After Sister Rosetta Tharpe performing in rainy Manchester in 1964, another great's rendition of a another wet weather number written by Tony Joe White in 1967 from his 1972 album Through The Eyes Of Love. The song became a hit for R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970, and has been variously covered by many artists from the soft soul of Randy Crawford, country's Hank Williams and there have even been reggae re-written versions by Prince Buster and Gregory Isaacs, but Charles's may be the best. An artist who mastered and transcended blues, R&B, jazz, gospel, country and soul through a career for self-reinvention, this version seems to contain an element of them all, and his voice is at a peak. The song was written by White when he was working as a truck driver when a wet weather meant he got the day off, and it allowed him to spend time with his guitar and write about the insecure freedom of the itinerant musician, with the rain as a universal romanticised metaphor. Bobbie Gentry's rather different song Ode To Billie Joe was also an inspiration.
Hoverin' by my suitcase
Tryin' to find a warm place to spend the night
A heavy rain a fallin'
Seems I hear your voice callin'
"It's all right"
A rainy night in Georgia
A rainy night in Georgia
I believe it's rainin' all over the world
Neon signs a flashin'
Taxi cabs and busses passin' through the night
The distant moanin' of a train
Seems to play a sad refrain to the night
A rainy night in Georgia
A rainy night in Georgia
I believe it's rainin' all over the world
How many times I've wondered
It still comes out the same
No matter how you look at it, think of it
You just got to do your own thing
I find me a place in a box car
So I take out my guitar to pass some time
Late at night when it's hard to rest
I hold your picture to my chest
And I'm all right
A rainy night in Georgia
A rainy night in Georgia
I believe it's rainin' all over the world.
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