(17) Nothing but rain

[Robson]

This story gives me the creeps. Imagine moving around in the swamp in the middle of a hurricane and finding a newborn child, with death and destruction all around you. Such strong images!
Is there a film about Katrina that his might be based on?

Or was it inspired by a book?

[stratmad]

Who knows?
I've just been reading the lyrics again. Maybe it's only partly about Katrina (the rain, "a night with no tomorrow").
The story of the child is confusing... the child could be the storyteller (not MK!) himself, thinking about his own past, or the storyteller  is the father of the child, or the child could be the newborn baby of a complete stranger that he finds in the railcar in the middle of the night.
I'm not sure about the time, either. The story may be set in the past, as there are always floods and hurricanes in the Delta, like the one in 1927.
The idea is, anyway, that it might be about some famous old blues musician, born in a forgotten railcar in the Delta, maybe a hundred or more years ago. Has anyone got an idea who that might be?
Or maybe I'm on the wrong track ;-)

[Love Expresso]

"A child who was born there" does not automatically mean that it was born there in THAT night... it's a child "from there"... which indicates only that the storyteller is not from there, a guest, a traveller or whatever. Could be just a child. The child must not be a baby child. (Like the main character in "Where The Crawdads Sing", you know?)

LE

[Robson]

I thought to myself that there is a lot of hopelessness, darkness, no life, no light, no future in this song. A child is hope, gives faith and is the beginning of a new life. Just a quick thought.

[stratmad]

I agree absolutely, with LE and Robson. Very mysterious.
Another thing that keeps me thinking is "the deep Delta black": black is of course the colour of the night and the storm, but in combination with the deep Delta it brings up images of the deep South and segregation of even slavery. So maybe the child (whoever that is) was born during those times.

Bessie Smith famousy´ly lived and toured in a railroad car (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_Smith), and the railways apparently played an important role in the history of Blues music. Interesting site here: http://phlegm.mnsi.net/railroad_blues.html.

[Robson]

Interesting information. Thank you stratmad.

[KnopfleRick]

I thought to myself that there is a lot of hopelessness, darkness, no life, no light, no future in this song. A child is hope, gives faith and is the beginning of a new life. Just a quick thought.

And I like your thought. 

[Robson]

I thought to myself that there is a lot of hopelessness, darkness, no life, no light, no future in this song. A child is hope, gives faith and is the beginning of a new life. Just a quick thought.

And I like your thought. 

I'm glad

[Stanko]

I agree absolutely, with LE and Robson. Very mysterious.
Another thing that keeps me thinking is "the deep Delta black": black is of course the colour of the night and the storm, but in combination with the deep Delta it brings up images of the deep South and segregation of even slavery. So maybe the child (whoever that is) was born during those times.

Bessie Smith famousy´ly lived and toured in a railroad car (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_Smith), and the railways apparently played an important role in the history of Blues music. Interesting site here: http://phlegm.mnsi.net/railroad_blues.html.

Yes, I believe we are about. Delta Blues Museum connects almost all the dots, even the museum itself is housed in the historic Clarksdale freight depot?!
Do you notice the figures in the song strongly reminds to Single-Handed Sailor: the setup, a historical place, the darkness and the cold of the place, the mother and her baby etc...