2025 Competition Lyrics Entry:
Don’t rain on my parade! by Mark Barber
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- One Comment
Lyrics
VERSE
I woke one day to find the world had changed
Pieces of my life all rearranged
Searching my soul with a thousand-yard-stare
I found the certainties of old were no longer there.
No sticks and stones ever broke my bones,
A simple insult brought me to my knees.
I’ve a-ringing in my ears from vintage telephones.
And flipped from self-assured to always ill-at-ease.
PRE-CHORUS
Struggling to quell the rising tide
Of self-doubt surging deep inside.
Your negativity just adds to the swell.
This primal scream seeks to exorcise.
The demons dancing behind my eyes.
If you truly want to help me break this spell…
CHORUS
Don’t rain on my parade, I don’t mean to throw shade
Don’t rain on my parade, my temper’s getting frayed
Don’t rain on my parade, patience can’t be obeyed
Don’t rain on my parade, faculties start to fade
Don’t rain on my parade, fatigue just can’t be stayed
Don’t rain on my parade, frustration now displayed
Don’t rain on my parade, if you do, don’t be dismayed
When like a ticking bomb…I EXPLODE!
I woke one day to find the world had changed
Pieces of my life all rearranged
Searching my soul with a thousand-yard-stare
I found the certainties of old were no longer there.
No sticks and stones ever broke my bones,
A simple insult brought me to my knees.
I’ve a-ringing in my ears from vintage telephones.
And flipped from self-assured to always ill-at-ease.
PRE-CHORUS
Struggling to quell the rising tide
Of self-doubt surging deep inside.
Your negativity just adds to the swell.
This primal scream seeks to exorcise.
The demons dancing behind my eyes.
If you truly want to help me break this spell…
CHORUS
Don’t rain on my parade, I don’t mean to throw shade
Don’t rain on my parade, my temper’s getting frayed
Don’t rain on my parade, patience can’t be obeyed
Don’t rain on my parade, faculties start to fade
Don’t rain on my parade, fatigue just can’t be stayed
Don’t rain on my parade, frustration now displayed
Don’t rain on my parade, if you do, don’t be dismayed
When like a ticking bomb…I EXPLODE!
Author
Bio
Self-taught guitarist and songwriter.
Went to the same school as Mick Jagger and, like him, formed my first band when I was 17 (sadly, that’s where the comparison ends!). Eventually became lead vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter in a minor late-80s pub-rock band, The Trouble With Harry, which played all the glamourous south London venues of the time (Half Moon Herne Hill, The Tunnel Club, Woolwich Tramshed – before moving up to the Rock Garden). Joined ‘Gigglestick and the Love Truncheons’ on lead vocals and rhythm guitar at the 1990 Ferrara International Buskers Festival in northern Italy.
Following a brief resurgence in 1991 (with a mix of previous band members) as The Dominos Killers, I settled down to family life – with any spare time dedicated to music mainly centred around encouraging/helping my son and daughter learn guitar/piano respectively.
Still, as has always been the case since I was 16, at least one of my guitars is constantly within arms reach, ready for me to pick it up and thrash out some pent-up frustration or try out a new riff. Since suffering a brain injury in 2020, music has been a source of great comfort and reassurance for me.
‘Don’t rain on my parade’ attempts to encapsulate the unpredictability of life with brain injury and how this impacts the individual’s mood and confidence on a daily basis. It also seeks to demonstrate how seemingly minor actions and comments can have a disproportionate effect on the mood and temperament of those affected. In this context, it presents a rallying cry on behalf of all brain injury sufferers, beseeching greater understanding of/sympathy towards the condition.
Went to the same school as Mick Jagger and, like him, formed my first band when I was 17 (sadly, that’s where the comparison ends!). Eventually became lead vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter in a minor late-80s pub-rock band, The Trouble With Harry, which played all the glamourous south London venues of the time (Half Moon Herne Hill, The Tunnel Club, Woolwich Tramshed – before moving up to the Rock Garden). Joined ‘Gigglestick and the Love Truncheons’ on lead vocals and rhythm guitar at the 1990 Ferrara International Buskers Festival in northern Italy.
Following a brief resurgence in 1991 (with a mix of previous band members) as The Dominos Killers, I settled down to family life – with any spare time dedicated to music mainly centred around encouraging/helping my son and daughter learn guitar/piano respectively.
Still, as has always been the case since I was 16, at least one of my guitars is constantly within arms reach, ready for me to pick it up and thrash out some pent-up frustration or try out a new riff. Since suffering a brain injury in 2020, music has been a source of great comfort and reassurance for me.
‘Don’t rain on my parade’ attempts to encapsulate the unpredictability of life with brain injury and how this impacts the individual’s mood and confidence on a daily basis. It also seeks to demonstrate how seemingly minor actions and comments can have a disproportionate effect on the mood and temperament of those affected. In this context, it presents a rallying cry on behalf of all brain injury sufferers, beseeching greater understanding of/sympathy towards the condition.
Co-author(s)
Lyrics Competition Results
Emotional Impact:
10/ 20
Technical Skill:
9/ 20
Memorability:
11/ 20
Storytelling:
12/ 20
Imagery:
8/ 20
Total Score:
50/ 100
Comments:
Good storytelling here.
Try using the show don’t tell method to make your lyrics paint a picture for the listener
Try using the show don’t tell method to make your lyrics paint a picture for the listener
Leave a comment
Thanks for the feedback.
This was an early version of the song that I entered on a whim on deadline day – I’ll take these comments into account when honing the final set of lyrics (including a 2nd verse and coda).