There’s a calm before the storm/
I know it’s been comin’ for some time.

The rain is obviously a big motif in “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”, but I am not sure everyone has listened to the true meaning behind what Creedence is trying to say. Fogerty tells us that that it is calm right before the storm. Then the storm will come and the rain will begin to fall. But after the storm, there is a period when the sun starts to shine again portending of future good weather. It can be a great feeling.

Fogerty is not asking if you’ve ever seen rain in a storm, he is asking if you’ve ever experienced that special time after the storm when the rain is falling while the sun is out. It is a time of hope and cleansing.

Obviously Fogerty isn’t interested in the weather patterns. The reason this song resonates is because it was written during a difficult time in the 1960s. Specifically people were fighting for civil rights and also fighting an unjust was in Vietnam. Fogerty is anticipating the people rising up (the storm) and making things just in the world. That will be a beautiful time like when rain falls down on a sunny day. It will be a time of hope and hopefully it will all have been worth it.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain Lyrics

Someone told me long ago
There’s a calm before the storm
I know, it’s been comin’ for some time

When it’s over, so they say
It’ll reign a sunny day
I know, shinin’ down like water

I wanna know have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?

Yesterday and days before
Sun is cold and rain is hard
I know, been that way for all my life

‘Til forever, on it goes
Through the circle, fast and slow
I know, it can’t stop, I wonder

I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day? Yeah

I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?

Songwriters: John Cameron Fogerty

She’s just a girl, and she’s on fire/
Hotter than a fantasy, longer like a highway.

“Girl on Fire” is a great woman’s anthem from Alicia Keys. This Girl on Fire sounds a bit like a superhero: she’s on top of the world, hottest of the hottest girls, can fly away, so bright she can burn your eyes. But during the bridge we find out that she is sometimes a lonely girl in a lonely world…so it turns out there are two sides to this superhero.

The song has a great chorus and overall, the melody is good-as is the message. Like many Keys’ songs it is mixed heavily with percussion which makes for a good dance mix. This song shows off the different styles of Keys’ singing voice: and it sounds great throughout. Some of the verses and the bridge sound softer, and contrast with her anthem-y choruses.

Keys’ is one of the best of the current diva singers. Her voice is always under control, she rarely uses superfluous runs, and the emotion always sounds genuine.

Girl on Fire Lyrics

She’s just a girl, and she’s on fire
Hotter than a fantasy, longer like a highway
She’s living in a world, and it’s on fire
Feeling the catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away
Oh, she got both feet on the ground
And she’s burning it down
Oh, she got her head in the clouds
And she’s not backing down

This girl is on fire
This girl is on fire
She’s walking on fire
This girl is on fire

Looks like a girl, but she’s a flame
So bright, she can burn your eyes
Better look the other way
You can try but you’ll never forget her name
She’s on top of the world
Hottest of the hottest girls say
Oh, we got our feet on the ground
And we’re burning it down
Oh, got our head in the clouds
And we’re not coming down

This girl is on fire
This girl is on fire
She’s walking on fire
This girl is on fire

Everybody stands, as she goes by
Cause they can see the flame that’s in her eyes
Watch her when she’s lighting up the night
Nobody knows that she’s a lonely girl
And it’s a lonely world
But she gon’ let it burn, baby, burn, baby

This girl is on fire
This girl is on fire
She’s walking on fire
This girl is on fire
Oh, oh, oh,
She’s just a girl, and she’s on fire
Songwriters: Jeff Bhasker / Alicia Augello-Cook / Salaam Remi / Billy Squire / Nicki Minaj

And Freddy’s got spots from ripping off the stars from his face/
Funky little boat race.

“All the Young Dudes” by Mott The Hoople is not necessarily the most exegetically friendly song. Are the lyrics nonsense? I don’t think so, but I think Bowie was deliberately obscuring them, because, well, why not?

It sounds like a song about how the troubles of youth are a serious concern, but they are trivialized by the older population (the dad) and the news. So, the meaning seems to be that the youth should join the movement to spread the news.

The combination of sounds here is what makes this song amazing. You rarely hear a distorted electric guitar with a Hammond organ. The hand-clapping and background singing is extremely well done. The call and answer background singing is an effect technique that you don’t see everyday. The song feels live. It feels like we were dropped in the middle of a concert. It has that raw feel. The song is a bit ahead of its time in mentioning cross dressing as a normal thing.

All The Young Dudes Lyrics

Well, Billy rapped all night about his suicide,
How he’d kick it in the head when he was twenty-five.
Speed jive, don’t want to stay alive,
When you’re twenty-five.

And Wendy’s stealing clothes from Marks & Sparks,
And Freddy’s got spots from ripping off the stars from his face,
Funky little boat race.
Television man is crazy saying we’re juvenile delinquent wrecks,
Oh, man, I need TV when I’ve got T.Rex.
Oh brother, you guessed,
I’m a dude, dad!

All the young dudes (hey dudes!)
Carry the news (where are you?)
Boogaloo dudes (stand up, come on)
Carry the news.
All the young dudes (I want to hear you),
Carry the news (I want to see you),
Boogaloo dudes (I want to talk to you, all of you)
Carry the news (now).

Lucy looks sweet ’cause he dresses like a queen,
But he can kick like a mule, it’s a real mean team.
But we can love,
Oh yes, we can love.

And my brother’s back at home with his Beatles and his Stones,
We never got it off on that revolution stuff.
What a drag, too many snags.

Now I’ve drunk a lot of wine and I’m feeling fine,
Got to race some cat to bed.
Oh, is that concrete all around,
Or is it in my head?
Yeah,
I’m a dude, dad.

All the young dudes (hey dudes)
Carry the news (where are you?)
Boogaloo dudes (stand up),
Carry the news.
All the young dudes (I want to hear you)
Carry the news (I want to see you)
Boogaloo dudes (I want to relate to you)
Carry the news
All the young dudes (what dudes?)
Carry the news (let’s hear the news, come on)
Boogaloo dudes (I want to kick you)
Carry the news,
All the young dudes,
(With the glasses),
Carry the news (I want you)
Boogaloo dudes (I want you in the front)
Carry the news (now)

(Now, you’re his friends)
All the young dudes (now you bring him down)
(‘Cause I want him)
Carry the news
Boogaloo dudes (I want him right here)
(Bring him, come on)
Carry the news (bring him)
(Here you go)
All the young dudes
(I’ve wanted to do this for years)
Carry the news
(There you go!)
Boogaloo dudes
(How’d it feel?)
Carry the news

written by David Bowie