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Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
| cover = HYESTR-CCR.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Creedence Clearwater Revival
| album = Pendulum
| B-side = Hey Tonight
| released = January 1971
| recorded = 1970
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country rock
| length = 2:39
| label = Fantasy
| writer = John Fogerty
| producer = John Fogerty
| prev_title = Lookin' Out My Back Door
| prev_year = 1970
| next_title = Sweet Hitch-Hiker
| next_year = 1971
| misc =
}}
"'Have You Ever Seen the Rain?'" is a song written by John Fogerty and released as a single in 1971 from the album 'Pendulum' (1970) by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song charted highest in Canada, reaching number 1 on the RPM 100 national singles chart in March 1971.
In the U.S., in the same year it peaked at number 8 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 singles chart (where it was listed as "Have You Ever Seen the Rain / Hey Tonight", together with the B-side). On 'Cash Box' pop chart, it peaked at number 3. In the UK, it reached number 36. It was the group's eighth gold-selling single.'Chronicle, Vol. 1' Liner notes
John Fogerty released a live version of the song on his 'The Long Road Home - In Concert' DVD which was recorded at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on September 15, 2005. A music video was released for the band's 50th anniversary on December 11, 2018.
Meaning
In his review for AllMusic, Mark Deming suggests that the song is about the idealism of the 1960s and about how it faded in the wake of events such as the Altamont Free Concert and the Kent State shootings, and that Fogerty is saying that the same issues of the 1960s still existed in the 1970s but that people were no longer fighting for them. 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 band split up in October the following year after the release of the album 'Mardi Gras'.
In a literal sense, the song describes a sunshower, such as in the lyric "It'll rain a sunny day" and the chorus, "Have you ever seen the rain, comin' down on a sunny day?" These events are particularly common in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama, but less common in other parts of the United States, due to localized atmospheric wind shear effects. In Southern regional dialect, there is even a term for it: "the devil beating his wife".
Music video
For the band's 50th anniversary in 2018, a music video was released for "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" The video stars then up-and-coming actors including Jack Quaid, Sasha Frolova, and Erin Moriarty. The video was shot in Montana by director Laurence Jacobs who described it as "a coming-of-age story" and "something distinctly real that encapsulated identity. Not teenage years, but specifically your early 20s when you're still growing and trying to become someone." The story, cowritten by Jacobs and Luke Klompien, is of "three best friends hanging in Montana until one of them moves away", and includes scenes of the cast "skipping rocks into the river", "driving through the countryside in a vintage red Chevy pickup truck watching the sunset and bonding by the fire." A behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of the video was released June 26, 2019, featuring interviews with the cast and director, and also shows dialogue between the actors.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
In popular culture
The song was featured in movies and television shows 'Cold Case,' 'Nurse Jackie', 'Doogie Kameloha, M.D.', 'Stargate: SG-1', 'Evan Almighty' and 'The Longest Yard', and 'The Art of Racing in the Rain'.
Cover versions
Pop rock singer Bonnie Tyler covered the song on her 1983 album 'Faster Than the Speed of Night'.
Funk rock band Spin Doctors covered the song for the soundtrack of the 1993 film 'Philadelphia'.
Rod Stewart included the song on his 2006 covers album 'Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time'.
Spanish-language versions
*Laureano Brizuela "Cerca de ti"
*Eduardo Palomo "Quien va a perder?"
*Ana Gabriel "Ven a ver Llover"
*Juan Gabriel "Have You Ever Seen the Rain (Gracias al Sol)"
*Karina "Quiero saber"
Portuguese-language versions
*The Fevers No Devo Mais Ficar
*Gilberto e Gilmar No Devo Mais Ficar
* VOLNEI da COSTA & TCH BOYS Eu no Sei
* KLB No Devo Mais Ficar
* Paulo Ricardo Eu No Devo Mais Ficar
References
Category:Creedence Clearwater Revival songs
Category:1970 songs
Category:1971 singles
Category:Joan Jett songs
Category:Ramones songs
Category:Bonnie Tyler songs
Category:Spin Doctors songs
Category:Rock ballads
Category:1970s ballads
Category:Songs written by John Fogerty
Category:Song recordings produced by John Fogerty
Category:Fantasy Records singles
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in South Africa
Category:Country ballads
Category:Songs about weather
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