As printed on the record sleeve, the first verse is:
Sometimes,
When you're walking that long lonely road
Feels like nothing
Is able to lighten the load
From the edge of the rainbow
You see the light coming through
The chorus of "Lonely Hard Road" also mentions a lonely road and a load:
Walking on a lonely hard road
I'm walking on a lonely hard road
Haven't got much money
With some luck I'll hit your lorry
Or keep carrying this heavy load
In a number of interviews, Rod Argent explains that he wrote "Edge of the Rainbow" in the style of a Ray Charles song, so maybe these similarities have less to do with referencing "Lonely Hard Road" (which was actually written by Russ Ballard) and more to do with conventions of blues songs.
In this interview (beginning shortly after the 49 minute mark), Argent reveals that the lines "'Cause into each life / Some rain must fall" in the bridge come from Ray Charles' "Drown in My Own Tears." In the studio version of "Drown in My Own Tears" that I have, the lines Argent quotes are "I know it's true / Mm, into each life / Oh, some rain / Rain must pour." However, earlier in the interview, Argent mentions a specific live version (on Ray Charles In Person), which is played in its entirety and where the lines are slightly different (and closer to those in "Edge of the Rainbow"): "Let me tell you that into each life / Oh, I know some rain / That I know some rain must fall."
That "fall" in "Edge of the Rainbow" is sung to two notes, with the second lower than the first (I think it's Db to Bb), so the word itself is falling, pitchwise. Immediately after that, there's an-other fall in an "ooh" in the backing vocals (F to Eb).
Also in the bridge, there's the line "Keep moving on," which seems to recall the album opener "Moving On." Additionally, both songs mention rainbows. It's in the title line of "Edge of the Rainbow," and in "Moving On," there's the line "Who can say where the rainbow may be found."
Finally, the song ends with a ritardando rolled piano chord, which is the same way that "This Will Be Our Year" ends. Like the similarity with "Lonely Hard Road" though, this might just be coincidental.
That "fall" in "Edge of the Rainbow" is sung to two notes, with the second lower than the first (I think it's Db to Bb), so the word itself is falling, pitchwise. Immediately after that, there's an-other fall in an "ooh" in the backing vocals (F to Eb).
Also in the bridge, there's the line "Keep moving on," which seems to recall the album opener "Moving On." Additionally, both songs mention rainbows. It's in the title line of "Edge of the Rainbow," and in "Moving On," there's the line "Who can say where the rainbow may be found."
Finally, the song ends with a ritardando rolled piano chord, which is the same way that "This Will Be Our Year" ends. Like the similarity with "Lonely Hard Road" though, this might just be coincidental.
