(From 5/4/2019) Looks like we’re in for rain just about every day this week. But this video doesn’t really have anything to do with the weather…
Some have speculated that this Credence Clearwater Revival song’s lyrics are referencing the Vietnam War, with the “rain” being a metaphor for bombs falling from the sky. However, Fogerty himself has said in interviews and prior to playing the song in concert that it is about rising tension within CCR and the imminent departure of his brother Tom from the band.
In an interview, Fogerty stated that the song was written about the fact that they were on the top of the charts, and had surpassed all of their wildest expectations of fame and fortune. They were rich and famous, but somehow all of the members of the band at the time were depressed and unhappy. Thus the line “Have you ever seen the rain, coming down on a sunny day.”
The group disbanded acrimoniously in late 1972 after four years of chart-topping success. Tom Fogerty had officially left the previous year, and John was at odds with the remaining members over matters of business and artistic control, all of which resulted in subsequent lawsuits among the former bandmates. Fogerty’s ongoing disagreements with Fantasy Records created further protracted court battles, and John refused to perform with the two other surviving members at CCR’s 1993 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Here he is still sounding good in a solo performance from 2010 in Belgium — about 40 years after its original release. Its lyrics still ring true for lots of topics today.
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