZy2gegI
https://youtu.be/YWRyZy2gegI
/>
Here is the 2nd version:
/>
Here is the 2nd version:
And, I'm stuck here in the grass with a pain that ever grows
And, I'm stuck here in the grass with a pain that ever grows
https://youtu.be/1pqttl9aWm0
https://youtu.be/1pqttl9aWm0
John
John
@tsreyb Yes, you are correct.....I have heard GL sing it both ways.
@tsreyb Yes, you are correct.....I have heard GL sing it both ways.
Here is one version:
Here is one version:
But, I'm stuck here in the grass where the cold wind blows
But, I'm stuck here in the grass where the cold wind blows
https://youtu.be/YWRyZy2gegI
https://youtu.be/YWRyZy2gegI
/>
Here is the 2nd version:
/>
Here is the 2nd version:
And, I'm stuck here in the grass with a pain that ever grows
And, I'm stuck here in the grass with a pain that ever grows
https://youtu.be/1pqttl9aWm0
https://youtu.be/1pqttl9aWm0
John
John
@tsreyb Yes, you are correct.....I have heard GL sing it both ways.
@tsreyb Yes, you are correct.....I have heard GL sing it both ways.
Here is one version:
Here is one version:
But, I'm stuck here in the grass where the cold wind blows
But, I'm stuck here in the grass where the cold wind blows
https://youtu.be/YWRyZy2gegI
https://youtu.be/YWRyZy2gegI
/>
Here is the 2nd version:
/>
Here is the 2nd version:
And, I'm stuck here in the grass with a pain that ever grows
And, I'm stuck here in the grass with a pain that ever grows
https://youtu.be/1pqttl9aWm0
https://youtu.be/1pqttl9aWm0
John
John
It keeps posting the incorrect link by adding another http in the URL.
It keeps posting the incorrect link by adding another http in the URL.
I like how from his perspective, modern travel seems so "modern." He's used to being a drifter, jumping trains and hitch hiking, but air travel is something that he isn't used to
Your corrections don't apply to the original Lightfoot! track, TS. I believe the published lyrics are correct.
I love this song so much! It has so much emotion for me. It's weird but Gordon has kinda been a grandparent to me. I never really had grandparents and Gordon with his raspy voice and grandfather-ly advice, just fit the mold for me. I went to his concert last year, I think it was, and bawled my eyeballs out! I had huge mascara stains down my face. Anyway this is one of my Gordy faves!
Your reaction is so similar to mine! I bawl every time I hear this song. The performance is transcendent-it is not about air travel! Heaven is limned in these lyrics, and, coupled with its wistful tone, its emotional impact is devastating. This is nothing less than a not-so-teenage symphony to God, an ineffable, mysterious miracle.
Your reaction is so similar to mine! I bawl every time I hear this song. The performance is transcendent-it is not about air travel! Heaven is limned in these lyrics, and, coupled with its wistful tone, its emotional impact is devastating. This is nothing less than a not-so-teenage symphony to God, an ineffable, mysterious miracle.
I understand every lyric except "And the women all were fast" What is Gordon referring to I wonder? it sounds like he got laid but where, when, and what does that have to do with standing in a field alone drunk watching planes leave?
@chesthing, the line adds color to the character of the man in the song. The women he has been with were good for a one-night stand but not material for any long-term stable relationships, let alone marriage or children. So now, he's without any emotional attachments to anyone of the opposite sex, drunk, soaking wet, and homesick. The song is a complete, beautifully drawn word-portrait of a guy who knows he's screwed up his life.
@chesthing, the line adds color to the character of the man in the song. The women he has been with were good for a one-night stand but not material for any long-term stable relationships, let alone marriage or children. So now, he's without any emotional attachments to anyone of the opposite sex, drunk, soaking wet, and homesick. The song is a complete, beautifully drawn word-portrait of a guy who knows he's screwed up his life.
what a great song! I heard a finnish cover in Kaurimusaki's latest film, Fallen Leaves and by virtue of having a big ear, recognized it right away. Aamuöiseen sateeseen by Rauli Badding Somerjoki.