From the recording Hard West (double CD)
Lyrics
17) Winter Rain (for my son Matt)
m.litton
Winter rain, cold dark day
Feels like my soul has turned to clay
Said goodbye to our soldier son
He’s gone away to the sound of guns
He said, “Dad, do not fear”
He said, “Mom, I’ll soon be here”
Until that day the clouds remain
Like a cold dark winter rain
Chorus: Winter rain, winter rain
We said goodbye in the winter rain
Empires will rise, empires will fall
To pounding drums, to the trumpets call
The child you hold becomes a man
He’ll taste the dust of a foreign land
Like a ghost at noon that casts no shadow
He stands alone at the edge of battle
You watch ‘n wait for his return
By a darkened as the candle burns
(chorus)
When our soldier son comes marchin’ home
A flower will bloom deep in our soul
The clouds will part to a sky of blue
The sun will shine, son, when we see you
He said, “Dad, do not fear”
He said, “Mom, I’ll soon be here”
Until that day the clouds remain
Like a cold dark winter rain
(chorus)