Creedence Clearwater Revival

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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 wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down 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, up on it goes
Through the circle, fast and slow
I know it can't stop, I wonder

I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down a sunny day?

Yeah

I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down a sunny day?

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Have You Ever Seen the Rain Lyrics as written by John Fogerty

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

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Have You Ever Seen the Rain? song meanings

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+21
Song Meaning
Basically it means you go through some tough times, but you get back on your feet and everything is all good, you're happy, the outlook is great, it's a beautiful day, then something bad happens again, you just deal with it. He's asking have you ever seen the rain? yeah, it's depressing but it goes away. Don't think it doesn't.
See Also
‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’: Creedence’s Poignant Late-Period Classic The Meaning Behind The Song: Have You Ever Seen The Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival - Old Time Music
Perfect for where we at now.
Outfielderon January 18, 2012Link
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+12
General Comment
i remember when my father used to play this song when we'd go on car trips. i was very young at the time and i hated it because it seemed so depressing, like one of those "i pity myself" songs. but now that i'm older it's taken on a new meaning and that is what's so great about songs like these - there's so much room for interpretation.
...with every rainy day will come another sunny day. but the part that really gets me is when he asks "i want to know, have you ever seen the rain?" - it's a common human experience to feel the ups and downs he describes in the song, and to say "no" to this question would be to deny that you are human, that you do cry, you can laugh and that life isn't always pleasant. it isn't a "pity myself" song; it's more of a "can you connect to your fellow human being?" kind of song. i hope i make sense.
anothaliason February 19, 2009Link
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+7
General Comment
i think this is how i feel
hurleychick42069on May 03, 2002Link
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+5
General Comment
Mark Deming of AllMusic.com suggests that this song is about the shifting focus on idealism that started around 1970. In the wake of events like Altamont and Kent State, the idealistic energy of the youth turned into the "self-centered decadence of the '70s." Fogerty suggests that the issues worth fighting for in the '60s are still present in the '70s, "but that we had lost the courage and the vision to face up to them." It's an interesting point he raises. (Quotes belong to Deming, not Fogerty)
ctdunstanon November 20, 2004Link
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+5
General Comment
To me, this song epitomizes the monotony of depression and just living a hard life, in general. Its also a slap in the face to those people who either have everything go OK all the time and wonder why you're so depressed, or those same people who fall on a small bit of hard time - "I want to know, have you ever seen the rain - coming down on a sunny day?" and "Been that way for all my time..". Also, that uncanny ability some of us have to predict crappy things and prepare. It just means a lot. it's the perfect song.
orbitnon June 14, 2008Link
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+4
General Comment
Ebowtheletter the full band never recorded an other album after this. Tom left before the tour following this album. In addition, the last CCR album was in fact different then any other, with Stu Cook and Doug “Cosmo” Clifford writing and sings on some songs. The band was dead before that last album, and the member are the first to admit it today. John did in fact write this song about the band falling apart. They where still playing hits (ie the sunny day) but he could still feel the rain.
bradburyesquon June 01, 2006Link
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+3
General Comment
Me too. Reminds me of this cycle I go through, emotional pain and times of feeling better, only to end up back here again...Wow, I sound like a nut. It's true, though.
minttown1on May 28, 2002Link
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+2
Song Meaning
i really think the meaning to this song is how everybody thinks after the war, everything and everyone will be good again.. "When it's over, so they say, It'll rain a sunny day...".... but hes asking if you have seen the rain, meaning "have you seen the soldiers die?".. and hes saying that everything and everyone is NOT going to be well again... someone told me that CCR was playing during the vietnam war so ya thats the meaning.. Do you think so???
mangotree20on April 04, 2009Link
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+2
General Comment
I always love how everyone trys to label this song...it about Vietnam...its about this or that. It's about whatever you want it to be I guess. That's what makes it a great song in that the meanings are whatever touches you. I remember hearing this song when it first came out so the meanings have changed over the years as I changed. It's about the bands demise but it's also about asking if things ever get better.
goteemonon January 13, 2013Link
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+2
General Comment
I have seen the rain on a sunny day! i saw beautiful colours, I saw the rainbow. the song is about the rainbow. its about harmony, luck, beauty, life and luck and makes me feel i am alive and want to live like i lived like when i was a child!
stijnroeleson March 07, 2016Link
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Have You Ever Seen the Rain? Lyrics

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Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen the Rain? Lyrics | SongMeanings (2024)