Come in Out of the Rain
1972 · Invictus IS-9123 · Plainfield, New Jersey
- Artist
- Parliament
- Title
- Come in Out of the Rain
- Release
- Come in Out of the Rain / Little Ole Country Boy
- Year
- 1972
- Label
- Invictus # IS-9123
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- Plainfield, New Jersey, USA
- Songwriter
- Clyde Wilson, Ruth Copeland
- Genre
- Soul, Gospel & Funk · Funk · Soul
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation — Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs
The song "Come in Out of the Rain" (Invictus # 9123), the first of several Vietnam songs by George Clinton - with Funkadelic he released March to the Witch's Castle (1973) and The Electric Spanking of War Babies (1981). This track looked at the contradictions between the statements of politicians and the reality. Richard Nixon, in the White House from January 1969, said that he wanted to end the Vietnam War in the 1968 election campaign, but by his November 1972 re-election, the war continued, at the cost of another 30,000 lives. As the narrator tells the listener, the "president’s talkin' 'bout change", however, the government / army were still "makin' widows of the sweethearts and lovers". The song also commented on the draft, noting those people "shipping from the cradle to the grave", forced to have "a gun in their hands", and told by their country that it is their "duty to kill". Overall, the song took a strong anti-war line, and especially criticised the US government.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Notes
Label credits 'C. Wilson, R. Copeland'; produced by George Clinton and Ruth Copeland. Label text: 'Produced & Mixed for Greater & Sharper Sound Reproduction On The Air'. B-side from LP Osmium (ST-7302). Matrix 45-10301AA (A label), runout 10301AA-2. Publisher Gold Forever Music, Inc.; BMI. Los Angeles pressing (Capitol Records Pressing Plant). UK issue Invictus INV 522 (1972).
About the artist
Funk band formed in 1968 by George Clinton out of the doo-wop group the Parliaments, originally based at a barbershop in Plainfield, New Jersey; recorded for Invictus 1968-1972 including the album Osmium. [Source: Wikipedia]
Themes
Anti-War · Nixon · Anti-Politician · Draft
In collections
Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs