There’s a calm before the storm/
I know it’s been comin’ for some time.
The rain is obviously a big motif in “Who’ll Stop the Rain”, but I am not sure everyone has listened to what Creedence is really trying to say. Fogerty tells us that that it is calm right before a storm. Then the storm will come and the rain will begin to fall. But after a 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 60s. 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.
Who’ll Stop The Rain Lyrics
As long as I remember
The rain’s been comin’ down
Clouds of mystery pourin’
Confusion on the ground
Good men through the ages
Tryin’ to find the sun
And I wonder, still I wonder
Who’ll stop the rain
I went down Virginia
Seekin’ shelter from the storm
Caught up in the fable
I watched the tower grow
Five year plans and new deals
Wrapped in golden chains
And I wonder, still I wonder
Who’ll stop the rain?
Heard the singers playin’
How we cheered for more
The crowd then rushed together
Tryin’ to keep warm
Still the rain kept pourin’
Fallin’ on my ears
And I wonder, still I wonder
Who’ll stop the rain?
Songwriters: John Fogerty
