It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain by Laughing Sun.
EP: Cander
IT’S A BLUE SKY DON’T HOLD NO RAIN
I've tried and tried and tried and tried to get to you
I've tried and tried and tried and tried again
Try and try and try and try to get through to you
I'll try and try and try and try forever
Ever
We came across some bones of men
Scattered in the dust
So many good souls turned to rust
Within their shattered husks
And these people had worn jewels
And their heads had been held high
Speckled foreheads touched the sky
Behold the sparkling in their eyes
Don’t you know it’s a blue sky
Don’t hold no rain
Don’t hold your love in vain
Cos we’ve still got some loving left to do
Some time ago the white man came
Bringing Bible books and swords
Bound them up in twining cords
In the name of their great Lord
They slew down the Aztecs
Inca Ebu Maasai
Now they hide in concrete lies
To my Mammon side I cry
What have we done
To the Mother Goddess Gaia?
Why can’t we nestle in her
Warm aching bosom?
Aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah
Now the world’s a spinning ball
Two thirds with none to eat
While we chew our scrawny meat
Can you hear those big bells bleat?
What have we done
To the Mother Goddess Gaia?
Why can’t we nestle in her
Warm aching bosom?
Aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah
★
Performers:
Simon Miller – voice, guitar
George Davies – guitar, voice
Marc Greatorex – bass
Ken Staple – acoustic guitar
Credits:
Music and lyrics by Simon Miller.
This arrangement by Laughing Sun.
Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 4th September 1985.
Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.
Cover art by Pok.
Graphic design by Sam James.
Originally released 12th September 1985.
Copyright ℗ 1983 Pok Songs/Explicit Music.
Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.
Fun Facts:
* This was one of the very first songs that Pok ever wrote.
* There are probably not many 17-year-olds who would write such a thoughtful lyric as this.
* Pok said that the idea for it came from listening to Cortez the Killer by Neil Young.
* The very first time we heard this, it was played by Pok on a 12-string acoustic with only six strings late one evening.
* He was sat on a bench along a footpath in the dark, just a short way down Church Hill from St Michael’s church in Honiton.
* Its first proper live performance was at the Sidmouth International Folk Festival in the summer of 1983.
* It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain was subsequently performed by the Spacegoats and Alchemeon.
* You can hear their versions at Bandcamp, SoundCloud and the Wud Records website.
* A studio version is in the works and will appear on Pok’s Anthology album when it is finished.
* Credit should be given to Ken who was just about picked up on the vocal mics, redoubtably bashing out the Em7 – A7 rhythm on his Flambeau acoustic in the background.
* Marc plays Excaliber, his short scale Kay bass, and doesn’t know the song well at this time.
* One of the most definitve moments of the song are the three riffs that are repeated during the instrumental section.
* In early versions of the song, these riffs were repeated four times each, but from Alchemeon onwards each riff was repeated only twice.
* Simon invokes the power of his MXR Distortion partway through the riffs.
* It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain is in the key of E minor and begins and ends with a big glorious Em7 chord (O22O3O).
* The chords in the verses are Em7 – Am7 – C/G – B11#9.
* There is a rather wonderful key change in the “What have we done” section, which is C7 – D7 – Gm7 – C7 – Am – C/G – Em7.
See also:
https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/
https://www.wudrecords.co.uk/artists/laughing-sun/cander/
https://www.explicitmusic.co.uk/lyrics-information/laughing-sun/cander/its-a-blue-sky-dont-hold-no-rain
https://wudrecords.bandcamp.com/track/its-a-blue-sky-dont-hold-no-rain-2
https://www.facebook.com/pokthebard
https://twitter.com/WudRecords
https://linktr.ee/wudrecords
