10 Classic Rock Songs About Rain

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For this article, we decided to go with some lesser-known songs about rain to make it more interesting. Everyone knows the popular ones already, so why repeat them? Whether it’s about the sun, the snow, or the rain, there is no shortage of songs about the subject. Some artists love to sing about sunny days and have great material about the topic. Meanwhile, some love to sing about rain, either as an actual event or as a metaphor. Some songs about rain are celebratory, and some have been known to be quite sad. Some of the many rain-related songs ever recorded and released stand out more than others. Depending on personal preferences and musical tastes, there is a long list of hit singles and uncharted songs that beautifully and creatively sing about rain and how it affected the narrator. This list of ten favored songs revolving around rain was not easy to put together, as this is always according to a person’s taste.

Top 10 Songs About Rain

#10 – Run Between the Raindrops – Pat Benatar

For Pat Benatar, “Run Between the Raindrops” was the ideal way to see the sun. From the album Seven the Hard Way, this 1985 musical work of art featured Benatar’s vocals at their finest as she beautifully painted the reality that it doesn’t rain all the time and the sun has been known to come out. This wasn’t simply a song about the weather. It was about learning to focus on the positives to get away from all that is negative.

#9 – Take This Rain – Jackson Browne

From Jackson Browne’s deeply personal 1993 album I’m Alive, “Take This Rain” is a gentle and somewhat uplifting breakup song. The song and the entire album served as a strong return to form for Jackson Browne. With “Take This Rain,” the admission of a once-strong relationship losing its magic and the realization that it’s okay to move on in the name of emotional freedom have a beautiful wash-away feeling that makes this an easy-listening favorite.

#8 – Famous Blue Raincoat – Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat” was a song from his 1971 album, Songs of Love and Hate. It was performed as if reading from a written letter, telling a story of a love triangle between the narrator, his love interest, and the second man in the story. It references the German love song “Lili Marlene,” as well as Scientology and Clinton Street in Manhattan.

In the song, the mention of a “Famous Blue Raincoat” drew on a raincoat Cohen himself owned. He bought the Burberry coat in London in 1959, and it was later stolen in New York in the early 1970s. According to Cohen, the guitar style behind “Famous Blue Raincoat” also had Spanish roots, making it a beautiful musical masterpiece.

#7 – Cloudbusting – Kate Bush

The inspiration behind “Cloudbusting” came from the 1973 Peter Reich memoir, A Book of Dreams. For Kate Bush, putting into song form the boy’s memories of his life with his father, Wilhelm Reich, and their experiments with a machine called a cloudbuster was a work of musical genius. The story also brought up Wilhelm Reich’s arrest and imprisonment, leaving his son Peter helpless to protect his father. “Cloudbusting” is a hypnotic work of musical art that was beautifully woven with a cello-heavy melody and a sense of adventure as this remarkable song played itself out.

#6 – Red Rain – Peter Gabriel

One of the later singles from Peter Gabriel’s So album was “Red Rain,” which peaked at number three on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. In Ireland, it was a number twenty-seven hit; in the UK, it charted as high as forty-six. Although the album was released in 1986, “Red Rain” was released as a single in 1987. Gabriel’s reference to a recurring dream saw him swimming in his backyard pool and drinking chilled red wine, as well as bottle-shaped people falling off a cliff. In the dream, as the bottles smash on impact, a heavy downpour of red rain falls upon the narrator as he shares his brooding dream.

#5 – Rain Is Falling – Electric Light Orchestra

From the album Time, Electric Light Orchestra’s single “Rain Is Falling” was the third single released from the album in the US in 1982. It narrowly missed the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 101 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. This beautifully performed song laid out a series of visuals through the brilliance of the descriptive lyrics about the rainy weather and how people respond to it. In ELO’s case, there’s a hope it will wash away the tears.

#4 – Any Rain – Garland Jeffreys

Released in 2013, “Any Rain” was a song from Garland Jeffreys’ album, Truth Serum, a crowd-funded project featuring musicians including Larry Campbell, Steve Jordan, and Brian Mitchell. It’s easy to become caught up in this acoustic favorite as Jeffreys looked upon any form of rain to ease the pain and suffering brought on by situations that cause the heart to break. The music video beautifully laid out the visual portrayal of a creative artist who knew how to do more than just put together quality-sounding music.

#3 – Rainier Fog – Alice In Chains

On the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, “Rainier Fog” by Alice In Chains peaked at number twenty after its release from the group’s sixth studio album, Rainier Fog. The song is a tribute to the Seattle music scene that shaped Alice In Chains, and part of Jerry Cantrell’s lyrics specifically reflect on former band members Layne Staley and Mike Starr, both of whom died from drug overdoses. The half-empty feeling of losing someone close feels like a downpour of rain mixed with fog. “Rainier Fog” came about after the riffs were already composed for the song. Cantrell described Staley and Starr as still being with the band in spirit as he reflected on where Alice In Chains came from and the people who were part of that history.

#2 – Buckets of Rain – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain” was recorded in 1974 and released in 1975 as the closing track on his album Blood on the Tracks. Dylan’s simple five verses using “Buckets of Rain” as a metaphor to address his lover in the song were beautifully played and sensually appealing. In the song, he addressed his lover and what it was about her he found special. For an excellent song to simply sit back and enjoy or perhaps use as a special message to send to that special someone as a token of love and appreciation, “Buckets of Rain” would be it.

#1 – I Wish It Would Rain Down – Phil Collins

1989’s …But Seriously was the fourth solo studio album recorded by Phil Collins. Released as a single in 1990, “I Wish It Would Rain Down” was a power ballad Collins beautifully performed as a man wishing the rain would fall upon him to wash away his sorrow. Eric Clapton collaborated with Collins as the lead guitarist. It also features a large gospel choir on backing vocals. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at number three and was a number one hit in Canada.

In the UK, the song Collins said was as close as he had gotten to performing a blues song peaked at number seven. Globally, “I Wish It Would Rain Down” was a top twenty hit in many nations, including Australia, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. For that perfect song to find yourself swept up into a powerful wave of emotions, “I Wish It Would Rain Down” would be it.