By Tony Attwood
Come Rain or Come Shine was popularised by Judy Garland, having been written by Harold Arden and Johnny Mercer.
The key theory surrounding the song is that it examines “the power of music to shape and reflect human life,” while at the same time dealing with the notion of eternal love expressed through simple lines such as….
I'm gonna love you Like no one's loved you Come rain or come shine High as a mountain Deep as a river Come rain or come shine
Of course in many songs – although not so often in Bob Dylan songs, the concept within the lyrics is very simple indeed, but is embodied in either a catch phrase of music or lyrics, which the listener will remember long after the song has stopped playing on the record player.
Thus everything comes down to the simple idea of the word “forever” being expressed in the line “come rain or come shine” which is then combined with the musical phrase that occurs throughout the song.
In short, popular songs that could fit onto the limited time span of a 78rpm, provided the resolution to the dichotomy of offering entertainment and a solid message in a very short space of time, solving the problem by using simple musical and lyrical phrases over and over again, in a way that the listener would accept without feeling bored.
This was an idea that then became part of the very essence of rock n roll and the 12 bar blues with the repetition of such lines as
"Gonna rock around the clock tonight Gonna rock rock rock til broad daylight Gonna rock goone rock around the clock tonight.
and of couse such classics as “Hound Dog” which consisted of just three lines of lyrics but still became an incredibly popular song. As a result of this approach, such songs would tend to sound the same from one singer to another as there really wasn’t too much within them that could be varied. This, of course, is the exact opposite of where Bob took many of his own songs which contained so much material that they could indeed be varied in multiple ways – as Bob demonstrated through years of reworking of the songs on tour.