Revised December 2016. Rattle off a list of Bob Dylan lyrics that reference climate metaphors or analogies to the weather - "Blowin' in the Wind," "Rainy Day Women," "Shelter From the Storm," "Thunder On the Mountain," "Buckets of Rain" - it's easy, you see? and somewhere near the top, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," comes to mind. And then you'll sing, preferably imitating the voice, "And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard … It's a hard (hold the note long, in the nose) rain 's a-gonna fall," and you'll sing the refrain almost every time a literal hard rain's a-gonna fall or whenever the doomsday feeling washes over you during those prescient moments of impending doom. The words of the famous troubadour seem to come from a distant place and time, like he's channeling a fire and brimstone preacher from the Second Great Awakening
A strolling guide to New York City by Teri Tynes