Written by peter holsapple
Main voice: peter
Produced by continental drifters & mike mayeux
Released on vermilion (1999)
Daddy was the eldest of ten
And my mama was an only child
She mustve represented back then
The part of him that couldnt go wild
She was free
Something he could never be
cause daddy was the one
Who always took responsibility.
They met at a uso dance hall
At the start of the second world war
She was gentle, kind and intelligent
Something daddyd never known before
And they danced
Later on came the romance
cause daddy shipped out
Before he had the chance to ask for her hand.
But it all turned out all right
And he would lay in his hammock at night
Dreaming of a family and home
With the woman that he left behind
At night, his shipmates would go check out the bars
But daddyd just stare at the stars
And dream of her
til he thought he might lose his mind.
They got married on v.e. day
By the preacher from my mamas church
Mamad always dreamed of a honeymoon
But daddy had to go back to work
He plowed those fields
Since the navy never tought him a trade
Mamad make his lunch
And theyd eat it out in the shade.
The boys were born in the fifties
Georgie, herman and me
And we grew up wanting for nothing
til georgie saw his first tv
It was the christmas of 1959
There was a console in the living room
Well, mama and the boys watched variety shows
And daddy just stared out at the moon.
The drought hit hard in the sixties
And the irrigation couldnt control
Mama sighed when they sold the farm
But daddy lost a piece of his soul
He said "hard work is a virtue
And you should always work as hard as you can"
He said "hard work will never hurt you"
But he never said nothing about the land.
Yeah, but mama always told us boys
"you should follow the golden rule
Always look for the good in the other guy
But never be anyones fool"
Then daddyd laugh a little
Then hed look out at his weather vane
Oh mama wants a rainbow
Daddy just wants it to rain.
They moved in with hermans family
In the nice part of the city
Mamad help gina with the grandchildren
And tried to make the house look pretty
But daddyd sit at his window
From when he got up til he went to bed
Just knowing that hed failed his family
He couldnt get it out of his head.
It was the summer of 1978
When mama caught pneumonia and died
Daddy lost his will to live that fall
Now theyre buried side by side
And in the midst of all our grief
Georgie said to our relief
"well, mama got her rainbow
And its starting to rain".
He said "mama got her rainbow
And its starting to rain".
And its starting to rain
Its starting to rain
Its starting to rain
Its starting to rain
Its starting to rain.
Its starting to rain
Its starting to rain
Its starting to rain, to rain, rain
To rain.
