I let it fall, my heart
And as it fell, you rose to claim it
It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips and you saved me
My hands, they were strong
But my knees were far too weak
To stand in your arms
Without falling to your feet

But there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true
And the games you'd play
You would always win, always win

But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name
Your name

When I lay with you
I could stay there
Close my eyes
Feel you here forever
You and me together, nothing is better

'Cause there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true
And the games you'd play
You would always win, always win

But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name
Your name
I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
When it fell, something died
'Cause I knew that that was
The last time, the last time

Sometimes I wake up by the door
That heart you caught must be waiting for you
Even now, when we're already over
I can't help myself from looking for you

I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name
Your name
I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
When it fell, something died
'Cause I knew that that was the last time
The last time

Oh, oh, no
Let it burn
Oh, oh
Let it burn
Let it burn


Lyrics submitted by photocopied_heart, edited by Masang

Set Fire To The Rain Lyrics as written by Fraser T Smith Adele Adkins

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Set Fire to the Rain song meanings
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89 Comments

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  • +19
    General Comment

    This is a very emotionally intense song. I've listened to it several times over the last few days and having been in this situation, it's difficult to think back to feeling this way.

    She loved someone, and he hurt her, lied to her, etc. and she's finally setting herself free, while still acknowledging very strong feelings for him.

    Couple of things to point out:

    "My hands, they were strong but my knees were far too weak to stand in your arms without falling to your feet"

    She's saying that she was weak and perhaps submissive while she was with him; she let him have a power over her and do things to her that she shouldn't have. She might be saying that she had a dependency on him, but I could be reading my own situation into it too much there.

    These other two parts of the song:

    "when I lay with you, I could stay there close my eyes Feel you here forever, you and me together, nothing is better"

    and

    "Sometimes I wake up by the door, that heart you caught must be waiting for ya Even now when we're already over, I can't help myself from looking for ya"

    Are really painful to read. She's acknowledging that he's gone and it's over, but she still loves him, thinks about how it felt with him, and misses him.

    Ultimately, the song is very strong because it's about how, despite her personal weaknesses in a relationship, and the power someone has/had over her, she was able to recognize that he was bad for her and was, ultimately, able to "set fire to" what was between them, burn it down, and push him out of her life for good.

    I wouldn't have been able to listen to this song while I was going through it. Adele is an amazing artist and her voice with these lyrics is just incredible, I hope she continues to make music for a very long time.

    SomeStormyGirlon April 27, 2011   Link
  • +12
    General Comment

    I can personally relate to this particular song. The song is talking about a relationship coming to an end. Girl meets guy, he is wonderful and she falls really quick for the guy. He is wonderful and tells her all of these wonderful things, but really they were all a lie and now she is left with a broken heart. He continually tries to play games with her and no matter hard she fights, she will never win. Nothing she can do will fix the relationship. As hard as she doesn't want to let him go, she breaks it off in order to save herself for further heartbreak.

    kmoe25on February 27, 2011   Link
  • +8
    General Comment

    She set fire to the rain because the burning in her heart sets fire to the rain of her tears... her tears burn/sting her face, but she knows she's done crying for him (in that way "I knew that that was the last time") so she set fire (destroyed) the rain (her tears) and "threw us into the flames".... so she let it hurt to burn away everything...

    Fire destroys and rain washes things away "Let it burn"

    It's too easy for her to fall for him so she has to let it burn away everything of the two of them in order to preserve herself. But her heart was still screaming out his name... she still wishes that she could have him, she still loves him even... but there were too many lies and games so rather than letting him keep hurting her over and over she just let herself feel all of the pain until it was more than she could bear (well I felt something die... I knew that this was the last time...)

    GlambertGirlon June 29, 2012   Link
  • +7
    Lyric Correction

    I let it fall, my heart, And as it fell, you rose claim it. It was dark, and I was over, Until you kissed my lips and you saved me. My hands, they're strong, but my knees were far too weak. Stand in your arms without falling into your feet. But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew. All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true. And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win.

    But I set fire to the rain, Watched it pour as I touched your face Let it burn while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name.

    When laying with you, I could stay there. Close my eyes, feel you here forever. You and me together, nothing is better. 'Cause there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew. All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true. And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win.

    But I set fire to the rain, Watched it pour as I touched your face Let it burn while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name. I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames Where I felt somethin' die 'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time.

    Sometimes I wake up by the door Now that you've gone, must be waiting for you Even that when it's already over I can't help myself from looking for you

    I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touched your face Let it burn while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name. I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames Where I felt somethin die 'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time

    Let it burn

    Strigopson January 24, 2011   Link
  • +7
    My Interpretation

    The pain of breaking off a relationship with someone who means so much but is two-sided and not good to be with

    polkadot2690on February 02, 2011   Link
  • +4
    My Interpretation

    What I love about Adele's music is that almost every song I can relate to. My interpretation is that she let someone in and thought that she was special, she believed that person's words, but then it turned out that she wasn't special and that he didn't really care and that she is trying to burn those memories and false opinions she had of that person and that relationship

    tempe333on April 27, 2011   Link
  • +3
    Lyric Correction

    Real Lyrics: PLEASE CORRECT

    I let it fall, my heart And as it fell, you rose to claim it It was dark and I was over Until you kissed my lips and you saved me My hands, they were strong, but my knees were far too weak To stand in your arms without falling to your feet

    But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true And the games you'd play, you would always win, always win

    But I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touched your face Well, it burned while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name

    When laying with you I could stay there Close my eyes, feel you here forever You and me together, nothing is better

    'Cause there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true And the games you's play, you would always win, always win

    But I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touched your face Well, it burned while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames When we fell, something died 'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time

    Sometimes I wake up by the door That heart you caught must be waiting for you Even now when we're already over I can't help myself from looking for you

    I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touch your face Well, it burned while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames When we fell, something died 'Cause I knew that that was the last time, the last time, oh Oh, no Let it burn, oh Let it burn Let it burn

    eowyn797on April 13, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    She actually said the song was actually about seeing a commercial or something or another in which that contained an image of Justin Bieber whilst it was raining and she thought, "I wish i could set fire to the rain." So the true meaning is murdering Justin Bieber with flammable rain.

    xave94on May 08, 2012   Link
  • +3
    My Interpretation

    I let it fall, my heart, And as it fell you rose to claim it It was dark and I was over Until you kissed my lips and you saved me.

    1) She had already given up this love And yet in the process, he came back She was sad, destroyed Until he rescued her with a kiss He gave her hope.

    My hands, they're strong But my knees were far too weak To stand in your arms Without falling to your feet.

    2) She was very much in love to esist him

    But there's a side to you That I never knew, never knew All the things you'd say They were never true, never true And the games you play You would always win, always win.

    3) When she discovered that he was a liar and played with her feelings

    But I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touched your face Well, it burned while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming Out your name, your name

    4) She gave up that feeling, while caressing his face. She was crying while taking this painful decision Because the mind had decided, but her heart still screamed his name. That was the battle between the heart and the mind

    I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames Well, it felt something died 'Cause I knew that that was The last time, the last time

    5) She does the impossible And throws their story in flames (giving up) She feels the hope dieing. This is a resignation. Because she knew it was the end

    Sometimes I wake up by the door, That heart you caught must be waiting for you Even now when we're already over I can't help myself from looking for you.

    6) Sometimes she catches herself by the door. Because her heart might still be waiting for him. As if it wasn't in tune with her mind. Although they are not together anymore She can't stop missing him.

    Beeladybeeon October 11, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    During an interview about the meaning behind the songs Adele described this song as "burning the pain and getting rid of it and demolishing it...and its sort of like a liberating song because you know when you break up and the other person who you've left or who has left you knows how much you love them and they try and make your life hell and make it so that you can never get over them by constantly being in touch...its kind of like that and its about taking it into your own hands and just saying go away f*** off"

    This is definitely one of my favorites

    tessyb45on March 01, 2011   Link

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