There’s a calm before the storm/
I know it’s been comin’ for some time.

The rain is obviously a big motif in “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”, but I am not sure everyone has listened to the true meaning behind what Creedence is trying to say. Fogerty tells us that that it is calm right before the storm. Then the storm will come and the rain will begin to fall. But after the storm, there is a period when the sun starts to shine again portending of future good weather. It can be a great feeling.

Fogerty is not asking if you’ve ever seen rain in a storm, he is asking if you’ve ever experienced that special time after the storm when the rain is falling while the sun is out. It is a time of hope and cleansing.

Obviously Fogerty isn’t interested in the weather patterns. The reason this song resonates is because it was written during a difficult time in the 1960s. Specifically people were fighting for civil rights and also fighting an unjust was in Vietnam. Fogerty is anticipating the people rising up (the storm) and making things just in the world. That will be a beautiful time like when rain falls down on a sunny day. It will be a time of hope and hopefully it will all have been worth it.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain Lyrics

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 reign a sunny day
I know, shinin’ down like water

I wanna know have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?

Yesterday and days before
Sun is cold and rain is hard
I know, been that way for all my life

‘Til forever, on it goes
Through the circle, fast and slow
I know, it can’t stop, I wonder

I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day? Yeah

I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know that have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?

Songwriters: John Cameron Fogerty