Released 1966 Length 2:45 Writer(s) Gordon Lightfoot | Genre Country Label RCA | |
"Steel Rail Blues"
(1966) "Early Morning Rain"
(1966) | ||
"Early Morning Rain" (sometimes "Early Mornin' Rain") is a song composed and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. The song appears on his 1966 debut album Lightfoot! and in a re-recorded version on the 1975 compilation Gord's Gold.
Contents
Lightfoot composed the song in 1964, but its genesis took root during his sojourn in Westlake, Los Angeles during 1960. Throughout this time, Lightfoot sometimes became homesick and would go out to the Los Angeles airport on rainy days to watch the approaching aircraft. The imagery of the flights taking off into the overcast sky was still with him when, in 1964, he was caring for his 5-month-old baby son and he thought, “I’ll put him over here in his crib, and I’ll write myself a tune.” "Early Morning Rain" was the result.
The lyrics suggest someone down on his luck, standing at an airport fence and observing the thunderous takeoff of a Boeing 707 jetliner. The general narrative of the song can be taken as a jet-age musical allegory to a hobo of yesteryear lurking around a railroad yard attempting to surreptitiously board and ride a freight train to get home. Lightfoot reflects that being able to capture this narrative was due to his steady improvement as a song writer.
Notable recordings and performances
In 1965, the Canadian husband and wife duo Ian & Sylvia were the first artists to release this song. There was over a year's time lag between their recording and Lightfoot's recording and release in 1966. The Grateful Dead also recorded the song in 1965. Funk super-group Cameo frequently performs the song live as an homage to Lightfoot's influence on the band. We Five released a version of the song on their 1970 album, Catch the Wind. Notably, the song has been adopted as a US Army marching 'Jody' cadence, "In the early morning rain with my weapon in my hand, I will make a final stand, and pocket full of sand".