THE WIND AND THE RAIN

Early original version

Wind and rain slashing at my window pain [sic]
It looks like you have lied again
By now I guess it's just the same
And I am left with the wind and rain

Shattered truth jagged memories of you
Haunting dreams that just can't come true
How long has it been since I started hating you
Now the wind and rain is my only truth

Wintertime memories of when you were mine
Golded [sic] moments lost in time
Now I hear the grandfather chime
The wind and rain is forever mine

Clouded sky it's been that way since you're been gone
I've served my punishment for doing you wrong
So why does the feeling keep hanging on
The wind and rain is my only song

Countless days now my skin has wrinkled up
Yet I haven't had enough
The years have made me far too tough
For the wind and rain is all I love

Page last updated: 18 Aug 2010

Intro

THE WIND AND THE RAIN is a song written by Bruce Springsteen probably sometime in late 1968 or early 1969. The song was performed frequently by Steel Mill in concert in 1970. Thirty-five years later, THE WIND AND THE RAIN was recorded by Jersey Shore band Seel Mill Retro who released it on The Dead Sea Chronicles, their 2005 album of Bruce Springsteen songs originally performed by the original Steel Mill. See Steel Mill Retro's cover version for more details.

Original Draft

The above lyrics are for the original draft of THE WIND AND THE RAIN, as found on Bruce Springsteen's notebook of handwritten lyrics from 1968. The song was most likely written in late 1968 or possibly the early months of 1969. There are 5 verses transcribed over 2 pages, but Bruce has crossed out (deleted) the 4th verse, which is not found on known circulating live audio recordings of the song.

1968 Lyrics Notebook

Thanks to the It's Only Rock 'N Roll online auction that was held in June 2006, a handful of Springsteen handwritten lyrics sheets and setlists saw the light for the first time. The highlight of the auction was a Bruce Springsteen spiral notebook of never before published collection of 20 handwritten lyrics from 1968:

1. CLOUDS [2 pages]
2. CRYSTAL [2 pages]
3. THE WAR SONG [2 pages]
4. THE WINDOW [2 pages]
5. A WINTER'S REVELATION (IN 9 ILLUSIONS) [3 pages]
6. THE VIRGIN FLOWER [3 pages]
7. FOR NEVER ASKING [3 pages]
8. UPON THIS DAY (EURYDICE) [2 pages]
9. UNTIL THE RAIN COMES [3 pages]
10. INSIDE THE CASTLE WALLS [3 pages]
11. DEATH OF A GOOD MAN [2 pages]
12. ALONE [2 pages, lyrics by Norman Luck]
13. NEW YORK MORNING LOVE [2 pages]
14. SLUM SENTIMENTS [2 pages]
15. SUNLINE [2 pages]
16. MISSISSIPPI [2 pages]
17. untitled [1 page]
18. LOVE CYCLE [3 pages]
19. THE WIND AND THE RAIN [2 pages]
20. untitled [1 page]

The first page of the notebook is a "contents page" listing the first 15 songs.

Songs #1 to #4 were transcribed on 26 Apr 1968. Songs #5 to #7 were transcribed on 29 Apr 1968. Songs #8 to #11 were transcribed on 30 Apr 1968. These songs (#1 to #11) appear to have been transcribed into the notebook in a tidy fashion in three batches over a five day period. Same pen and writing style. These are likely to represent writings that Bruce had accumulated over some time in late 1967 or early 1968, and then shifted into the newly purchased writing notebook.

There is no transcription date noted for songs #12 to #15. The writing style is more rushed and multiple pens have been utilized (both on the individual songs and in the "Contents Page" listing). These 4 songs may have been transcribed at separate times into the notebook over a more scattered timeframe after April 1968 (perhaps summer or fall 1968).

Items #16 to #20 are undated and show much more "work-in-progress" characteristics. Various pens were used. These are likely to date from fall 1968 to late 1968 to possibly (in the case of #19 and #20) the early months of 1969.

It certainly appears that the notebook (in total) has Springsteen writings spanning the entire year of 1968.

Song #17 seems to be too short to be a completed song, and is most probably just a work-in-progress idea. Lyrics are (see scan here):

Jesus Mary and Joseph
Can you help a lost sheep please
Won't you show me the way
Cause I got more confused each day and
I got calluses on my knees

Song #20: This appears to be merely an "lyrics ideas" sheet, with no song really formulated yet (see scan here). The first two paragraphs are in completely different ink than the final (longer paragraph). The first two paragraphs seem to have been written at the same time and seem to relate to each other. The final (longer paragraph) seems unrelated to the first two, and contains lyrics from the 1969 Child's song RESURRECTION.

Several of the first 15 song titles, or slight variations of the titles, (particularly those from the first batch of 11 titles in the book) have been known about (in vague terms) for many years via the recollections of some people who actually saw Springsteen play solo at the time - including unpublished interview comments by the late Curt Fluhr (of the Castiles).

Jeannie Clark, who performed solo shows with Bruce at the Off Broadstreet Coffee House in Red Bank, NJ, in mid 1968 (she even performed once at the time with The Castiles in place of vocalist Paul Popkin), recalled several of the song titles years ago and has recalled that Bruce had a repertoire of about 10-20 self-penned songs at the time. But nobody had ever seen any setlist or lyrics or audio to back up Jeannie's (or others') memory. For this reason, this notebook is such an important historical find.

Norman Luck, co-writer of ALONE, vaguely recalls some of the other song titles in the notebook, and recalls them as being from the late 1967 to spring 1968 period.

According to Brucebase, the first 15 of the above songs were performed in May 1968 at The Off Broad Street Coffee House in Red Bank, NJ, which opened in May 1968 to cater for the acoustic orientated, singer/songwriter music scene then taking hold in the area. The club provided "open mike and hoot nights" for aspiring young songwriters to perform. Springsteen was among the first to take advantage of the opportunity and is known to have given at least two solo performances in May and several others during the summer. These performances included an impressive array of folk-orientated songs Bruce had written in recent months - material that didn't fit into the rock setlists performed by The Castiles. The above-mentioned 15 songs (all Springsteen originals) represent most of his original solo-oriented music repertoire played at these shows during May-Aug 1968. One of these songs, ALONE, was co-written by Springsteen and Norman Luck (leader of the band Purpul Dyneste). The Springsteen songwriting style of this mid 1968 period bears similarities to the lyricism displayed in his 1972 solo demos and was strongly influenced by Tim Buckley, Leonard Cohen, Donovan and Dylan - and these four artists songs were often intermingled with Springsteen's originals during the solo shows.

For additional information, read the notes about this item as published on the It's Only Rock 'N Roll auction page (note that there are some minor mistakes/inaccuracies).

The bid on this notebook started at $5,000.00, and reached $57,706.61. The auction also included many other lyrics sheets and setlists from the late '60s or early '70s, which included additional songs, most of which were also unheard-of: WE'VE GOT TO DO IT NOW, SOME TIMES AT NIGHT, IF YOU WANT TO GET HIGH, OH NO NO NO, SPANISH DREAMS, GYPSY RIDER, SHE'S GOT THE LORD, and others... We don't know if all of these songs are original compositions or covers.

The collector who purchased the notebook in the late 1980's never gave out any information about it. So we are lucky this was a public auction sale, or else we may have never seen the contents.

Possible Steel Mill Studio Recording

According to Brucebase, Still Mill might have recorded the song at Challenger Eastern Surfboards in Asbury Park, NJ. The surfboard factory was also Bruce's home from late 1969 thru late 1970, and a makeshift studio environment of sufficient standard to produce reasonable quality recordings. Although THE WIND AND THE RAIN might have been recorded as part of ongoing rehearsals at Challenger Eastern Surfboards, none of these 1969 and 1970 recordings is currently in circulation. Due to financial restrictions the reel-to-reel tapes were often reused. Consequently there is a distinct possibility that much of what was recorded at Challenger no longer survives, even in Springsteen's personal archive.

Live History

THE WIND AND THE RAIN is known to have been performed live in 1969, but it became a popular number in 1970. Audios for a couple of performances from mid-1970 are in circulation, most notably the 24 Apr 1970 gig at Monmouth College in Long Branch, NJ, from which a very good to excellent quality soundboard recording is in circulation. See the live 24 Apr 1970 version for more details.

Audio for most of the 14 Aug 1970 gig at 7th And Marshall Street Parking in Richmond, VA, is circulating among collectors, but a 2-4 song segment of the show has never surfaced. According to Brucebase, one of the songs definitely performed during thas "missing" segment was THE WIND AND THE RAIN.

[Click here to display/hide detailed known performances list]

Available Versions

List of available versions of THE WIND AND THE RAIN on this website:

• Early original version
• Live 24 Apr 1970 version
• Steel Mill Retro's cover version

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for the help. Some of the above info about the studio recording and the live performances is taken from Brucebase.

Request

If you have any corrections or additional info, please contact me via the below form or by email: . If you own or have access to the above-mentioned spiral notebook, I would be very grateful if you'd send me higher resolution scans. You will be credited (unless you prefer not to). Thanks in advance.