Is she ready to know my frustration?
What she slippin' inside, slow castration
I'm a riddle so strong, you can't break me
Did she come here to try, try to take me

Did she call my name?
I think it's gonna rain
Oh, when I die

Was it something I said, held against me?
Ain't no life on the run, slowly climbing
Caught in ice so she stares, stares at nothing
I can help her but won't, now she hates me

Did she call my name?
I think it's gonna rain
Oh, when I die

She won't let me hide
She don't want me to cry

Yeah

Will she keep on the ground, trying to ground me
Slowly forgive my lie, lying to save me
Could she love me again, or will she hate me
Probably not, I know why, can't explain me
Did she call my name?
I think it's gonna rain
Oh, when I die


Lyrics submitted by Ice

Rain When I Die Lyrics as written by Sean Kinney Layne Staley

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Rain When I Die song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

53 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +7
    My Interpretation
    I think the actual title of the song (I think it's gonna rain when I die) is a metaphor for a flower. The idea is that flowers tend to die when they don't get watered well enough, and Layne Staley is "the flower". He predicts that when he's wilted it will rain right afterwards as a way of saying his death will happen too soon and what could've saved him would already be too late.
    Netheroon July 28, 2011   Link
  • +4
    General Comment
    why is it all the great singers die...brad nowell,kurt cobain,and now layne staley,all of you made great music and you will be missed
    jimbo13on July 25, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment
    I think it's about someone who let a girl take the fall for something he did. "Did she call my name?" when she was arrested and taken away "Ain't no life on the run" Life on the run kinda suggests criminality "Caught in ice so she stares, stares at nothing I can help her but won't, now she hates me " She stares at him coldly when she's taken away, and he could say something, say that it was him, but he doesn't. "now she hates me" he wants her to forgive him. "Slowly forgive my lie, lying to save me " he lied and said that it was her to save himself. Of course, it's just an opinion. And I'm probably wrong because i'm always wrong .. bad person that I am.
    evil_killer_phoneon September 26, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment
    1. This song was written long before Demri died (it came out in 92, she died in 96). 2. It's almost certain that Jerry wrote the lyrics, not Layne. Lots of AIC songs are songs that Jerry wrote about girls, but people misinterpret them and think Layne wrote them about heroin.
    drinkthepoisonon September 19, 2004   Link
  • +3
    General Comment
    Rain When I Die is not about Demri. This song is on Dirt, released in 1992. Demri died in 1996. Another AIC song that can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the circumstance or situation of the person. Back when I was doing as much research as I can on AIC and Layne Staley, I actually tried finding if it actually rained when Layne Staley died (RIP sweet Layne). I found this site that showed the weather records for the Seattle area in April 2002. Out of all the days, on the 5th, 6th, and the 20th, there was no data. Whether it rained or not on his death, it rained in our lives as well as the music industry. I know Im a big loser. Who cares.
    drainingblueon May 26, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment
    This song is most likely about Layne doing something to hurt Demri because they broke up in 93/94 which wasn't that long after Dirt was released, and she passed in 96 from Bacterial Endocartis. I love Rain when i die because it's how I feel sometimes. RIP Layne & Demri. Layne I hope you're making beautiful music up there with all the other musical legends! All of us AiC fans miss you!
    StarGazer7897on June 20, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment
    This song is about a way of life and other peoples views upon it. " Im a riddle so strong..." is like living a certain way. " You cant break me " is saying that someone actually cared and tried to help. The person in question obviously didnt want help and possibly made an empty prediction that it would rain when he died maybe out of anger or possibly saying that he would die in Seattle WA. (constant rain) The words rain when I die also has another meaning in the song. Not only all of what I jus said, but it also says that there will be tears becuase of his death. It did rain the day he died
    systemofadowninaholeon January 27, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Layne, why did you have to die? Please rest in peace. It surely was raining to me when you died. AIC will live on forever, along with the lasting memory of Layne Staley.
    dashboardgirlie83on May 09, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Everyone seems to be ignoring evil killer phones comment and i reckon hes spot on! I think people can interpret the song as a breakup with a girl, but I think the idea of the the girl covering for him is totally right. "She wont let me hide, She Dont want me to cry" seems to be saying that shes willing to cover for him. I also think he has doubts about whether she will keep quiet about him, and whatever hes done wrong
    ed_vedder100on September 08, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Everytime i listen to this song, i almost cry because it reminds me of my grandmother. It started to rain when she was buried. As soon as it ended, it stoped. Love how he screams: "i think it's gonna rain, WHEN I DIE!"
    rkcon November 05, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
X French T-Shirt
Shudder to Think
This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation. Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.
Album art
Mad Hatter
Avenged Sevenfold
Matt Shadows their lead singer says the song was written as per request from the developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Watching the initial trailers for the game & looking at production sketches reminded him of the 'S-Town' podcast & its main protagonist, John B. McLemore. Matt also comments specifically on the lyrics: "I decided that the lyrics would shadow McLemore's life." In 2012, antiquarian horologist John B. McLemore sent an email to the staff of the show 'This American Life' asking them to investigate an alleged murder in his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama, a place McLemore claimed to despise. After a year of exchanging emails & several months of conversation with McLemore, producer Brian Reed traveled to Woodstock to investigate. Reed investigated the crime & eventually found that no such murder took place, though he struck up a friendship with the depressed but colorful character of McLemore. He recorded conversations with McLemore & other people in Woodstock. McLemore killed himself by drinking potassium cyanide on June 22, 2015 while the podcast was still in production. In the narrative of the podcast, this occurs at the end of the second episode; subsequent episodes deal with the fallout from McLemore's death while exploring more of McLemore's life & character.
Album art
MAZZA
slowthai & A$AP Rocky
This track is the first official collaboration between the rappers. It was produced by SAMO, slowthai himself & Kwes Darko. The track was released on January 5, 2021, in anticipation of his latest studio album titled "TYRON".
Album art
Better Than Feeling Lonely
Olivia O'Brien
This standalone single is the latest in the artiste's album run out. It was produced by Rogét Chahayed, Taylor Dexter & Wesley Singerman, and released via major streaming platforms on January 1, 2021.
Album art
Hypnotized
River Tiber
This standout psychedelic track was produced in its entirety by River Tiber, being released to all major digital streaming platforms on December 29, 2020.