RED RAIN
PETER GABRIEL
SONGWRITER:
PETER GABRIEL
COUNTRY: U.
K.
ALBUM: SO
LABEL: GEFFEN
GENRE: PROGRESSIVE
ROCK
YEAR: 1986
"Red Rain" is the first track on English rock musician Peter
Gabriel's 1986 solo album So. In the USA, it was the second single from the
album and reached number three on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock chart in
1986, where it stayed for three weeks between July and August. In the rest of
the world it was not released until 1987 and received less airplay and sales,
peaking at 46 in the UK singles chart after entering the chart in July of that
year. A live version also charted in the US and the UK in 1994.
The song is a
combination of several inspirations. The lyrics directly reference a recurring
dream Gabriel was having where he swam in his backyard pool drinking cold red
wine. Another version of the dream had bottles in the shape of people falling
from a cliff. Once they smashed with impact onto the ground, the people-shaped
bottles had red liquid coming out, and then it began to rain the same red
liquid.
Earlier in his solo career, Gabriel had an idea for a movie, Mozo. In
it, villagers were punished for their sins with a blood-red rain. "Red
Rain" was to be the theme song. This idea was eventually scrapped, although there was a mention of Mozo in
the song "On the Air" in Peter Gabriel (II). "Down
The Dolce Vita", "Here Comes The Flood", and
"Exposure" reference the Mozo story, as well.
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer,
songwriter, and record producer who rose to fame as the original lead singer
and flautist of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in
1975, Gabriel launched a successful solo career with "Solsbury Hill"
as his first single. His 1986 album So, is his best-selling release and is
certified triple platinum in the UK and five times platinum in the U.S. The
album's most successful single, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV
Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards and is MTV's most played music video
of all time.
Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his career. He
co-founded the WOMAD festival in 1982. He has continued to focus on producing
and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. He has also
pioneered digital distribution methods for music, co-founding OD2, one of the
first online music download services. Gabriel has also been involved in
numerous humanitarian efforts. In 1980, he released the anti-Apartheid single
"Biko". He has participated in several human rights benefit concerts,
including Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! tour in 1988, and
co-founded the Witness human rights organisation in 1992. Gabriel developed The
Elders with Richard Branson, which was launched by Nelson Mandela in 2007.
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
I am standing up at the water's edge in my dream
I cannot make a single sound as you scream
It can't be that cold,the ground is still warm to touch
Hay ay ay we touch
This place is so quiet, sensing that storm
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
Well I've seen them, buried in a sheltered place in this town
They tell you that this rain can sting and look down
There is no blood around see no sign of pain
Hay ay ay no pain
Seeing no red at all, see no rain
Red rain is coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
Red rain
Haahhh
Haahhh
Putting the pressure on much harder now
To return again and again
(Back voice) Red rain
Just let the red rain splash you
Let the rain fall on your skin
(Back voice) Red rain
I come to you defences down
( Back voice ) oh oh
With the trust of a child
Hayyy ay red rain coming down
Red rain
Red rain is pouring down
Pouring down all over me
And I can't watch anymore
No more denial
It's so hard to lay down in all of this
Red rain coming down
Red rain is pouring down
Red rain is coming down all over me
I see it
Red rain coming down
Red rain is pouring down
Red rain is coming down all over me
I'm bathing in
Red rain coming down
Red rain is coming down
Red rain is coming down all over me
I'm begging you
Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down
Red rain coming down
Red rain coming downnnn
Over me in the red red sea
Over me
Over me
Red rain.