THE WIND AND THE RAIN^©

Live 24 Apr 1970 version

Hey!*

The wind and rain slashin' at my window pane
Lightning's flashing, looks like the sky's gone insane
And it seems like you have lied again
And now I'm left with the wind and the rain
Oh, shattered truth, jagged memories of you
You know it's hard, them dreams that just can't come true
How long has it been since I've known you
Now the wind and the rain is my only truth, hey!

Summertime, summertime, that was when you were mine
And now that's left so far behind
Can't you see what you've done to my mind
Now the wind and the rain's forever mine
Yeah yeah yeah the time shorn it up
Oh the years have made me far too tough
You know where I start and I go, I got drowned
Now the wind and the rain is my only love
I said the wind and the rain is my only love
You know the wind and the rain is my only love

Wintertime, memories of when you were mine**
Oh let 'em shine, golden moments lost in time**
Now I hear the grandfather chime**
Wind and rain's forever mine**

Hey!*

Yeah!*
Yeah!*
Yeah!*

[very long instrumental]

Now the wind and the rain slashin' at my window pane
Seems like you have lied again
By now I guess that it's just the same
And I am left with the wind and the rain
Hasn't time shown you enough
Things have made me far too tough
But you know where I stood when the going got rough
The wind and rain is my only love
The wind and the rain is all I love
The wind and the rain is all I love
The wind and the rain is all I love
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh*
The wind and the rain is all I love
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh*
The wind and the rain is all I love
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh*
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh*
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh*
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh*
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh*
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh**
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh**
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh**
Oh-oh oh-oh, oh-oh-oh oh-oh**

Oh!*
Yeah!*

Yeah!*

Page last updated: 02 Jan 2007

A Led Zeppelin inspired number from Steel Mill. A huge, sprawling guitar landscape that would have been impossible to be fully captured in the weak grips of vinyl. It was frequently performed in 1970. Check out the early original version for more details about the song history and it's live performances.

The above lyrics refer to the live 24 Apr 1970 performance of the WIND AND THE RAIN at Monmouth College, Long Branch, NJ. According to Brucebase, that gig was a replacement concert for a cancellation of the musical ""Hair". Soundboard of very good to excellent quality is in circulation.

* Vinnie Lopez vocals
** Vinnie Lopez and Bruce Springsteen vocals

According to Brucebase, this soundboard tape is very deceptive in that drummer Vinnie Lopez's voice microphone is abnormally dominant in the mix, so much so that it sounds like a co-lead singer (i.e., Robbin Thompson) is interacting with Springsteen throughout the show. However under an extremely close comparison it can be determined that the "co-lead" vocalist is actually drummer and background vocalist Lopez, with his microphone turned way up in the audio mix. Robbin Thompson's voice is definitely not present.

Audio for THE WIND AND THE RAIN from that show is circulating on several mainstream bootlegs, including Deep Down In The Vaults (E Street Records), The Bruce Springsteen Story vol. 3: 1970 - Steel Mill (E Street Records), and Sunlight Soldiers At The West End (Rattle Snake Records), the latter being the complete audio from the 24 Apr 1970 show.

Check out also Steel Mill Retro's version.