IT’S A BLUE SKY DON’T HOLD NO RAIN
I’ve tried and tried and tried and tried to get to you
I’ve tried and tried and tried and tried again
Try and try and try and try to get through to you
I’ll try and try and try and try forever
Ever

We came across some bones of men
Scattered in the dust
So many good souls turned to rust
Within their shattered husks
And these people had worn jewels
And their heads had been held high
Speckled foreheads touched the sky
Behold the sparkling in their eyes

Don’t you know it’s a blue sky
Don’t hold no rain
Don’t hold your love in vain
Cos we’ve still got some loving left to do

Some time ago the white man came
Bringing Bible books and swords
Bound them up in twining cords
In the name of their great Lord
They slew down the Aztecs
Inca Ebu Maasai
Now they hide in concrete lies
To my Mammon side I cry

What have we done
To the Mother Goddess Gaia?
Why can’t we nestle in her
Warm aching bosom?
Aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah

Now the world’s a spinning ball
Two thirds with none to eat
While we chew our scrawny meat
Can you hear those big bells bleat?

What have we done
To the Mother Goddess Gaia?
Why can’t we nestle in her
Warm aching bosom?
Aah aah aah aah aah aah aah aah

Words by Simon Miller.
Copyright ℗ 1983 Pok Songs/Explicit Music.

About This Recording:
This recording of It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain is from a bootleg cassette recorded nearly 40 years ago. The cassette machine was placed to hopefully capture as much of the sound as possible, whilst being in a convenient spot to turn on and off.

Although we have managed a massive improvement to the quality of the audio, there remains a certain amount of hiss and rumble and ambient noise. Traffic can just about be heard passing by on the main road outside from time to time. There are various shufflings of feet and papers, clickings of effects pedals and machines, and so on. It’s a very genuine recording, and we love it for what it is.

The audio quality was never going to match today’s squeaky-clean digital standards due to the nature of the source material. As such, we have come to embrace the remaining hiss and rumble. They are a crucial part of the organic atmospherics that contribute to making this EP such a special listening experience.

Performers:
Simon Miller – voice, guitar
George Davies – guitar, voice
Marc Greatorex – bass
Ken Staple – acoustic guitar

Credits:
Music and lyrics by Simon Miller.
This arrangement by Laughing Sun.

Recorded live at 31 Cowick Lane, Exeter, 4th September 1985.
Remastered at Wud Records Studios 2023.

Originally released 12th September 1985.

Cover art by Pok.
Graphic design by Sam James.

Copyright ℗ 1983 Pok Songs/Explicit Music.
Copyright © 1985 Wud Records.

Fun Facts:
* This was one of the very first songs that Pok ever wrote.
* There are probably not many 17-year-olds who would write such a thoughtful lyric as this.
* Pok said that the original idea for it came from listening to Cortez the Killer by Neil Young.
* The very first time we heard this was when it was played by Pok, on a 12-string acoustic with only six strings, late one evening.
* He was sat on a bench along a footpath in the dark, just a short way down Church Hill from St Michael’s church in Honiton.
* Its first proper live performance was at the Sidmouth International Folk Festival in the summer of 1983.
* It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain was subsequently performed by the Spacegoats and Alchemeon.
* You can hear their versions at Bandcamp, SoundCloud and the Wud Records website.
* A studio version of it is in the works and will appear on Pok’s Anthology album when it is finished.
* Credit should be given to Ken, who was just about picked up on the vocal mics, redoubtably bashing out the ||: Em7 / / / | A7 / / / :|| rhythm on his Flambeau acoustic in the background.
* Marc plays Excaliber, his short scale Kay bass, and doesn’t know the song very well at this time.
* Simon plays Ken’s black Shaftesbury Les Paul copy and George plays the Ice Maiden, which was almost brand new at the time.
* All instruments and mics are plugged into a 5-channel HH PA head and a pair of dual concentric speaker cabs elevated on their poles.
* A large proportion of the hiss in the recording comes from the PA.
* One of the most definitve moments of this song are the three riffs that are repeated during the instrumental section.
* In early versions of the song, these riffs were repeated four times each, but from Alchemeon onwards each riff was repeated only twice.
* It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain is in the key of E minor and begins and ends with a big glorious Em7 chord (O22O3O).
* Lyrics have been transcribed from what is actually in the recording, rather than the definitive lyric set, which is published at Explicit Music under Alchemeon and under Pok.
* The chords in the verses are Em7 – Am7 – C/G – B11#9.
* There is a rather wonderful key change in the “What have we done” section, which is C7 – D7 – Gm7 – C7 – Am – C/G – Em7.
* It’s a Blue Sky Don’t Hold No Rain is the song’s proper title, although we generally refer to as Blue Sky.