Rain King Versions

Rain King is one of the songs that has multiple versions with alternative lyrics. The Counting Crows have performed the song on numerous occasions in concert and the songs appears in a number of their live albums. Apart from the original song from August and Everything After here are other prominent versions of Rain King:

Across a Wire: Live in New Your Disc 1 
This is a slower version of the song compared to August and Everything After performed Chelsea Studios in NYC on 8/12/97. Not a bad version but could be better with out the mumbling of the alternative lyrics.

"Well every little big fish that sails

your gonna sink down, a well underground

And all the little things that 

she does to me feels so good

I said "Every little bit of fun

and loneliness, and every little thing that

endlessly confuses me, and I still know she will"

Live from SoHo
August Everything After: Live at Town Hall
Face the Promised Land
Live From SoHo was an exclusive album only available iTunes. Along with Live at Town Hall and the rare album Face the Promised Land, the band plays a version that contains alternative lyrics from Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road. Each version sounds slightly different and offer a different tempo.

"Well the screen door slams and Mary's dress waves

And like a vision, 

she dances across the porch

while the radio plays Roy Orbison

singing for the lonely, 

hey that's me and I want you only

Don't turn me home again cause 

I just can't face myself alone again

Don't run back inside darlin'

you're just what I'm here for

so you're scared and you're thinkin'

that maybe we aren't that young anymore

Show a little faith, 

there's magic in the night

You ain't a beauty, 

but hey, you're alright,

and that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers 

and study your pain

Make crosses from your lovers, 

throw roses in the rain

Waste your summer 

praying in vain for a savior

to rise from these streets

Well listen I ain't no hero, 

that's understood

All the redemption I can offer girl, 

is beneath this dirty hood

With a chance to make it good somehow,

well what else can we do now?

Except roll down the window and

let the wind blow back your hair

As the night's busting open -

these two lanes will take us anywhere

We got one last chance to make it real,

we can trade in these 

wings on some wheels

Climb in back, Heaven's 

waiting down on the tracks

Oh, come take my hand, 

we're riding out tonight to

case the promised land Oh Thunder Road,

lying out there like 

a killer in the sun

Hey I know it's late 

we can make it if we run, Thunder Road

Look at Danny, he's got this guitar

and learned how to make it talk

And my car's out back if 

you're ready to take that long walk

From your front porch to my front seat,

the door's open but the ride it ain't free

Tonight you're lonely for words 

that I ain't spoken

but tonight we'll be free, 

all the promises'll be broken

There were ghosts in the eyes 

of all the boys you sent away

And they haunt this 

dusty beach road in the

skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets

They scream your name 

at night in the streets

Your graduation gown 

lies in rags at your feet

And in the lonely cool before dawn

Hear the engines roaring on

When you get to the porch 

they're gone on the wind

Its a town full of losers

Come from a town full of losers

I come from a town full of losers

Baby Im pullin pullin 

pullin out of here to win

Im pullin out of here to win"

New Amsterdam: Live a Heineken Musical Hall
Probably one of their best song, not just for Rain King. This is one of their best song that they have performed. Although this version doesn't have alternative lyrics, the pace and emotion of it make it one of my favorites. Take a listen for your self.