In 1991, Garth Brooks had a big hit with “The Thunder Rolls”. A No. 1 song and one of his most successful, “The Thunder Rolls” is on Brooks’s sophomore No Fences record.
Written by Brooks and Pat Alger, “The Thunder Rolls” is a harrowing tale of the consequences of infidelity. The song says in part, “She’s waitin’ by the window / When he pulls into the drive / She rushes out to hold him / Thankful he’s alive / But on the wind and rain / A strange new perfume blows / And the lightning flashes in her eyes / And he knows that she knows / And the thunder rolls.”
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While the song seems perfect for Brooks, he and Alger wrote it with another country superstar in mind, namely Tanya Tucker. Tucker indeed did record a version of “The Thunder Rolls”, although it was not released as a single. Tucker’s version was recorded in 1989. Her version was ultimately not released until 1995, when it was included as part of a boxed set.
Tucker’s version also includes another verse that is omitted in Brooks’s version. That verse says, “She runs back down the hallway and through the bedroom door / She reaches for the pistol kept in the dresser drawer / Tells the lady in the mirror he won’t do this again / ‘Cause tonight will be the last time she’ll wonder where he’s been.” A full version with that verse appears on his Double Live album from 1998.”
The Video for “The Thunder Rolls” by Garth Brooks
The video for “The Thunder Rolls” won the CMA Award for Music Video of the Year in 1991. It’s an interesting accolade since it was banned at both CMT and TNN. In the video, Brooks plays an abusive husband who is shot by his wife over his cheating. Three years later, Martina McBride had a hit single and video, with “Independence Day”, a song also about domestic violence. Unlike Brooks’ video, McBride’s video received plenty of airplay.
“I didn’t see that much difference between the two,” Brooks later reflects. “But I think that because of the whole ugliness of what happened the first time, I think it’s egotistical to do it, but I’ll take pride in thinking that ‘The Thunder Rolls’ had something to do with that. ‘Cause what Martina McBride was saying needs to be heard.”
Music video or not, “The Thunder Rolls” sold more than 18 million copies worldwide. It was reportedly Brooks’s idea to add the sound of thunder to the song.
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