Rain Songs

I've had a playlist for many years now that is simply entitled "Rain Songs." When the weather is dreary or my emotions equally so, I put it on.

Not all the songs are sad, but for sure have a melancholy theme throughout. (Why do we equate rain with sadness? Rain brings life and growth and renewal.)

A few lyrical snippets:

Once upon a time in the land of misty satin dreams
There stood a house and a man

who painted nature scenes

He painted trees and fields

 and animals and streams 

and he stayed
And he didn't hear the falling of the rain

No, he didn't hear the falling of the rain.

 

In the forest green lived a girl who put her hair in braids
And she sang as she walked all about the wooded glades

She was glad when the rain came falling on her face 

and she sang
'Cause she did not mind the falling of the rain
No, she didn't mind the falling of the rain.

 

Will it always be the same as we recall?
Does it touch you when the rain begins to fall?
Ah, but I don't want to know and I don't want to see
Another rainy day without you lying next to me.

 

                            - Falling of the Rain (Billy Joel)

 

 

 

Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius -
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now;
You're here, that's all I need to know.
And you will keep me safe,
And you will keep me close,
And rain will make the flowers grow.

 

- A Little Fall of Rain (Les Miserables)

 

 

 

 

So, I just did me some talking to the sun                  
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done, sleeping on the job -
Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling...

But there's one thing I know,
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me,
It won't be long 'til happiness steps up to greet me.

 

 - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head (B.J. Thomas) 

 

 

 

Remember when it rained?

I felt the ground and looked up high and called your name;
Remember when it rained?
In the darkness I remain...

 

 - Remember When It Rained (Josh Groban)

 

 

 

 

When the rain comes it seems that everyone has gone away
When the night falls you wonder if you shouldn't find someplace
To run and hide, escape the pain -
But hiding's such lonely thing to do.

 

I can't stop the rain
From falling down on you again
I can't stop the rain
But I will hold you 'til it goes away.

 

When the rain comes you blame it on the things that you have done
When the storm fades you know that rain must fall on everyone
So rest awhile, it'll be alright
No one loves you like I do.

 

When the rain comes,
I will hold you.

 

- When the Rain Comes (Third Day) 

 

Dream

 I had a dream last night that my siblings and I were on a road trip with my grandmother. There were five of us - my older sister, me, and the next three in age order (brother, sister, brother) - being driven by grandma in her reliable dark blue sedan. Somehow, miraculously, this five-seat sedan had gained a third row, so my older sister was up front, my closest brother and I in the middle, and my younger sister and brother in the back. We drove through the day and drove through the night. The destination was important, but unclear. We stopped for food and sometimes to sleep, but much of the journey happened late at night, streetlights flicking by, the brief light illuminating our hands and faces. Our quiet conversations filled the long hours. We talked and laughed and dozed. Grandma frequently turned back to check on us, smiling.

It's funny how after fifteen years you can still see someone's face so clearly. 

I remember long drives with her to the bottom-most corner of Texas to visit my aunt and uncle, short drives to the movie theater near her house or to church, medium drives around town. 

I learned to drive in that dark blue sedan after she upgraded to a newer - but still reliable and practical - car. 

I learned to grieve when she became the first grandparent I lost. 

There are so many adult experiences I wish I could have shared with her. The joy of a marriage proposal, the excitement of college graduation, the heartbreak of rocky relationship realities, the desperation to find contentment in work, the fulfillment of creating a home, the lessons that life's ups and downs gradually teach. So many times I wish I could see her face for real and hear her voice. To see her smile as her grandchildren laugh together, faces illuminated briefly in the night.