Upon us all, upon us all a little rain must fall.

In “The Rain Song”, Plant likens a relationship to the seasons passing. Before there was you, it was cold, and the spring and summer were so sweet, filled with smiles and song. But then the rain came. He still loves her, but now he uses words like “devotion” to describe their love, because the relationship is enduring difficult times. But in every relationship, we must both hold the torch to see ourselves through the rain.

In many songs I mention that the orchestration adds something to the song, but in “The Rain Song”, the orchestration is the song. The depth of the arraignment is one of the best and most nuanced I have ever heard in a rock or pop record.

Listen to the cello. It sounds so grainy, and full. It serves as a bass-line but also weaves its way up into the melody seamlessly. The production really is amazing. The way Zeppelin incorporates the piano and guitar into the orchestration of the string arrangement is what makes this song.

The Rain Song Lyrics

It is the springtime of my loving
The second season I am to know
You are the sunlight in my growing
So little warmth I’ve felt before
It isn’t hard to feel me glowing
I watched the fire that grew so low, oh

It is the summer of my smiles
Flee from me, keepers of the gloom
Speak to me only with your eyes
It is to you I give this tune
Ain’t so hard to recognize, oh
These things are clear to all from time to time, ooh

Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh
Talk talk, talk, talk
Hey, I felt the coldness of my winter
I never thought it would ever go
I cursed the gloom that set upon us, ‘pon us, ‘pon us, ‘pon us
But I know that I love you so
Oh, but I know
That I love you so
These are the seasons of emotion
And like the wind, they rise and fall
This is the wonder of devotion
I see the torch
We all must hold
This is the mystery of the quotient, quotient
Upon us all, upon us all a little rain must fall
Just a little rain, oh
Ooh, yeah-yeah-yeah

Songwriters: Jimmy Page / Robert Plant