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Bob Dylan — Buckets of Rain
Album: Blood on the Tracks
Avg rating:
7.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2261









Released: 1975
Length: 3:18
Plays (last 30 days): 1
Buckets of rain, buckets of tears
Got all them buckets comin' out of my ears
Buckets of moonbeams in my hand
You got all the love, honey baby, I can stand

I've been meek and hard like an oak
I've seen pretty people disappear like smoke
Friends will arrive, friends will disappear
If you want me, honey baby, I'll be here

I like your smile and your fingertips
I like the way that you move your lips
I like the cool way you look at me
Everything about you is bringing me misery

Little red wagon, little red bike
I ain't no monkey but I know what I like
I like the way you love me strong and slow
I'm takin' you with me, honey baby, when I go

Life is sad, life is a bust
All you can do is do what you must
You do what you must do and you do it well
I'll do it for you, honey baby, can't you tell?
Comments (162)add comment
Along with You're a Big Girl Now, this is my favourite track from this great album.
Just had to sing along. My wife was NOT impressed
hey beth:

pull a dylan and go electric
 Duc1098 wrote:

Blood on the Tracks is quite possibly the best album of the 70s.

...and Tangled Up in Blue is the best track on it. 

And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burning coal
Pouring off of every page
Like it was written in my soul, from me to you...

Who says Dylan didn't deserve the Nobel Prize for poetry?
Such an incredible catalog of songs. I'd forgotten about this one. Thanks for bringing it back, RP.
Anyone love the bass playing on this album?  I sure do. Air guitar, air bass, love it all. 
 Lemonhead wrote:

never gets tired. after all these years, I'm now concluding this is my favourite Dylan song.



As I was just thinking the same thing, I ran across your post. For some reason, likely because it was not overplayed over the airwaves like most of his great songs, I've never gotten tired of hearing this gem.
I'd have given this a 9. But the bass is so out of tune it almost hurts. So an 8 it is.
It's interesting to read the "can't stand the out of tune guitar" comments. People with much more knowledge than I have suggested that Buckets of Rain is played on an open E (sharp?) tuned guitar.
It's suitable and pleasant accompaniment to my ears. Love this song.
 tinypriest wrote:

I saw him! Two weeks ago, in Santa Cruz. Were you there?

He was frail, at 81, but his voice was still Bob.

He sat at the piano almost the whole time. A few times, he got up and acknowledged the audience, and we all cheered. He played almost all of Rough And Rowdy Ways. All of our phones were inside of anti-signal pouches, so we all listened to him play, with that fabulous band behind him. 

It was, simply, mesmerizing. He gets better as he gets older. An achievement to aspire to if there ever was one.



Saw that show in Oakland at the Fox. What a treat.
Short, simple, sweet and perfect! 10
Have heard this song 100s of times and still It makes me stop in my tracks to listen.
hips
I saw him! Two weeks ago, in Santa Cruz. Were you there?

He was frail, at 81, but his voice was still Bob.

He sat at the piano almost the whole time. A few times, he got up and acknowledged the audience, and we all cheered. He played almost all of Rough And Rowdy Ways. All of our phones were inside of anti-signal pouches, so we all listened to him play, with that fabulous band behind him. 

It was, simply, mesmerizing. He gets better as he gets older. An achievement to aspire to if there ever was one.
 Duc1098 wrote:

Blood on the Tracks is quite possibly the best album of the 70s.



All time?
Can't decide which Ilike better- this or Neko's version. They each have their own unique qualities that I enjoy.
This entire album is brilliant!
Well, this just jumped from an 8 to a 9 today - what a gorgeous song
 todbothom wrote:

An LP LOADED with great tunes and you play the weakest one. It a good tune but it wouldn't be my first choice.


Are you suggesting that only _your_ favourite should be played from this album then?  RP plays any song from any album, like they should do.
Grief.
I absolutely love the clean straightforward bass lines.
And yeah, ever so popular on RP Neko Case does this too but the original is THEE one. 
An LP LOADED with great tunes and you play the weakest one. It a good tune but it wouldn't be my first choice.
 fishercat wrote:


All Along the Watchtower? Even Dylan admitted the cover was better. 



No wonder!
 Proclivities wrote:

Neko Case has made plenty of her own music.  Her cover of this song was done for a Dylan tribute album - she was essentially asked to do a Dylan cover for that album and apparently chose this song.  Anyhow, for me, there are plenty of cover versions which are better than the originals.


All Along the Watchtower? Even Dylan admitted the cover was better. 
 ziggytrix wrote:

So you'd be OK if we never had Jimi's cover of All Along the Watchtower?

No Byrds Mr. Tamborine Man?

No Them It's All Over Now, Baby Blue?

And that's just scratching the surface, you'd be missing out on so much good music! 


Exactly. Jerry Garcia's version of Tangled Up In Blue, not bad. Because of songwriters like Bob Dylan and Neil Young to name a few, I pretty much have given up on trying to write a worthy song and would never call myself a singer/songwriter. I still have a few, they are personal but nothing like the craftsmanship of the masters. I am singer and I love playing these great works myself. Anyone has a problem with that, I will play even more then. Recordings are great and the originals are untouchable, but the music must go on!
 Stella163 wrote:

What an insult for writers that he got the nobel prize of literature. I can't take that award seriously anymore.



I never did, anyway. So this specific decision didn't change anything for me. Not as far as the award's reputation is concerned.

Or even Dylan's reputation.
Who needs to be in tune when you're this cool....
Sing on brother bob
 mattenuttall wrote:

Who would think that channeling the stress of a martial breakup could produce a timeless masterpiece? Yet, didn't Springsteen try something similar with Tunnel of Love? The album is definitely a 10 but there are stronger songs on the album that I can't give an 11 to.... So I have to give this gem a 9.



Exactly
 Stella163 wrote:
What an insult for writers that he got the nobel prize of literature. I can't take that award seriously anymore.
 

So you're saying poets don't deserve the Nobel prize for literature? 
What an insult for writers that he got the nobel prize of literature. I can't take that award seriously anymore.
 Duc1098 wrote:
Blood on the Tracks is quite possibly the best album of the 70s.
 
It is certainly one of Dylan's finest!
Never, never, never got Dylan.  Sometimes wish I did.  But, nope.  
Back from the road trip seeing Brother Bob for two shows. Both were freaking excellent. 

Except for not being able to stand up. Minimal standing room for floor seating. Bummer. 

Hate to have people yell: sit down!  Or the Gestapo security doing the same thing. 
never gets tired. after all these years, I'm now concluding this is my favourite Dylan song.
Who would think that channeling the stress of a martial breakup could produce a timeless masterpiece? Yet, didn't Springsteen try something similar with Tunnel of Love? The album is definitely a 10 but there are stronger songs on the album that I can't give an 11 to.... So I have to give this gem a 9.
My daily Dylan.. Thanks!
10
If you want to hear a VERY interesting cover album of Dylan, check out "Dylan Country". Each song is covered by a country singer. It's a who's who list. 

And Kitty Wells just kills it on "Forever Young". 
 vanmas wrote:
Beautiful!!!

And for all the artists (such as Neko Case) covering songs of Dylan: make your own song!
For me there is no cover as good as the original; especcialy with Dylan songs!

 
Neko Case has made plenty of her own music.  Her cover of this song was done for a Dylan tribute album - she was essentially asked to do a Dylan cover for that album and apparently chose this song.  Anyhow, for me, there are plenty of cover versions which are better than the originals.
{#Cool}
To me, its a classic from a must have album for people who appreciate songwriters and music from an interesting era. 

Keeper.
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Why does Bill play great music?
Because people with good taste appreciate it.
 
Thank you.
 sfyi2001 wrote:
W H Y ?
 
Why does Bill play great music?
Because people with good taste appreciate it.
 vanmas wrote:
And for all the artists (such as Neko Case) covering songs of Dylan: make your own song!
For me there is no cover as good as the original; especcialy with Dylan songs!
 
So you'd be OK if we never had Jimi's cover of All Along the Watchtower?

No Byrds Mr. Tamborine Man?

No Them It's All Over Now, Baby Blue?

And that's just scratching the surface, you'd be missing out on so much good music! 
 vanmas wrote:
Beautiful!!!

And for all the artists (such as Neko Case) covering songs of Dylan: make your own song!
For me there is no cover as good as the original; especcialy with Dylan songs!

 
{#Cheers}
jnhashmi wrote:
Love this song. But as with all Bob Dylan songs, someone else does it better. In this case, Neko Case.

 
Right on!  {#Clap}
So beautiful it hurts

W H Y ?

Blood on the Tracks is quite possibly the best album of the 70s.
 Stingray wrote:

10 points from the Cologne-regiment for "La Tsar Russ"

Mush Rooms or true shrooms, Tsar?

 

Huh?  Everybody in my elevator be dancing buck ass naked...  love this song...  love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll...
Life is sad, life is a bust
All you can do is do what you must
You do what you must do and you do it well
I do it for you, honey baby, can't you tell?
Wonderful LP which I have purchased in several formats over the years; LP, Cassette, and CD.  Can say this about only a select few LP's. 
{#Meditate}Superb{#Meditate}
timeless classic off a wonderful brilliant album !
I nominating "Blood on the Tracks", Album of the Years", like all the years since. This song shows his mastery of writing, playing and yes, singing. Thank you Bob!
 idiot_wind wrote:
Sing on Bob. 

The world needs more troubadours.Or is it jesters? Or is it prophet? Or is it warrior poet? I always get them mixed up.
 

 
perhaps a refined blend...only the heart knows for sure
damn fine song brightens my morning : )
Taking you with me a honey baby when I go...
 vanmas wrote:
Beautiful!!!

And for all the artists (such as Neko Case) covering songs of Dylan: make your own song!
For me there is no cover as good as the original; especcialy with Dylan songs!

 
Woodstock?
 mbolch30307 wrote:
I've got buckets of blood pouring out of my ears from listening to this...

 
Sounds like an unrelated medical issue you should get checked out.
Sing on Bob. 

The world needs more troubadours.Or is it jesters? Or is it prophet? Or is it warrior poet? I always get them mixed up.
 
I've got buckets of blood pouring out of my ears from listening to this...
 ShamanManu wrote:
Neko Case nailed this one perfectly! {#Notworthy}

 
Holee, she must have laryngitis 
Great great - thanks so much for playing this.  Sounds so fresh after indigo Girls -
 hayduke2 wrote:
Yah, ich glaube, dass gute alte Bob wird immer besser  : )
 
Quit showin' off, Duke!  ; )
 mistabird wrote:
der gute alte bob,  immer da wo ich aufgewachsen bin ist er auch gewesen,  mag ihn und seinen stoff {#Daisy}
 
Yah, ich glaube, dass gute alte Bob wird immer besser  : )
Beautiful!!!

And for all the artists (such as Neko Case) covering songs of Dylan: make your own song!
For me there is no cover as good as the original; especcialy with Dylan songs!
I always heard it as "lurid wagon, lurid bike" ...
The Bob's best LP. Great pain makes for great art.
Neko Case nailed this one perfectly! {#Notworthy}
Love this song. But as with all Bob Dylan songs, someone else does it better. In this case, Neko Case.
{#Sunny}{#Guitarist}great tune.......
perfect song for rainy day here
{#Heartkiss}{#Heartkiss} 9 for me
Likely his greatest LP.
Angst is such a fine muse.
Ha! And The Bob's voice is at its sweetist here...


 
larsalex wrote:
Bob Dylan and Neil Young... I'm glad there is a PSD button. 

Can't stand the voices. Sorry. 

 


So pure - thanks for not always playing Neko's version, it's sweet and rich like a great dessert, but sometimes you just want something clean and true, and this version is.
 larsalex wrote:
Bob Dylan and Neil Young... I'm glad there is a PSD button. 

Can't stand the voices. Sorry. 

 
To each his own. I can't listen to Captain Beefheart. I like Dylan's songs covered by other artists. When he sings them.. Not so much. Neil Young doesn't sound so good now, but '60s and early '70s Neil Young's voice brings peace to my spirit and makes the world whole for me. 
I like your smile
And your fingertips
I like the way that you move your hips
I like the cool way you look at me
Everything about you is bringing me misery.
 On_The_Beach wrote:
Absurdly good.

 

This.
 Lazarus wrote:

Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of churches be dancing buck ass naked...  love this song...  love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll...

 

10 points from the Cologne-regiment for "La Tsar Russ"

Mush Rooms or true shrooms, Tsar?



Dislike this kind of Dylan! Actually like most forms of Mr. Zimmermann!

 

"Tweeter and the Monkeymann" (Wilburys) is his best song.



Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of churches be dancing buck ass naked...  love this song...  love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll...
Always 10 for Bob and Neil.
 larsalex wrote:
Bob Dylan and Neil Young... I'm glad there is a PSD button. 

Can't stand the voices. Sorry. 

 
Your loss.  Our gain.
Bob Dylan and Neil Young... I'm glad there is a PSD button. 

Can't stand the voices. Sorry. 
 sirdroseph wrote:
Synchronicity! I haven't heard this song in a minute yet I was singing it last night out of the blue! Anyway, love it!

 
Similar coincidence: I played it with my guitar yesterday evening after months of not hearing it. Great song.
Nice seggie from Indigo Girls.
Absurdly good.
 paultron wrote:

but he wrote the song... it is not a question of justice. neko pays exceptional tribute in her version; i absolutely love her rendition. but without the song in the first place, compiled within the songs of (arguably) Bob's most heartfelt album, there would be no cause to celebrate her version one way or the other - because it simply would not exist.
 
I was thinking how much this sounded like something Taj Mahal would put out - did he cover it too?
Many interesting covers - I didn't know about Neko Case, so I checked it on mypipe. Outstanding!
I enjoy those : in a duet, Bette Midler / Bob Dylan;  and I very much like this one The Wood Brothers
For others see here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckets_of_Rain
 socalhol wrote:

I agree!  Neko does this song WAY more justice than Bob.

 
but he wrote the song... it is not a question of justice. neko pays exceptional tribute in her version; i absolutely love her rendition. but without the song in the first place, compiled within the songs of (arguably) Bob's most heartfelt album, there would be no cause to celebrate her version one way or the other - because it simply would not exist.
Another wonderful RP set during Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy.  Which I survived!
11:32 amBob Dylan Buckets of RainBlood on the Tracks (1975)7.7
 
11:28 amDougie MacLean Ready for the Storm (live)Live: From The Ends Of The Earth (2001)7.3
 
11:21 amThe Doors Riders On The StormL.A. Woman (1971)8.4
 
11:17 am2 Cellos Hurt2 Cellos (2011)6.7
 
11:12 amHarvey Reid Racing the StormGuitar Voyages (2000)7.8
 
11:08 amYoshida Brothers StormYoshida Brothers7.1
 
11:04 amChuck Prophet Storm Across the SeaNo Other Love (2002)7

 socalhol wrote:

I agree!  Neko does this song WAY more justice than Bob.

 
I third that sentiment.
Reminds me of sitting in a coffee house in Portland many years ago...thanx RP...for playing this folksy tune.
Guh.
 ziakut wrote:
I shouldn't feel compelled to write when I have really nothing good to say. But...I'm always marveled by the mediocrity of Bob Dylan. Should have been a poet only. Just a poet. Leave the music and singing to other, more capable human beings.
 
Your sage, career advice is over fifty years too late.
socalhol wrote:

I agree!  Neko does this song WAY more justice than Bob.


ScottN wrote:

Huh, what? wtf?
 
+ 1 for WTF
  {#Stop}
 socalhol wrote:

I agree!  Neko does this song WAY more justice than Bob.

 
Huh, what? wtf?
der gute alte bob,  immer da wo ich aufgewachsen bin ist er auch gewesen,  mag ihn und seinen stoff {#Daisy}

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Nice start this morning!
just a classic! such a songwriter and artist..
Happy belated Birthday, Bard 'o America!  70!

A couple weeks ago, I heard this being covered by a band from West Virginia named The Wild Rumpus.  They did pretty well with it.
 ziakut wrote:
I shouldn't feel compelled to write when I have really nothing good to say. But...I'm always marveled by the mediocrity of Bob Dylan. Should have been a poet only. Just a poet. Leave the music and singing to other, more capable human beings.
 

I actually like the melody of his songs, he is a fine songwriter and lyricists. I can understand the meaning of his songs too much for him to be a poet.{#Wink}
Synchronicity! I haven't heard this song in a minute yet I was singing it last night out of the blue! Anyway, love it!
 crockydile wrote:
Buckets and buckets, but no guitar tuner in the house. {#Headache}
 



Is the guitar really out of tune?
It's pretty buckety in Sunnyvale, California today.  Bob makes it better.
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Neko-Shmeeko. ; )
Bob's version will always be the best.
 
I'd go good looking red head every time.
buckets of rain... that's what I miss now that I live in the desert!!! {#Umbrella}
 socalhol wrote:
I agree!  Neko does this song WAY more justice than Bob.
 
Neko-Shmeeko. ; )
Bob's version will always be the best.

 Jared wrote:
Bob needs to cut a check to Neko Case for this one
 
I agree!  Neko does this song WAY more justice than Bob.

I shouldn't feel compelled to write when I have really nothing good to say. But...I'm always marveled by the mediocrity of Bob Dylan. Should have been a poet only. Just a poet. Leave the music and singing to other, more capable human beings.
 crockydile wrote:
Buckets and buckets, but no guitar tuner in the house. {#Headache}
 

I sense some dis-cord in your tone.
Buckets and buckets, but no guitar tuner in the house. {#Headache}
 artmarcia wrote:
Dylan's voice is "unique" but he is a classic, very original songwriter. I bet if you took a poll you could guess the ages of RP members by whether or not they dig Dylan. He was a huge part of youth culture in the 60's and 70's.
 
Maybe so. I was one of them "youth culture" in the '60s and '70s, and I can't say that Dylan was at the top of my list. Oh, there were many, many individual songs that I liked, even adored, but certainly not all of it. My admiration for his depth as an artist has only come in the last 20 years or so, beginning with my last band, where our lead guitarist was a Dylan freak and insisted on including many of his songs in our repertoire. Lately, I've been paying more attention to his lyrics, their incomparable density—packed with meaning and nuance. I've also come to understand his profound knowledge of the history of music, especially American folk music. I could go on.

So, yes, if you polled all of us, I would answer "yes," and you would rightfully peg my generation, perhaps even my age within a few years or so, but it would be for the wrong reasons. The statistics would support your theory, but the facts wouldn't.