"Early Morning Rain," sometimes styled as "Early Mornin' Rain," is a song written, composed, and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1 ...

. The song appears on his 1966 debut album ''

Lightfoot! ''Lightfoot!'' is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Although it was recorded in December 1964, the album was not released until January 1966 on the United Artists label. At the 2017 Polaris Music Prize, the album ...

'' and, in a re-recorded version, on the 1975 compilation '' Gord's Gold.''

Background

Lightfoot wrote and composed the song in 1964, but its genesis took root during his 1960 sojourn in Westlake, Los Angeles. Throughout this time, Lightfoot sometimes became homesick and would go out to the

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...

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 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...

jet airliner. The general narrative of the song can be taken as a jet-age musical allegory to a

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works. ...

of yesteryear lurking around a railroad yard attempting to surreptitiously board and ride a freight train to get home.

Notable recordings and performances

The version by

Ian & Sylvia Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. Hi ...

reached #1 on the Canadian AC charts, August 2, 1965. Peter Paul and Mary's version of the song was recorded in 1965, reaching No. 91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The next year,

George Hamilton IV George Hege Hamilton IV (July 19, 1937 – September 17, 2014) was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s. Biography Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, ...

's version hit No. 9 on the US country chart In April 1971, Oliver's version hit No. 38 on the US adult contemporary chart

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...

took the song to No. 40 in the United Kingdom in 2005.https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/early-morning-rain/

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

included a version of the song on his 1970 album ''

Self Portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Early Morning Rain 1964 songs Songs written by Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Lightfoot songs Peter, Paul and Mary songs George Hamilton IV songs Oliver (singer) songs

Background

Notable recordings and performances

See also

References