The Climate Crisis: Silvery Rain

One of my favorite songs from Olivia's blockbuster album Physical, released in 1981.

Originally recorded by Cliff Richard in 1974, Olivia decided that she needed to put this song on her album to highlight what she felt was a severe consequence to our use of pesticides in our farming. This message wasn't the first environmental message to meet our ears from Olivia, but it was one of the most haunting. ONJ was also an environmentalist before it was "cool" to be...and she lives what she preaches. Silvery Rain stands as a testament against crop dusting, but as the video shows, can definitely be tied to the climate crisis - all things are tied together.

I have included the video....it show’s Olivia's playful side, as well as images of Olivia that you might never have seen otherwise. However, nothing is more powerful than the lyrics. By the way, this videogram won a Grammy in 1982 for best long form video (I think it was also the 1st video Grammy ever given!)




Written by: Hank Marvin (more on this story later)

Butterflies danced on invisible strings
Showing wings they borrowed from a rainbow
And a blackbird on high sang a praise to the sky
While a light aeroplane sprayed the fields
With a silvery rain

Furry backed bees with a tireless drone
Never moan, they're happy to be working
And a grasshopper green could be heard but not seen
While a light aeroplane sprayed the fields
With a silvery rain

Fly away, Peter, fly away, Paul
Before there's nothing left to fly at all
Take to the sky, higher than high
Before the silvery rain begins to fall

Nothing moves now but the swaying ripe corn
Not a dawn is greeted with a bird's song
There's a feather or two from a bird that once flew
Before a light aeroplane sprayed the fields
With a silvery rain

Fly away, Peter, fly away, Paul
Before there's nothing left to fly at all
Take to the sky, higher than high
Before the silvery rain begins to fall

Fly away, Peter, fly away, Paul
Before there's nothing left to fly at all
Take to the sky, higher than high
Before the silvery rain begins to fall