Song Lyric Sunday – Have You Ever Seen The Rain

I was happy to see this week’s Song Lyric Sunday prompts. We were to find a song related to a weather condition such as cyclones, floods, hurricanes, rainfall, storms, tornadoes, typhoons, or winds. I have been wanting to feature a CCR song for a while and here we are. My pick today is ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Did this band ever produce a bad song? I don’t think so.

Jim, our host, also shared with us that March 23rd is World Meteorological Day and that is where the prompt came from. He is like an encyclopedia, full of fascinating facts. Thanks Jim. Hope you enjoy it and have a great Sunday!

The Song

This song is John Fogerty’s take on the imminent departure of his brother Tom from the band, and the overall tension in the group at a time when they should have been enjoying their success. The line, “I want to know – have you ever seen the rain comin’ down on a sunny day?” refers to Tom leaving while CCR was at its commercial zenith. The flip side of this single, “Hey Tonight,” is John reassuring the band that all would go well despite the adversity.

Tom Fogerty left the group in early 1971, after this album was released. He released three solo albums before dying of tuberculosis in 1990. A fourth album, completed in 1988, was released posthumously.

According to John Fogerty, this song’s meaning changed for him over time. Introducing the song at a 2012 show in Arizona, he said: “This song was originally written about a very sad thing that was going on in my life. But I refuse to be sad now. Because now this song reminds me of my little girl, Kelsy, and every time I sing it, I think about Kelsy and rainbows.”

Fogerty added that this is his all-time favorite song, even though it’s one he wrote himself.

Musically, this song was inspired by the group Booker T. & the MG’s, whose most famous song is “Green Onions.” They opened for Creedence Clearwater Revival before CCR recorded the Pendulum album. John Fogerty loved the sound of Booker T. Jones’ Hammond organ, so he used it on some tracks for the album, including this one.
John Fogerty did almost all the overdubs for the band until the Pendulum album, when other members contributed. Their bass player Stu Cook played some of the piano on this track.

According to Stu Cook, this song and another track on the album, “Pagan Baby,” were written and rehearsed from scratch during one recording session. “Pagan Baby” was done in one take.”

This was used in the TV show Tour Of Duty, which was set in Vietnam during the war.

Bonnie Tyler covered this song for her 1983 blockbuster album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Her version reached #47 in the UK.

In 2006, Rod Stewart covered this song on his album Still the Same… Great Rock Classics of Our Time.

As part of the CCR50 campaign to honor the 50th anniversary of Creedence Clearwater Revival, a video was commissioned for this song starring Jack Quaid, Sasha Frolova and Erin Moriarty as childhood friends in Montana. Directed by Laurence Jacobs, it takes a nostalgic turn when one of the friends moves away.

Willie Nelson recorded this with his daughter Paula Nelson for his duets album To All the Girls… The veteran country singer’s cover was included in the closing moments of the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies’ season 2 finale on July 21, 2019. The interest generated drove Nelson’s cover to a #36 debut on the Country chart dated August 3, 2019.

The Lyrics

Someone told me long ago
There's a calm before the storm
I know it's been comin' for some time
When it's over so they say
It'll rain a sunny day
I know shinin' down like water

I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day?

Yesterday and days before
Sun is cold and rain is hard
I know been that way for all my time
'Til forever, on it goes
Through the circle, fast and slow,
I know it can't stop, I wonder

I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day?

Yeah

I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day?
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind