Lightning Crashes  (Líve)

All strings are tuned down 1/2 step:

Bridge: Am G F G

F         C                    G
Lightning crashes a new mother cries
Her placenta falls to the floor
The angel opens her eyes
The confusion sets in
Before the doctor can even close the door

Lightning crashes an old mother dies
Her intentions fall to the floor
The angel closes her eyes
The confusion that was hers
Belongs now to the baby down the hall

Oh now feel it coming back again
Like the rolling thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from the center of the earth again
I can feel it

Lightning crashes a new mother cries
This moment she's been waiting for
The angel opens her eyes
Pale blue colored iris
Presents the circle
And puts the glory out to hide

Barbara Lewis (1973-1993)

I used this song for my English class poetry project and I had to explain the whole song to my class as a presentation. I even SANG the song (accompanying myself on guitar) in front of them too! I was pretty nervous but it wasn't too terribly horrible and I'd do it again too. But better without the mistakes, of course. *s* Anyways, here's the written portion of my project where I had to explain everything. It's actually a really cool song with lots of symbols and stuff...

The general themes of "Lightning Crashes" are the cycles of nature and the force of life. This song was written about a woman, a young mother who died in the course of labour at the age of 20. Her name is Barbara Lewis and she is included at the end of the liner notes along with the lyrics of the song. The song is presented in a verse, verse, chorus, versus style, with repetition of the chorus as an ending.

The first verse illustrates a birth and the placenta represents all that mother has given the child because while in the womb, a child receives it’s nutrients and food from it’s mother through a placenta. The second verse portrays the death of the mother and all her intentions. Her intentions represent the same thing the placenta did: everything the mother had given her child. A mother wants only what is best for her child and those are all her good intentions. The placenta and the intentions are symbols of love. However, they both "fall to the floor" which represents the pain that accompanies love and life.

The theme of nature is strongly presented in the chorus and obviously in the title. Thunder, lightning and wind are all strong forces, "from the center of the earth," rooting the song in nature. The composer observes life as being confused and confusion represents life. As the baby is born, "confusion sets in" and as the old mother dies in the hospital, her life and her confusion is passed on "to the baby down the hall." Thunder, lightning and wind are also elements of a storm and storms cause confusion.

The third verse continues with the theme of a cycle with the line, "presents the circle," where the circle represents the circle of life. The angel, appearing once again in the last verse, represents a divine power that gives life and takes it away, symbolized by the opening and closing of her eyes. Like with any song, the artists want to provoke emotion. The rhythm is slow, strong and deliberate. It gradually becomes louder and the tempo quickens as we build into the chorus. The chords are simple and repeat throughout, giving the music a strong beat.

Perhaps life is as confusing as "thunder chasing the wind" but it is a natural force and a very strong one. Life is also depicted as being a strong and vibrant force that can be felt like wind, heard like thunder and seen like lightning. In the last line, "the glory" is the most beautiful and precious part of life, sometimes clouded over by confusion but the beauty is always there.

Last updated MARCH 26th, 1998
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