The Medusa Fora

The best and probably only song you'll ever hear about an oversleeping female dissident activist who's trailed by the feds and ends up in prison. I've also read this described as a love song, which probably makes it the only love song where the guy wishes he could take the girl's place in jail.

Make Me Sad by Vic Godard & the Subway Sect
---------------
And so you slept for a while
And played an activist part
And turned on all the charm to tame a million hearts
Havana Monday, New York Tuesday
You said it's just part of the plan

And yet they follow you still
Hoping that someday you will
Return everything to its original ill
And where there's no treason you'll find a reason
And I
Will never
Comprehend, oh no
Make me sad again

I mention all of your skills
Such a detention of wills
You try to ply the neighbors with a course of your pills
And finding an image they'll want to pillage
You set them down the road again

But if a man is intent
His life is not worth a cent
The money's only good when it's all been spent
Back where it came from
You need a change from
Chasing
This chimera
Of content, oh no

Make me sad again
Make me sad, sad again

I can hear you crying
I wish it were me
I can see you dying
I wish it were me

Make me sad again
Make me sad, sad again
Make me
Oh make me sad again
Make me sad sad
Oh make me sad again
Make me
Sad again
Oh make me
Sad again
Make me
Sad

Two more poetically cryptic ones by the Psychedelic Furs. The first about a timeless someone who causes time to move within her. The second is about heaven just as the title says.

The Ghost in You
-------------------------

A man in my shoes runs a light
And all the papers lie tonight
But falling over you
Is the news of the day
Angels fall like rain
And love is all of heaven away

Inside you the time moves
And she don't fade
The ghost in you
She don't fade
Inside you the time moves
And she don't fade

A race is on I'm on your side
And hearing you my engines die
I'm in a mood for you
For running away
Stars come down in you
And love, you can't give it away

Inside you the time moves
And she don't fade
The ghost in you
She don't fade
Inside you the time moves
And she don't fade

Don't you go
It makes no sense
When all your talking supermen
Just take away the time
And get in the way
Ain't it just like rain
And love is only heaven away

Inside you the time moves
And she don't fade
The ghost in you
She don't fade
Inside you the time moves
And she don't fade

Heaven
------------

Heaven
Is the whole of the heart
And heaven don't tear you apart
Yeah heaven
Is the whole of the heart
And heaven don't tear you apart

There's too many kings
Want to hold you down
And a world at the window
Gone underground
There's a hole in the sky
Where the sun don't shine
And a clock on the wall
And it counts my time

And heaven
Is the whole of the heart
And heaven don't tear you apart
Yeah heaven is the whole of the heart
And heaven don't tear you apart

There's a song on the air
With a love-you line
And a face in a glass
And it looks like mine
And I'm standing on ice when I say
That I don't hear planes
And I scream at the fools
Want to jump my train

And heaven is the whole of the heart
And heaven don't tear you apart
Yeah heaven is the whole of the heart
And heaven don't tear you apart
Yeah heaven
Ah heaven
Yeah heaven

I love Eliza Carthy's version of this Billy Bragg song that promises better things on the horizon. I finally heard his original a while later and I like it, too, but I miss his earlier rougher way of singing.

King James Version
-------------------------
He was trapped in a haircut he no longer believed in
She says "I'm a teacher here, I teach the children"
And he wondered to himself there and then
All the things he could learn from her
The great mighty wonder

I think of the names you once called me in anger
I remember the sadness in Florence Ballard's eyes
Imagine all the melancholy you could find in the arms of a stranger
Come, come all ye faithful

Seems like nothing goes right
For the world oh that we were born in
But the horizon is bright
Because yonder comes the morning in

Upstairs they're buying a stairway to heaven
And down here in the garden we're changing sticks into snakes
And the jangle of religious medals would put the fear of God into angels
Bread, bread of heaven and

Oh it looks like a shift to the right
For the world we were born in
Oh but the horizon is bright
Because yonder comes the morning in

Weird. Can't believe I only just realized that the song that's been my favorite for more days of my life than any other song is also about "a timeless someone who causes time to move within her" just like "The Ghost in You" up above. I guess I must instinctively have a thing for hyperdimensional songs.

We Are Time by The Pop Group
-----------
No waiting, no running
No searching behind
I will break you time
I will break you mine
Waiting is a crime

All will be now
Dreams are too fast
You are the first
We are the last
We are the last

No sequence to follow
No fear of tomorrow
Kiss of neverness
Life of timelessness
We'll break the speed of change
We'll tame eternity

Time is within you
Shines through your eyes
We'll kill the world
Black letter lies
Lies lies lies lies lies
Your world is built on lies

Don't let time catch up on you, girl
You've got the works of the Bible to do now

I, you,
we are time
I, you, we are time.

No sequence to follow
No fear of tomorrow
Kiss of neverness
Life of timelessness
We'll break the speed of change
We'll tame eternity

Time is within you
Shines through your eyes
We'll kill the world
Black letter lies
Lies lies lies lies lies
Your world is built on lies

Don't let time catch up on you, girl
You've got the works of the Bible to do now.

No sequence to follow
No fear of tomorrow
Kiss of neverness
Life of timelessness
We'll break the speed of change
We'll tame eternity

No waiting, no running
No searching behind
I will break you time
I will break you mine
Waiting is a crime

All will be now
Dreams are too fast
You are the first
We are the last
We are the last

Don't let time catch up on you, girl
You've got the works of the Bible to do now

I, you,
we are time
I, you, we are time

Another one with hyperdimensional overtones. I'm sure it's the only song ever to conjure up the image of treating a crocodile for acne to make a point.

Storm the Reality Asylum by Rip Rig & Panic
----------------------------------
Children menaced by the night
Caught between laughter, laughter and tears
Yeah we sick of being used 
Yeah we sick of being used

You know whenever you can
Get a wall with a spray can
You know whenever you can
Get a wall with a spray can

Storm the reality asylum
Storm the reality asylum

And no beginning and no end
And you don't have to be anywhere
Or time
Or time 
Or time

The ongoing struggle
Against safe for the few
Insanity for the rest
The rest
The rest

Reasons are habit and a sham
Reasons are habit and a sham

Moves so quick there's no law 
To explain it
To explain it
Moves so quick there's no law 
To explain it
To explain it

Your laws treat crocodiles for acne
Acne
Acne

You know whenever you can
Get a wall with a spray can
You know whenever you can
Get a wall with a spray can

Storm the reality asylum
Storm the reality asylum

Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind
Time is a trick of the mind

I love both Juliette Greco's cover and the original of Georges Brassens' song of gratitude to those who showed him kindness in defiance of the arrogant snobs who wanted to control his life... Translation first and the original below it.

Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat (Song for the Man of Auvergne)
------------------------------
It is for you this song
The man of Auvergne who without fuss
Once gave me four bits of wood
When in my life there was cold.

You who gave fire to warm me when
The upper crust women and men
All the people with "good intentions"
Had slammed their doors in my face.

It was merely a fire of sticks
But it warmed my body through
And in my soul it burns on still
In the way a bonfire would do

You, the man from Auvergne, when you die,
When the mortician bears you off,
May he take you across the sky
To the Father Eternal.

It is for you this song
You the hostess who without fuss
Once gave me four bits of bread
When in my life there was hunger.

You who opened your larder when
The upper crust women and men
All the people with "good intentions"
Enjoyed seeing me go without.

It was merely a bit of bread
But it warmed my body through
And in my soul, it burns on still
In the way a great feast would do.

You, the hostess, when you die
When the mortician bears you off,
May he take you across the sky
To the Father Eternal.

It is for you this song
You, the stranger who without fuss
Though downtrodden yourself still smiled at me
When the policemen took me off.

You who didn’t join the applause when
The upper crust women and men
All the people with "good intentions"
Laughed to see me being led away.

It was merely a touch of honey
But it warmed my body through
And in my soul it burns on still
As the great sun would do...

You, the stranger, when you will die,
When the mortician bears you off,
May he take you across the sky
To the Father Eternal.

the original French:
Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat
---------------------------

Elle est à toi cette chanson
Toi l'Auvergnat qui, sans façon,
M'a donné quatre bouts de bois
Quand dans ma vie il faisait froid.

Toi qui m'a donné du feu quand
Les croquantes et les croquants
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
M'avaient fermés la porte au nez.

Ce n'était rien qu'un feu de bois
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
À la manière d'un feu de joie...

Toi, l'Auvergnat quand tu mourras
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
Au père éternel.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
Toi l'hôtesse qui, sans façon,
M'a donné quatre bouts de pain
Quand dans ma vie il faisait faim.

Toi qui m'ouvrit ta huche quand
Les croquantes et les croquants
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
S'amusaient à me voir jeuner.

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de pain
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
À la manière d'un grand festin...

Toi, l'hôtesse quand tu mourras
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
Au père éternel.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
Toi l'étranger qui, sans façon,
D'un air malheureux m'a sourit
Lorsque les gendarmes m'ont pris.

Toi qui n'a pas applaudi quand
Les croquantes et les croquants
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
Riaient de me voir rammené.

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de miel
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
À la manière d'un grand soleil...

Toi, l'étranger quand tu mourras
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
Au père éternel.

Raekwon's Glaciers of Ice is a lot of the time my favorite Wu Tang Clan song. Masta Killa's verse, the hook, and the spooky chorus sung by 60 Second Assassin are especially dope.

[Masta Killa's verse]
Proceed with caution as you enter the symphony
Degrees of punishment increase intensely
Syndrome was caused by the deadly drums
But the battle was won by swords being swung
Slicing with a vocal, from the international vocalist
Your style is too local to fuck with this
Offensive antagonist
No assistance, moving motionless
Mysterious swiftness
Thoughts roll down the shaft of the brain
Mental gives the signal to the physical
Whirlwind kicks and hits from every angle
Violent temperaments, left continents dented
Poison vintage wine rhymes I invented
Drunk by the drunken punches that punctures the heart
Vital sparks from the arteries start

[hook]
The treasure is the glaciers of ice, original man
The treasure is the glaciers of ice, original man
Possess the power to hold G's guns and grams

[chorus sung by 60 Second Assassin]
It's been a long time since the father left in '69
It's been a long time since Wu Tang had the chance to shine
It's been a long time since we had diamonds, gold and drink Cristal wine
It's been a long time of walking around here dumb, deaf, and blind
It's been a long time since you had the Son of Man chant like golden wine
It's been a long time....

Three songs by 10,000 Maniacs, all a little spooky in their own way. One of the earliest bands I got to see live, in a tiny straw hut of a venue. I just read that John Peel was the one responsible for them working with legendary folk producer Joe Boyd, who produced the likes of Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, the Incredible String Band, and even early Pink Floyd.

My Mother the War by 10,000 Maniacs
---------------------------
She borders the pavement
Flanks avenues
The parades pass
White glove attended by

My mother the war

She'll raise a shaft
Lift a banner
Toss a rose

My mother the war

She knows every neighbor
Chats at their doors
Compare
Econosize electric appliances
Come share tea
And a seat by my
Cradle with

My mother the war

Forsaken vigil
Three years each tour
Hands of God enfold him
Prayed mother the war
Haunt a doorway
Beg a postman
Is there word
For mother the war

My mother the war
Mother

5 black stars!

In bitter defiance
She's spiting the corps
Wet a brood
short league for combat

My mother the war

Well acquainted
With sorrow
With grief

My mother the war
Mother the war

Folded lace
Carrion and
Blood soaked robes
Folded lace
Carrion
Blood soaked shroud!

My mother the war
My mother 
Mother
Mother

Katrina's Fair
----------------
Greta's cedar hope chest
Is full of pamphlets
Glass shelves of romantic vignettes
A journal laced with sedimentary prose
Norma gathers and collects vintage photoplays
Hair combs valentines
Lillian allows the animals to scratch
And the leather crack
And the mail collect in the box as coatings peel
Agnes veiled cathedral dweller
Smiles with benevolent pain

But it's Katrina's fair
Tuesday morning
As she with caution unlatches the flat door
She alone cascades to the basement
Careful not to spoil her
Calico printed pinafore
Composite traits and mannerists
All others dissipate

Marguerite vigilant
She dwells upon frigid casements
Sarah's thoughts in high velocity
Accusations always pierce and pass
Clara abandons her passions for distastes
A Miss Lenora P. Sinclair
Early for coffee in the pool
"I'm resituating all your words"
Capital Space Colon Paragraph

Sylvia keeps beasts in jars labeled by
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Genus
Species

But it's Katrina's fair
Tuesday morning
As she with caution unlatches the flat door
She alone cascades to the basement
Careful not to spoil her
Calico printed pinafore
Composite traits and mannerists
All others dissipate

Down the way a silk design
This face is mine
Tis I, Katrina!
Katrina, I.

Death of Manolete
----------------------
There were women holding rosaries
On the day Manolete died
Teenage girls in soft white dresses
Standing silent peace respecting
Groups of boys held in their hands
The fragments of a shattered idol
The old men with their traditions challenged
Refrained from tears

Neck neck hook
Poles of wood
The Picadores stood eyes ablaze
To view the brutal contest
In the vale of years
Courage unfailing
Agility exhausted
Youth entered challenge
Reached for title shelved
The patrons in attendance
To disarm a common myth
Homage played to the victor of immortality
Cloaked in bold tones

In the stockyard the beasts
Did climb their barriers
Bid by a frenzied ring
Bred for one purpose only
To die in man's sport
Dash against his spindle
An instant fell to wounding

There were women holding rosaries
On the day Manolete died
Teenage girls in soft white dresses
Standing silent peace respecting
Groups of boys held in their hands
The fragments of a shattered idol
The old men with their traditions challenged
Refrained from tears

On the day
Swords penetrating
On the day
Torches igniting
On the day
Flower wreaths encircling
The day
On the day

Probably my favorite anthem for misfit youth out of the hundreds that surely exist. It took me a good twenty or so years to realize that Paul Westerberg was repeating "Take it, it's yours" at the end, which is the perfect way to end a song like this.

Bastards of Young - The Replacements
-------------------------

God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung
Dreams unfulfilled, graduate unskilled
It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons

Clean your baby womb, trash that baby boom
Elvis in the ground, no way he'll be here tonight
Income tax deduction, what a hell of a function
It beats pickin' cotton or waitin' to be forgotten

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
Now the daughters and the sons

Unwillingness to claim us, ya got no war to name us

The ones that love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
The ones that love us least are the ones we'll die to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand it

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
Daughters and the sons

Young, young, young, young

Take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours
Take it, it's yours

Two more cryptic Doors songs, one that hints at past lives ("This is the strangest life I've ever known.") and the second about being stuck in the chaos of this world.

Waiting for the Sun
---------------
At first flash of Eden, we race down to the sea
Standing there on freedom's shore

Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun

Can't you feel it, now that Spring has come
That it's time to live in the scattered sun?

Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun

Waiting for the sun
Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting
Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting

Waiting for you to come along
Waiting for you to hear my song
Waiting for you to come along
Waiting for you to tell me what went wrong
This is the strangest life I've ever known

Can't you feel it, now that Spring has come
That it's time to live in the scattered sun?

Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun

Waiting for the sun

Riders on the Storm
-----------------------
Riders on the storm, riders on the storm
Into this house we're born, into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone, an actor out on loan
Riders on the storm

There's a killer on the road, his brain is squirmin' like a toad
Take a long holiday, let your children play
If ya give this man a ride, sweet family will die
Killer on the road, yeah

Girl ya gotta love your man, girl ya gotta love your man
Take him by the hand, make him understand
The world on you depends, our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah

Riders on the storm, riders on the storm
Into this house we're born, into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone, an actor out on loan
Riders on the storm

Riders on the storm, riders on the storm
Riders on the storm, riders on the storm

Two more songs by the Incredible String Band that suggest they know a heck of a lot more than the rest of us about the mysteries of life.

You Get Brighter
----------------------
You get brighter every day
And every time I see you
Scattered brightness in your way
And you taught me how to love you

And I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
Oh no
Oh no

In the morning when I wake
I moor my boat and greet you
Hold your brightness in my eye
And I wonder what does sleep do

For you get brighter every day
And every time I see you
Scattered brightness in your way
And you taught me how to love you

And I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
Oh no
Oh no

Oh wondrous light
Light, light, lighter
You give all your brightness away
And it only makes you brighter
Scattered brightness in your way
And you taught me how to love you

And I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
Oh no
Oh no

You get brighter every day
And every time I see you
Scattered brightness in your way
And you taught me how to love you

And I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
I know you belong to everybody
But you can't deny that I'm you
Oh no
Oh no

Three is a Green Crown
-------------------------------
Not with the lips of skin nor yet with the lips of dark snow
But let the white dove sing
Of the body of life of the lover whose love is complete
Hold hands out to greet ah let not the swan be brought low

For all that is moving is moved by her hands
She is mirrored forever in the life of the lands
In the building of thoughts, in the shifting of sands

Life life remembering

Well here you are now, o now you are here
Well how has it been so far
The hair and the fur
Lemons, frankincense, and myrrh

For all that is moving is moved by her hands
She is mirrored for ever in the life of the lands
In the building of thoughts, in the shifting of sands

Let the cracked crystal raindrop be merged in the sea
Silent shining thoughtless free
But close your eyes to find the golden flower
And open them to see the sunshine shower
Where the flowers are free and the fishes ask
Ah what can water be

She beareth thought, she beareth visions
Speaking truth in contradictions
Dreams of pain, dreams of laughter
And every action follows after

O second self, o gate of the soft mystery
I'll love you if you'll love me
O guide me with the gold of Gabriel's wing,
Grant me the tongue that all the earth does sing
Vibrating light forever one the sun
The book of life is open to us
There'll be no secrets left between us

One of my favorite eccentrics Lee "Scratch" Perry always has a certain unique way with words, and here's one I especially love:

Free Up The Weed
---------------
This is the word of the meek
So listen clearly while I speak
Free up the weed let the children live right now
Too much for suffer
Free up the weed let the children live right now
With leaf, bread and butter

It was here from creation, it's for the healing of the nation
This is the time of salvation, inna love generation

Some plant coffee, some plant tea
So why can't I and I plant collie?
If you stray from the roots
You will never know the truth right now
Cause the war can't solve no problem, love is the emblem
Instead of hate and malice, we should be sipping chalice
And giving praises to His Most High God Jah Rastafari

Free up the weed, let the children live
With leaf, bread and butter
Free up the weed, let the children live
Too much for suffer

Some export coffee, some export tea
So why can't I and I export collie?
If you stray from the root
You'll never know the truth right now
Cause the war can't solve no problem, love is the emblem
Instead of hate and malice, we should be sipping chalice
And singing praises to our Guardian High on High Haile Selassie

Two more songs that suggest better times in an unknown collective past. Cubans in the Bluefields has one of the best titles ever, but the first lines could've been clearer, even though I know what they mean. The first line means "they'll cut your face by pulling it through a broken window. The second means "they'll close a door on your hand and then pull it out to make matters worse" And the fourth line means "they'll try to humiliate you for things they caused to happen to you." The "they" in each case refers to oppressors or tyrants or bullies of some sort, probably all one and the same.

As for the second song Cattle and Cane, ironically the arrival of both the cattle industry and the sugar cane industry marked the beginning of a downward spiral for human civilization, since raising cattle for slaughter has caused so much waste and damage to the environment, and the widespread use of refined sugar has been so damaging to the state of human health for "civilized" people around the world.

Cubans in the Bluefields by East Village
--------------------------------

They'll take your face from the window when it's broken
They'll take your hand from the door when it's closed
They'll shake your head from the ruins of your lifetime
They'll force on shame and they'll use it

Oh won't you play your song of freedom
Oh like you could and you once did

And in their clause that has no standing
There are no painters or poets anymore
To all that's gone, all that's pure, all that's sacred
Are left the minds of the vile and extreme

Oh won't you play your song of freedom
Oh like you could and you once did
Oh won't you sway in the night-time
Sway to it

Cattle and Cane by the Go Betweens
--------------------------
I recall a schoolboy coming home
Through fields of cane to a house of tin and timber
And in the sky, a rain of falling cinders
From time to time the waste, memory wastes

I recall a boy in bigger pants
Like everyone just waiting for a chance
His father's watch he left it in the showers
From time to time the waste, memory wastes
And the waste, memory wastes

I recall a bigger brighter world
A world of books and silent times in thought
And then the railroad, the railroad takes him home
Through fields of cattle, through fields of cane
From time to time the waste, memory wastes
And the waste, memory wastes

I recall the same, a reply
A plan you once had, from time down to mind
That time was bad, so I knew where I was
Alone, and so at home

Further
Longer
Higher
It's further
It's longer
It's higher

I don't think I fully appreciated Bob Dylan's classic A Hard Rain's A'Gonna Fall until I read someone's interpretation, which I'll add an excerpt from below the song. And I'll add to that that there actually seems to be two "witnesses" in the song reporting to God, not just one Jesus figure.

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

"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."

I also think Bob Dylan's Masters of War is amazing in its blunt condemnation of the world's warmongers, though I prefer the haunting slightly edited Staples Singers version below.

Now, masters of war
You build all the big guns
You build the big planes
And you build the big bombs
You hide behind walls
And you hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks.

You never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
Then you try to run farther
When the fast bullets fly.

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You may say that I'm young
You may say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That my Jesus would never
Forgive what you do.

You fasten the triggers
For others to fire
Then you set back and watch
While death counts gets higher
You sit in your mansion
While young people's blood
Flow out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud.

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you're gonna find, oh yes sir
When death takes its toll
All the money you made
Won't ever buy back your soul.

One day you're gonna die
Your death's gonna come soon
I'll follow your casket, yes I will
This late afternoon
I'll watch while you're lowered
Down in your deathbed
I'll stand over your body
Make sure that you're dead.