It had to be the first on my list. The song's about acid, of course, but it's got one of the deadliest deadpan putdown of people averse of getting wet in the rain (or baked in the sun, for that matter).
I remember listening to this song after watching footage of Katrina- and the annual cyclones that wreck the Gangetic Delta, and being chilled to the bone by Dylan's gravelly voice gravely declaiming "There's nothing standing here, high water everywhere."
Most people have just heard the Led Zep version, but this is the Real McCoy, genuinely scary, partly because of the inevitability of the plain yet terrifying opening line, "If it keeps on raining, levee's going to break." And we all know what that means of course.
Okay, he might have more specific rain songs, but this one for me captures the atmosphere of imminent rainfall just right, from the buoyant guitar to the changing breeze which quickens and slackens.
I love the metaphor of the rain disguising the tears of a broken heart; its an intensely compelling image. The Doc's voice lives the heartbreak.
Its a force of nature, is Muddy's voice. Its all thunderous desire.
Another lonely heart in the rain, but what a pretty song.
This song always reminds me of the days I spent in my balcony in Calcutta as a kid loving the continuous rain and hating it too, as I couldn't go out.
Another song that builds an intimate atmosphere and then builds on it some more, and finally tops it with a beautiful, blink and you miss it solo.
Predictable, yes, but its also the song that I love shouting out when I'm getting drenched.
p.s. If you're done being happy, please vent your righteous indignation at this great post here.
