What Have They Done To The Rain by Millennia

Millennia - What Have They Done To The Rain

Millennia

Jun 13, 2025 07:48am

<img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfvgga8REJ5rOgPceqxygPvssGRM7LbqUt1c6iX-akzYddV9t_EcYRiu6gJZ3sEgu24EmnxmYtcqI52CIIkmbvDjzl9N15vqhy1yrRuHDbmktwr2b8PH72FsY2kGeUjYMbv29iYiQ?key=i9n4yOEwO9yyQa7OIuRomIo_"> A JOURNEY INTO SUMMER 2025 Round Five Round Five already SHEESH! thanks Tony for yet another Journey m/d/f. Really enjoyed it. "What Have They Done to the Rain" is a song by Malvina Reynolds. Composed in 1962 and first entitled "Rain Song", it was written as part of a campaign to stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere, which was producing fall-out. The song was recorded by The Searchers, reaching number 29 on the U.S. charts and number 13 in the UK in 1965. I care about our Planet Earth , as tis our home! I have been on many a protest march for CND. ( Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament ) in my younger days , though I don't do them now. I still have the same feelings as then. I am appalled by how we humans are destroying the planet . I am all for recycling etc...(we have too much waste!) I am all for re- planting trees when they have cut some down .. Forestation...saving the Bees and animals.. God made us all.. but only humankind is greedy and set to destroy ... wiping out Rain Forests and Animals etc...Tis no wonder the poor Earth is reeling,, she has and is going through so much deprivation... we are having wars all over the place. I was up all night watching the riots in Los Angeles the other night. Tis shocking what's happening the world over . But tis all going to Gods plan me thinks. Anyways. I will never give up doing my little bit to help! God bless Y'all , stay safe n well out there, till next time :) xxxMy Theme ~ Humanity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the late 1950s, concerns began to be raised over above-ground <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_testing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">nuclear testing</a>, which produced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">nuclear fallout</a> that came down to earth in the rain. Such nuclear fallout contained radioactive <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium-90" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Strontium-90</a> that can enter the food chain through the grass eaten by cows and finally into human as food. Marches against nuclear testing were organized by Women for Peace and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Strike_for_Peace" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Women Strike for Peace</a> in the 1960s, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvina_Reynolds" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Malvina Reynolds</a> was among those active in the campaign.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-smolko-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[1]</a>Reynolds composed the song in 1962, first entitled "Rain Song", as part of the campaign and Reynolds performed the song in marches. The lyrics talk of grass and a little boy in the rain, both of whom disappear after years of such rain.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-smolko-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[1]</a> Although the song is about radioactive fallout, later the song also became identified with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">acid rain</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-smolko-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[2]</a>Reynolds recorded the song, which was later included in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Folkways" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Smithsonian Folkways</a> compilation album, The Best Of Broadside 1962-1988.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[3]</a> Joan Baez recorded the song live for her album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Baez_in_Concert" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">Joan Baez in Concert</a> in 1962.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[4]</a> Baez introduced the song as "the gentlest protest song I know. It doesn't protest gently, but it sounds gentle."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-smolko-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[1]</a><h2> </h2>The most commercially successful version of the song was recorded by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Searchers_(band)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">The Searchers</a>. The song, released in 1964, was one of the earliest releases in mainstream pop that addressed issues of societal concern on the environment.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[5]</a> It reached number 13 in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Singles_Chart" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">UK Singles Chart</a> in 1965.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[6]</a> It also reached number 29 on the U.S. Billboard chart, and number two in Canada.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Have_They_Done_to_the_Rain#cite_note-canada-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 204);">[</a>