“A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall”

“A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall”  

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 

I think the son in this verse represents innocence. The twelve misty mountains refer to the major mountain ranges of the world. The seven sad forests are the seven continents. I’m not sure what the dozen dead oceans are because there are only five, but he could mean the twelve seas. The hard rain is something that is corrupting the innocence of the world, possibly war.  

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 

Although the baby with wolves around it could refer to the founding of Rome, I think it more likely is about evil surrounding innocence. The highway of diamonds is probably about a wasted opportunity, that there is beauty that no one is seeing or appreciating. The branch with blood could either be about suicide or lynching. Him seeing guns and swords in children’s hands could be about countries who use children in war.  

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 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 

The line, “I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’” is a warning about the hard rain that is coming. The next line sounds like a tsunami, so the tsunami that Dylan is talking about is something that is going to wreck the world.  

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 

I investigated the meaning of the song, and Dylan said that the song was about the coming apocalypse. The rain is an abstract representation of the corruption of the world. Dylan originally wrote the song as several different songs. Each verse of "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" was intended to be the start to a song. Dylan didn't know if he would have enough time alive to write each of the songs, so he put each of the intro verses into one song.