THE
TUNDER ROLLS
GARTH
BROOKS
SONGWRITERS: GARTH BROOKS & PAT ALGER
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: NO FENCES
LABEL: CAPITOL NASHVILLE
GENRE: COUNTRY
YEAR: 1991
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962)
is an American singer and songwriter. His integration of rock and pop elements
into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with
success on the country music single and album charts, multi-platinum recordings
and record-breaking live performances, while also crossing over
into the mainstream pop arena.
As of 2020, Brooks is now the only artist in
music history to have released nine albums that achieved diamond status in the United States (surpassing the Beatles'
former record of six); those albums are Garth
Brooks (diamond), No Fences (17× platinum), Ropin'
the Wind (14× platinum), The Chase (diamond), In Pieces (diamond), The Hits (diamond), Sevens (diamond), Double Live (21× platinum), and The Ultimate Hits (diamond). Since 1989, Brooks has released 23 records in all, which
include 13 studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, three
Christmas albums and four box sets, along with 77 singles. He has won several
awards in his career, including two Grammy
Awards, 17 American
Music Awards (including "Artist of the
'90s") and the RIAA Award for best-selling solo albums artist of the century in the U.S.
Troubled by conflicts between career and
family, Brooks retired from recording and performing from 2001 until 2005. During
this time, he sold millions of albums through an exclusive distribution deal
with Walmart and sporadically released new singles. In 2005, Brooks started a
partial comeback, giving select performances and releasing two compilation
albums. In 2009, he began Garth at
Wynn, a periodic weekend concert residency at Las Vegas'Encore
Theatre from December 2009 to January 2014.
Following the conclusion of the residency, Brooks announced his signing with Sony
Music Nashville in July 2014. In September
2014, he began his comeback world tour, with
wife and musician Trisha Yearwood,
which culminated in 2017. This was followed by his Stadium Tour, which began in 2019. His most
recent album, Fun, was released in November 2020.
Brooks is one of the world's best-selling music artists, having
sold more than 170 million records. As of 2020, according to the RIAA, he
is the best-selling solo albums artist in
the United States with 156 million domestic
units sold, ahead of Elvis
Presley, and is second only to the Beatles in total
album sales overall. Brooks was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on October 21,
2012, having been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame the year
before. He was also inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016 with his studio musicians, The G-Men. On March 4, 2020,
Brooks received the Library
of Congress Gershwin
Prize for Popular Song. At age 58, he is the youngest
recipient of the award.
On January 20, 2021, Brooks performed "Amazing Grace"
at the inauguration of Joe Biden.
He said his performance was an opportunity "to serve" and is a
"statement of unity."
"The Thunder Rolls" is a song
co-written and recorded by American country
music artist Garth Brooks.
It was released in April 1991 as the fourth and final single from his álbum No Fences.
The song became his sixth number one on the country chart.
It was originally recorded by Tanya Tucker,
but was never released until it appeared on her self-titled 1995 box set. Her
version included a fourth verse which Brooks himself intended to use on his
version but did not at the suggestion of producer Allen Reynolds.
This song also appears on Brooks' albums The Hits, The Limited Series, Double Live and The Ultimate Hits.
Three thirty in the
morning
Not a soul insight
The city's lookin' like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night
Raindrops on the windshield
There's a storm moving in
He's headin' back from somewhere
That he never should have been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
Every light is
burnin'
In a house across town
She's pacin' by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown
Askin' for miracle
Hopin' she's not right
Prayin' it's the weather
That's kept him out all night
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls
She's waitin' by the
window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he's alive
But on the wind and rain
A strange new perfume blows
And the lightnin' flashes in her eyes
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls
She runs back down
the hallway
To the bedroom door
She reaches for the pistol
Kept in the dresser drawer
Tells the lady in the mirror
"He won't do this again"
Cause tonight will be the last time
She'll wonder where he's been.