DEEP PURPLE - WHEN A BLIND MAN CRIES

WHEN A BLIND MAN CRIES

DEEP PURPLE

SONGWRITERS: IAN GILLAN; IAN PAICE; JON LORD; RITCHIE BLACKMORE & ROGER GLOVER

HOW: LIVE AT MONTREUX 2011

COUNTRY: U. K.

ALBUM: WHEN A BLIND MAN CRIES

LABEL: EMI RECORDS

GENRE: BLUES ROCK

YEAR: 1972

"When a Blind Man Cries" is a song by British rock band Deep Purple, originally only available as the B-side of the single "Never Before", released in 1972. It was recorded during the Machine Head sessions in December 1971.

According to Ian Gillan, "It’s just an example, for example, if you think of the phrase 'if a blind man cries' then it's pretty sad, those who are disadvantaged tend to be less complaining than those who are able-bodied".

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years. Originally formed as a psychedelic rock and progressive rock band, they shifted to a heavier sound with their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies". They were listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as "the globe's loudest band" for a 1972 concert at London's Rainbow Theatre and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Deep Purple have had several line-up changes and an eight-year hiatus (1976–1984). The 1968–1976 line-ups are commonly labelled Mark I, II, III and IV. Their second and most commercially successful line-up consisted of Ian Gillan (vocals) and Roger Glover (bass), who joined founding members Jon Lord (keyboards), Ian Paice (drums) and Ritchie Blackmore (guitar). This line-up was active from 1969 to 1973 and was revived from 1984 to 1989 and again from 1992 to 1993. The band achieved more modest success in the intervening periods between 1968 and 1969 with the line-up including Rod Evans (lead vocals) and Nick Simper (bass, backing vocals), between 1974 and 1976 with the line-up including David Coverdale (lead vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass, vocals) (and Tommy Bolin replacing Blackmore in 1975), and between 1989 and 1992 with the line-up including Joe Lynn Turner (vocals). The band's line-up (currently including Ian Gillan, and guitarist Steve Morse from 1994) has been much more stable in recent years, although keyboardist Jon Lord's retirement from the band in 2002 (being succeeded by Don Airey) left Ian Paice as the only original Deep Purple member still in the band.

Deep Purple were ranked number 22 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme, and a poll on radio station Planet Rock ranked them 5th among the "most influential bands ever". The band received the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards. Deep Purple (specifically Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan, Glover, Coverdale, Evans, and Hughes) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

If you're leaving, close the door

I'm not expecting people, anymore

Hear me grieving, lying on the floor

Whether I'm drunk or dead I really ain't too sure

I'm a blind man

I'm a blind man

And my world is pale

When a blind man cries

Lord oh, you know

There ain't a sadder tale

Had a friend once, in a room

Had a good time, but it ended much too soon

In a cold month, in that room

We found a reason, for the things we had to do

I'm a blind man

I'm a blind man

Now my room is cold

When a blind man cries

Lord oh, you know

He feels it from his soul.