Silvery Rain

Producer

Oct. 13, 19811 viewer

Silvery Rain Lyrics

[VERSE 1]
Butterflies danced on invisible strings
Showing wings they borrowed from a rainbow
And a blackbird on high sang a praise to the sky
While a light aeroplane sprayed the fields with a silvery rain

Furry-backed bees with a tireless drone
Never moan, they're happy to be working
And a grasshopper green could be heard but not seen
While a light aeroplane sprayed the fields with a silvery rain

[Chorus]
Fly away, Peter
Fly away, Paul
Before there's nothing left to fly at all
Take to the sky, higher than high
Before the silvery rain begins to fall

[VERSE 2]
Nothing moves now but the swaying ripe corn
Not a dawn is greeted with a bird's song
There's a feather or two from a bird that once flew
Before a light aeroplane sprayed the fields with a silvery rain

[REPEAT Chorus]
Fly away, Peter
Fly away, Paul
Before there's nothing left to fly at all
Take to the sky, higher than high
Before the silvery rain begins to fall

Fly away, Peter
Fly away, Paul
Before there's nothing left to fly at all
Take to the sky, higher than high
Before the silvery rain begins to fall

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About

This song bio is unreviewed

“Silvery Rain” describes the disastrous effects pesticides have on the environment. It was originally performed by Marvin, Welch, and Farrar in 1971, a year before the chemical DDT was banned from agricultural use in the United States.

DDT was primarily used as a spray insecticide, and would often be released over fields via crop-duster planes. While the use of DDT was controversial from the start, it came under widespread public scrutiny upon the release of the 1962 book Silent Spring. The book’s title evokes the image of a world without the vibrant natural wildlife of springtime. Following in its footsteps, “Silvery Rain” asks us to consider what the world would look like without butterflies, birds, bees, or grasshoppers.

While DDT is still banned to this day, many chemical pesticides are still in use. These have been identified as a potential cause for a number of environmental issues.

In the music video, Olivia appears in a futuristic landscape devoid of greenery. With a desperate expression on her face, she describes the world “before the silvery rain.”