A hard rain's a gonna fall - Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians

'A hard rain's a gonna fall' was originally written by Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962. He recorded it in December of that year for his second album 'The freewheelin' Bob Dylan'. Some people have suggested that the refrain of the song refers to nuclear fallout, however Dylan disputes that this was a specific reference. Dylan responded to this in 1963: 'No, it's not [about] 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... In the last verse, when I say, 'the pellets of poison are flooding the waters', that means all the lies that people get told on their radios and in their newspapers.'

Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians recorded a cover version of the song in 1989 for the soundtrack of the Oliver Stone movie 'Born on the fourth of July'. Their version was released as a single, which did not chart in Europe.

My collection: 7" single no. 1194
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, March 14, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'A hard rain's a gonna fall' / 'The early days, Massapequa, 1957' (John Williams)