blood rain

The idea rested in my 'scrap book' long enough, just these two words: "blood rain". I wanted to write a song about medieval superstition hinting on the - or one possible - 'scientific' explanation at the same time. I had first come across the idea when I concerned myself with butterflies (I used to raise butterflies and learn as much as possible about them).

Aporia crataegi, the Black-veined White, is a migrating butterfly species. Every once in a while there are mass occurrences of this species. After emerging from their pupal state butterflies excrete metabolic products in the form of a red fluid. Since Black-veined whites hatch in trees, this may look like red rain when masses of them hatch at the same time. Without this explanation superstitious people may well have interpreted this phenomenon as some kind of omen.

Anyway, after only ten years I've written these lyrics:

lust, and pride, and greed
envy, gluttony
have driven us too long
jealousy and wrath
bringing pain and death
- that's the path we've gone

we ignored the signs
the voices from on high
- we refused to see
when the clock stroke twelve
deluding ourselves
we clung to wrong beliefs

(now)
a blood rain
is falling from the trees
butterflies
all white and innocent
are gathering to flee
the doomed and dying land

unable to learn
without any concern
for our genesis
we moan and we fret
while blindly we head
towards our nemesis

a blood rain
is falling from the trees
butterflies
all white and innocent
are gathering to flee
the doomed and dying land