Candidate for greatest song written

[axlslash]

I've always loved this song. I've been looking for a folky Dylan song that fits my voice, and I learned this one. It fits my voice really well and it's easy to play. Plus, playing it as much as I have been has made me fall in love with the words. Discuss it's greatness here.

"A hard rain's a-gonna fall means something big is gonna happen"

--Bob Dylan

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.

[adnan]

Lyrically it's fantastic, but musically it doesn't quite match up. If it was a Dylan song fighting for the title I would say "Like a Rolling Stone" or "Hurricane".

[axlslash]

Oh, LARS is by far my favorite song ever written in total, don't get me wrong. Lyrically, this certainly gives it a fighting competitor. Typically, though, my favorite song lyrically is It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) or When the Ship Comes In.

[Guest Ohdistortedsmile1789]

I really think Morrissey deserves more consideration in these discussions.

[axlslash]

I'm perfectly willing to discuss Morrissey, I just think Dylan is better in the end.

[Guest Ohdistortedsmile1789]

I'm perfectly willing to discuss Morrissey, I just think Dylan is better in the end.

I might put Morrissey above him, but arguing against Dylan is just impossible. Funny thing is, for two men who've written such emotional and inspiring music, they're both quite confused in my opinion.

[axlslash]

I'm perfectly willing to discuss Morrissey, I just think Dylan is better in the end.

I might put Morrissey above him, but arguing against Dylan is just impossible. Funny thing is, for two men who've written such emotional and inspiring music, they're both quite confused in my opinion.

I think Dylan's confusedness only makes him better. His confusedness is the root of so many of his best songs that I almost wish the man could be more confused!

[axl04]

The song is much better when Bryan Ferry does it

[adnan]

Bruce Springsteen really has written some of the best songs ever. You must be ridiculously biased or subjective not to realize that. And not all his stuff is the whole working class thing. He's written some really great stuff that's completely unrelated to that. Like the whole of "Devils & Dust".

Most of his albums are masterpieces. He deserves more consideration than Morrissey in comparisons to Dylan. I like J.J. Cale more than the Boss, and Dylan more than both of them, but Cale's songs never aspired to be great, while Bruce Springsteen and Bobby have written some true masterpieces.

[Guest Ohdistortedsmile1789]

I'm perfectly willing to discuss Morrissey, I just think Dylan is better in the end.

I might put Morrissey above him, but arguing against Dylan is just impossible. Funny thing is, for two men who've written such emotional and inspiring music, they're both quite confused in my opinion.

I think Dylan's confusedness only makes him better. His confusedness is the root of so many of his best songs that I almost wish the man could be more confused!

This is true.

Nevertheless, I doubt Morrissey will ever be compared to Dylan often, and it's ultimately due to each artists' generation.

Bill Frisell does a nice version as well.

[axlslash]

My favorite is Geshem Kaved Omed Lipol (Hebrew) by Israeli rock and roll legends Aviv Geffen V'HaTauyot (Aviv Geffen and the Mistakes; Aviv is considered the Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen of Israeli music to those who listen to it). It's absolutely brilliant, but I'm probably the only forum member who knows it.

Adnan, I don't dissagree with you in the slightest. I think Devils & Dust and Tom Joad may be the best records the Boss ever made, as well as Nebraska. His true songwriting is purely genius. Even his rock stuff is magnificent. He's definetly second only to Bob (if we're only counting English songwriters, otherwise 3rd to Bob and Aviv Geffen), but it's not even particularly close.

Edited October 22, 2006 by axlslash

[Guest Ohdistortedsmile1789]

I haven't listened to much Springsteen yet, not a big deal. I didn't say he was better or worse than anyone.

[adnan]

I wasn't really talking in particular to you.

In any case, you should listen to Nebraska asap. Very important album.

[Guest Ohdistortedsmile1789]

I wasn't really talking in particular to you.

In any case, you should listen to Nebraska asap. Very important album.

I can't really decide what I'm going to get into, but I understand that he's a pretty major figure. Hopefully at some point I'll want to dive in, but right now he's far away from what I've been listening to.

Edited October 22, 2006 by Ohdistortedsmile1789

[axlslash]

See him live. That's the way I dove in. I was a casual listener until I saw the E Street Band in concert, and I am casual listener no more.

[Guest Ohdistortedsmile1789]

See him live. That's the way I dove in. I was a casual listener until I saw the E Street Band in concert, and I am casual listener no more.

We'll see what the fates have planned.