The Thunder Rolls

The first verse talks about a man driving home in torrential rain from "somewhere that he never should have been". In the second verse, his wife is waiting at home for his return "praying it's the weather that's kept him out all night".

When the man does return (in the third verse), the woman rushes out to meet him only to smell a perfume on him, implying that he was with another woman. At this point in time, the lyrics "the thunder rolls" no longer refers to literal lightning and thunder surrounding the pair, but the anger in her heart, which is mentioned in the chorus.

"The Thunder Rolls" was written by Garth Brooks and Pat Alger. The original idea was Brooks's, as he wanted to explore the concept of "thunder rolling inside of a marriage and outside at the same time".[3] Almost immediately after hearing this hook, Alger grabbed a guitar and started playing what Brooks described as a "D-minor rolling thing."[3]

The song was originally pitched to Tanya Tucker. Although she liked it, her producer suggested a third verse, which they added. On learning that the song had been given away, Brooks's producer Allen Reynolds was disappointed; he believed the song was one of the most powerful Brooks had written. When Tucker dropped the song from her album, Brooks began recording it for his second album "No Fences". Reynolds suggested that they leave off the fourth verse, recording only the three original ones.[4]

During the recording session, Brooks invited Alger to play on it. He was impressed with Alger's work during their writing session and thought his passion would translate well in the recording.[3] Both session musicians recorded the song live, with no overdubs and no second take.[4] When they were finished, Brooks suggested that they would add the sound of thunder. Reynolds had that sound on hand from a previous recording session and Brooks decided when to bring in the thunder sounds.[4]

Garth provided the following background information on the song in the CD booklet liner notes from The Hits

"There is no doubt that the toughest song in the GB catalog has to be 'The Thunder Rolls'. This song came out fighting the day it was released. Originally cut by Tanya Tucker in 1988, it was never put on an album. It came back to us in time for No Fences. My hat's off to Pat Alger, a great writer and friend, and to music itself, because only music could withstand what this song has gone through."[5]

The controversial music video premiered on CMT on May 4, 1991, when CMT named it a "Pick Hit". The music video was directed by Bud Schaetzle, and produced by Martin Fischer. In the song's music video, Brooks portrays an abusive husband, complete with hair, glasses, beard, and a suit and tie, who doesn't like going to work on a stormy night. Jennifer Barlow portrayed the husband's wife in the video. The husband drives his car, and the returned home. When the husband returned home, she found out that he was alive, and cheats on his wife due to domestic violence, as they get into a brawl. The woman grabs the pistol to kill her husband, causing the tree crashing through the window. The woman lights the candles, and the cops arrive at the house when Brooks watches. Brooks took off his hair, glasses, beard, and a suit and tie, trading for a cowboy hat by turning his head to the camera, and Brooks walks away. The video ends with a woman holding her fists next to their candles. Throughout the video, Brooks and his band perform the song outside the house in the rain. TNN banned the video for its portrayal of domestic violence. The video won the 1991 Grammy Awards, nominating for "Best Music Video – Short Form".

US 7" single Capitol Nashville NR-44727, 1991

1. "The Thunder Rolls" (edited) – 3:30
2. "Victim of the Game"

Jukebox 7" single Liberty S7-57744-A, 1992

1. "The Thunder Rolls" – 3:42
2. "Shameless"

Dutch promo CD single Liberty/EMI promo CX 519443, 1991

1. "The Thunder Rolls" – 3:43

"The Thunder Rolls" debuted at number 19 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of May 18, 1991.[6]

Heavy metal band All That Remains released a cover of The Thunder Rolls on August 22, 2017, off of Razor & Tie, on their album Madness. According to lead vocalist, Phil Labonte, the band is trying to push the boundaries of what All That Remains can do, with Labonte stating: "Our core audience likes a lot of diverse styles of music and gets it, and I think there's enough stuff on it for people that haven't heard ALL THAT REMAINS before to be kind of lured in. That's always our point: how can we reach out to new people?".[11] Taste of Country has praised the cover commenting that All That Remains honors the song's dark nature with intense electric guitars and drums, coupled with lead singer Phil Labonte's haunting vocals. The cover is also notable for containing a signature heavy metal scream on the song's title.[12] All That Remains' cover features Labonte's vocals being layered to create an ethereal effect along with female backing vocals by Diamante.[13][14] The music video for the cover put All That Remains at No. 1 among trending Vevo metal artists at the time, in addition to ranking high on Soundscan.[15] The band notably performed an acoustic version of the cover at the studios of KAZR, an alternative rock radio station in Des Moines, Iowa.[16]

• Cox, Patsi Bale (2009), The Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country's Big Boom, Center Street, ISBN 978-1-59995-099-0